Thanks for your feedback. I don't recall the Ubuntu CD telling me where it was going to install GRUB. So I must have missed it. I think the installation should ask instead of just "guessing" or defaulting. That shouldn't be particularly hard to implement.
And I had no idea that there was a special tool for installing to a USB device. Maybe when you click on the Install icon it should alert you. And btw, "USB startup disk creator" really shouldn't say "disk", as it could be a flash drive, for example. At 07:51 PM 7/8/2009, you wrote: >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 direct subscriber >of the bug. > >Status in One Hundred Paper Cuts: New >Status in âubiquityâ package in Ubuntu: New > >Bug description: >My laptop runs Windows. But I booted up a Ubuntu >LiveCD and installed to a Flash Drive. >Surprisingly, GRUB got put onto my Windows hard >drive instead of my Flash Drive. This was >absolutely not what I'd expect, because one >reason for installing to a USB device is to be >able to have a portable Ubuntu installation. >After Googling for a while I found out that I >had to use the "Advanced" button to select a >different location for installing GRUB. > >It would be much more new-user-friendly if the >step where you choose the device on which to install Ubuntu would >(1) automatically select the device you're >installing to as the place to put GRUB >AND >(2) Output a message something like "GRUB will >be installed on <your device>. Use the "Advanced" button to specify >a different location." > >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.8/2224 >- Release Date: 07/08/09 05:53:00 -- 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
