Help!! Get GRUB out of my MBR!!!!

[Jazzop]

I put an extra HD in my XP computer and used the kubuntu 6.1 install CD to install ONLY to that other hard drive, which I was then going to put into an older computer without a CD drive. I manually partitioned the HD and made sure that kubuntu was going to install only to that physical disk. During the install process, it NEVER asked me anything about changing the MBR on my XP machine or whether I wanted to install LILO or GRUB or whatever. Apparently, it just did it. Now I can't boot my XP machine because it has GRUB in the MBR. Here's what happens during POST:

Verifying DMI Pool Data ..............
GRUB Loading stage1.5.

GRUB loading, please wait...
Error 17

(Then it hangs)

Can someone please help me fix the MBR of my XP machine?

[spotslayer]

Re: Help!! Get GRUB out of my MBR!!!!

This post may help.

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=12308.0

David

[musta ruhtinas]

Re: Help!! Get GRUB out of my MBR!!!!

I don't know exactly how to remove GRUB or what you should modify in your config to solve the problem, but if you really need to log on to your XP here's what you can do:
boot from the XP setup cd and at some point during text-mode setup you'll have the option of loading a Recovery Console; you'll have there a list of available commands, one being /fixmbr; now i heard some people had issues with it, i personally used that method twice (to remove LILO, however) without incidents... but this will completely remove the bootmanager;
I remember when I was stuck at some point with LILO and couldn't boot into anything I went a bit through the XP setup routine and aborted at the partition part of the text mode (without modifying anything) and at reboot LILO was gone. I don't know how I did that exactly or whether I was just lucky, it simply worked.
But again, these will only remove the bootmanager, not fix it.

Edit: first, the link above is perhaps more useful; second, i own an XP Pro, so I don't know whether these features are in Home as well

[Jazzop]

Re: Help!! Get GRUB out of my MBR!!!!

Update:

If I connect the HD on which kubuntu is installed (along with the XP system's HD), everything boots fine into GRUB, and I can select either the XP system or linux, both of which work fine.

This is obviously not how I want it to stay, because that second HD (the linux one) needs to go in another computer. Lesson learned #1: disconnect the other hard drives when doing this type of install.

Is there some way, within the linux system, to purge GRUB completely?

I do not have an XP CD. I am blessed with an OEM install version and I want to avoid using its restore feature at all costs.

Also, I do not have a floppy drive. So any solution requiring a DOS floppy (from the other thread) is not viable.

[monte48lowes]

Re: Help!! Get GRUB out of my MBR!!!!

Jazz,

You need to burn a bootable DOS CDRom. Then use fdisk /mbr to overwrite the master boot record.

The reason the boot is hanging is due to grub on the MBR is looking for the second hard drive for the grub configuration file.

http://downloads.littlbuger.info/index.php?cid=3

95 MB.... Use the zip file version and K3b to make a bootable CDRom.

Mike