For this particular case, (1) the Ubuntu LiveCD install does say GRUB will be installed on hd(0) - but you should be forgiven for not knowing that means your Windows hard drive. (2) there is a special tool for installing to a flash drive under "system->administration->usb startup disk creator" and when using that tool, grub should definitely _not_ be installed on your hard drive.
The whole process of installing GRUB is seriously broken when there is _any_ choice of device or partition. The root partition/device is identified with this cryptic hd([0-9]) or hd([0-9],[0-9]) notation that has zero correlation with the /dev/[hs]d[a-i] notation or the Windows [A-Z]: notation - and changes from boot to boot and depends on how the disks are labeled or relabeled by the installation process. On top of that, the root is really identified by UUID, which yet a third notation. The most frustrating part is that when it fails it does it right near the end of the installation and it's a fatal error, so it doesn't do the final cleanup that follows the grub installation - so you can't just run grub-install until you get it right. For the most recent installation I did, grub wasn't able to find the boot disk until I physically unplugged all the RAID disks from the system - it loses it's way trying to parse raid5 partitions. It's really icky and not a good initial impression for Ubuntu (Why does Firefox suggest Unburnt, Subunit, Bunting, Bunt and Urbanite as proper spelling? that's another paper-cut) at all, but I fear it's way too hard to fix all this as a little paper-cut. For Ubuntu, why does Firefox suggest Unburnt, Subunit, Bunting, Bunt and Urbanite as proper spelling? That's another paper-cut! -- Poor choice of device for installing GRUB https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/389194 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
