Grub2, NeoGrub fail to load

RoboPhred · #1 November 4th, 2009, 07:26 PM

Using 2.0 Beta 76

Any time I attempt to load from Grub2 or NeoGrub, the first bootloader stalls before getting to either one.

The primary boot disk with windows is SATA, but the secondary disk is IDE.

Try (hd0, 0) NTFS5: No ang0 //Vista install
Try (hd0,1): invalid or null //One of these
Try (hd0,2): invalid or null //is and old
Try (hd0,3): invalid or null //Windows 7 Beta
Try (hd1, 0): Ext2: No ang0 //<< My Grub2 is here!
Try (hd1,1): non_MS: skip //Swap for linux
Try (hd1,2): EXT2: //Freezes here. This is really a linux install on EXT4

These errors are with Grub2. For NeoGrub replace "No ang0" with "No neogrub".

It waits forever at that last entry. The same message occures whether I use Grub2 or NeoGrub options.
Interestingly enough, these are the same errors I was getting with NeoGrub when I didnt know ubuntu used Grub2 and was using EasyBCD 1.7.2, except the "No x" used a different word for x (I cannot remember what it was)

Listing the partitions shows that my second hard drive is marked as boot, but if I set this drive as primary it falls back to the secondary and still runs the windows bootloader, which hints that its still not finding a MBR on it. Howver, the fact that it can't find NeoGrub which is on the primary booting partition could mean its a deeper issue than that.

The linux install is kubuntu 9.10, with grub installed to the first partition, swap on the second, ubuntu on the third, and the remaining as /home.

I selected the first partition to be used as "/boot" with kubuntu, and it chose to install grub to "/dev/sdb/boot". I have since tried to install it to the MBR of the second disk by using "grub-install --root-directory=/mounted/sda2/partition/1 /dev/sdb". Grub claims no errors were found, and correctly matches hd0 and hd1.

I think I am out of luck, as it cannot even start the second bootloader, and a search on these terms over the forum has no results.

Coolname007 · #2 November 4th, 2009, 08:14 PM

Hello Robo, welcome to NST.
Sounds like you need to use the EasyBCD 2.0 | External Devices | Install Ango Bootloader (or some such option - I forget what its called) to install a special bootloader which can bypass limitations in the BIOS with external devices. That should get the Linux entry working.

RoboPhred · #3 November 4th, 2009, 08:30 PM

The only action that looked similar under external media was "Create bootable external media". I tried to run it on the grub2 partition, upon which EasyBCD crashed:

"NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
At <corrupt symbols> (String, Int32, Int32)
at <corrupt symbols> (Object, EventArgs)
at ~.OnClick
...
"

I forgot to take into account a change I made to my computer some time ago. It has 3 hard drives, all SATA. One of them has never responded though, and is ignored at a bios level.

...Looking at my partitions in vista's disk management, the Grub2 partition is NOT marked as bootable, yet parted claims it is...

Coolname007 · #4 November 4th, 2009, 08:34 PM

Ok, sorry, my bad. It must be in a different section.
I haven't used the new beta that many times...

Look under a new section.

Do not try to create external media on the Linux partition! That option is for creating bootable disks/UFDs, etc.

RoboPhred · #5 November 4th, 2009, 08:46 PM

There's an "Install PLoP" option, but nothing other than that.

I did have an older ubuntu installed on the same second hard drive before, and the earlier EasyBCD took care of it easily... I doubt its my bios not supporting the drive.

The bios extender added another option, which also fails. Same as the first errors, but "No ang2".

Coolname007 · #6 November 4th, 2009, 08:47 PM

Right. Yeah, that's what its called...
PLop. I forgot the name of it.

Go ahead and install that, and see if it fixes the problem.

RoboPhred · #7 November 4th, 2009, 08:49 PM

Didn't work. The grub2 option still has the same error, and the bios extender option throws "No ang2" on all partitions it can read.

Would it be a problem that my SATA drives are not set up in ports 1,2,3 but instead in 1,3,6?

Coolname007 · #8 November 4th, 2009, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by RoboPhred

I did have an older ubuntu installed on the same second hard drive before, and the earlier EasyBCD took care of it easily... I doubt its my bios not supporting the drive.

It might have something to do with the Grub2. I don't know a lot about this.

RoboPhred · #9 November 4th, 2009, 08:54 PM

It can't be related to Grub2 though, as NeoGrub and now this bios extender fail to load as well...

Still not sure about the boot flag. parted and gparted claim the boot flag is set, but windows disk manager does not see it, and I found I cannot select the second hard drive as a boot priority at all (it was the second IDE cd-rom, hense the confusion earlier).

edit: setting an iso file to boot from also gives "No ang2".

Coolname007 · #10 November 4th, 2009, 09:02 PM

Ok, how about switching boot sequence in the BIOS, and attempting to boot directly from the Linux drive. It may work, since you installed Grub to the MBR of that HDD.

If nothing else, you'll be able to get into Ubuntu, and we can figure out what to do next.

Addendum:

Originally Posted by RoboPhred

It can't be related to Grub2 though, as NeoGrub and now this bios extender fail to load as well...

What exactly does the bios extender do? Add another option to the BCD, chainloading PLoP? I have never used it, so I wouldn't know...
Its possible you may get it to work by configuring NeoGrub manually.

Still not sure about the boot flag. parted and gparted claim the boot flag is set, but windows disk manager does not see it, and I found I cannot select the second hard drive as a boot priority at all (it was the second IDE cd-rom, hense the confusion earlier).

edit: setting an iso file to boot from also gives "No ang2".

Ahh...well, that answers the question above then. You can't switch over to the other HDD then (at least not, directly). I think the BIOS extender should extend it, and allow you to boot it anyway though...hence "extending".

You sure you did that part right?

RoboPhred · #11 November 4th, 2009, 09:08 PM

There's just one button, and I pressed it, so I guess I did it right.

I am reinstalling linux right now, hoping that the reinstall will kick Grub2 into working, but I doubt it... Explicitly selecting install to sdb this time, as kubuntu used sdb1/boot.

edit:
Install finished, but need to head to class now. Will work more in a few hours.
Gah, the suspense!

Coolname007 · #12 November 4th, 2009, 09:29 PM

As for Disk Management, it wont detect your Linux paritions' filesystems at all, and so it'll see them as completely empty. Its been a while, so I don't remember if it will see the "active" flag or not on a Linux partition.

Addendum:

Originally Posted by RoboPhred

I forgot to take into account a change I made to my computer some time ago. It has 3 hard drives, all SATA. One of them has never responded though, and is ignored at a bios level.

...Looking at my partitions in vista's disk management, the Grub2 partition is NOT marked as bootable, yet parted claims it is...

DIdn't notice your edit until now...
Try disconnecting the 3rd (non-working HDD). Then try the BIOS extender option again. You never know...

RoboPhred · #13 November 5th, 2009, 12:52 AM

Neither the reinstall nor the removal of the dead drive made any difference. Back to suspecting the neogrub bootloaders are failing to read the disks.

Terry60 · #14 November 5th, 2009, 12:56 AM

If you're looking for the "boot" flag you see in Gparted. MS calls it "system" in disk management.
(MS "boot" just means the version of windows you're actually "running" at the moment, and perversely has nothing to do with where the boot files are)

RoboPhred · #15 November 5th, 2009, 03:50 AM

I gave up and installed grub over the vista bootloader. Thanks for your help anyway.