check your grub boot sector location

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#1

I had a previous install of 11.0RC on the computer and I did an install of GM just now. There is one gotcha you should be aware of if you have a previous Linux install on the disk and you want to install 11.0.

Because I had a previous install on the disk, it suggested putting 11.0 GM inside one of the partitions. This is not what I wanted so I went into the partition editor and adjusted things the way I wanted. All good, or so I thought.

After the install finished I was greeted by a GRUB Error 17. Strange. Anyway I had forgotten that I wanted XFS instead of EXT3 for /home so I reinstalled. Something made me check the bootloader configuration before committing. It turned out that it had decided to install the boot block in the partition MBR. Probably because of the existing GRUB on the HD. So the old GRUB boot block was there and of course couldn’t find the stage1.5 and stage2 files of the now wiped out previous install. I changed that to install on the master MBR and all was well.

Another way you could avoid this is to blank the master MBR (containing the partition table) before installing. Then the 11.0 installer will treat the disk as fresh.

#2

Hi Ken,
I tried to install the grub on the MBR but no change, at boot without the DVD inside, Grub stays at stage 1.5 and sits there.
The only way I can boot is to leave the DVD inside and let the computer boot from harddrive.

How can I fix my grub ?

Here is my menu.lst

Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Sat Jun 21 12:51:23 CDT 2008

default 0
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd1,1)/boot/message
##YaST - activate

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.0
root (hd1,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.5-1.1-default root=/dev/sdb2 showopts resume=/d
ev/sdb1 splash=silent
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.5-1.1-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE 11.0
root (hd1,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.5-1.1-default root=/dev/sdb2 showopts ide=nodma
apm=off acpi=off noresume edd=off x11failsafe
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.5-1.1-default

#3

Well that may be a different issue. From your (hd1,1) it looks like you are trying to install Linux on the second disk. What do you have on the first disk? Is this a dual boot system? Perhaps you should start a normal thread asking about your problem, stating the details, because it’s not clear that my tip is relevant to you.

#4

Ok, I will.
One question though: I tried to install grub on the MBR several times and it doesn’t seem to work. (Yast, manual rescue using grub-install). Why is that ?

I always had my linux installed on this disk in the past and it is the first time I have a problem … The first disk is just a data disk.

Thanks Ken.

#5

I’m running into the same problem. I can’t get into 11.0 unless I boot from the CD and select Hard-Disk.

What can I change in the config file? There’s a secondary disk that can be entirely removed - just used for backup.

Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Thu Jun 19 20:51:29 EDT 2008

default 0
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd1,1)/boot/message

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.0
root (hd1,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.5-1.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAKS-_WD-WCASY0258107-part2 resume=/dev/sda1 splash=silent showopts vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.5-1.1-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: openSUSE 10.3 - 2.6.22.17-0.1 (bigsmp) (/dev/sda5)###
title openSUSE 10.3 - 2.6.22.17-0.1 (bigsmp) (/dev/sda5)
root (hd1,4)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic(/dev/sdb2)###
title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (/dev/sdb2)
root (hd0,1)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (hd1,1)
chainloader (fd0)+1

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE 11.0
root (hd1,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.25.5-1.1-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAKS-_WD-WCASY0258107-part2 showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume edd=off x11failsafe vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.25.5-1.1-default