Ubuntu
grub2 package

Grub hangs PC after installing Ubuntu 10.4 dual boot with Windows 7

Asked by Ron Chambers

Hi,

I am a Linux virgin, so please be gentle with me.

Wanting to experiment with Linux, I shrank the hard drive on my 32 bit Windows 7 PC and installed Ubuntu 10.4 on the 40Gib partition setup for the purpose. The install went well so I ran the Software Update which also ran to completion with no problems. The Software Update required a reboot to complete the installation and when the system rebooted I was expecting to get the GRUB bootloader to select the OS to boot up. Instead i got the following:

GNU GRUB Version 1.98-1ubuntu

Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word TAB lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists possible device or file completion.

grub>

There was no way I could get out of this because I am completely unfamiliar with the command usage and syntax, so I had to restore my system back to Win 7.

Can anyone suggest what went wrong and how I can prevent this from happening next time I install Win 7 / Ubuntu dual boot?

Thanks in anticipation,

Ron

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Ron Chambers
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Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Boot to liveCD again and reinstall grub

Revision history for this message
delance (olivier-delance) said : 		#2

Have a look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Reinstalling%20from%20LiveCD
I don't why it failed. Some Windows installation are modified by PC manufacturers, so the behavior of each computer can differ from another one.

Revision history for this message
tjpmack2 (tmccormack) said : 		#3

If all you want to do is experiment with Ubuntu, boot to Windows7.
Insert the Ubuntu disk.
choose to install the wubi.exe file. This will install an Ubuntu partition in the windows directory and create a boot loader as well.

If what you really want to do is a Dual boot system, Install Windows and then install Ubuntu.
When you install Ubuntu, you will be asked to use GRUB as the boot loader. Answer "YES" and continue.
You should not have any issues after that.

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delance (olivier-delance) said : 		#4

If you want to check OSes, the best is to use a virtual machine like VirtualBox.
I daily use it to:
   - check new distribution of Linux
   - reproduce bugs on various distros (including dual boot problem)
   - use Windows XP under Ubuntu.
The only constraint is to have both RAM for guest and host OS.

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Ron Chambers (locksalordy) said : 		#5

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will revert to running Ubuntu as an instance under wubi / windows. This seems to be stable and will allow me to build my Linux expertise. I will then be better able to tackle more ambitious dual boot environments.