ubuntu wont boot

[mackubex]

oh ok .. im beginin to understand da error of my ways ............

i am currently using win 7 on my laptop ...........

now i want to boot ubuntu fm da external .........
coz i want to practice learnin python using the ubuntu on da external

i assumed dat wen installin ubuntu ... i designated sdb(external) for loading the /boot

but guess it automatically jus installs into sda or c: (as da condition is)

so dats da reason y i cant boot ubuntu fm da same external on another machine.

one more thing comes to mind . wen v make a bootable flash drive

does this flash drive boot from any machine ?? coz if /boot is on sda .......then ubuntu fm flash drive shudnt boot fm any other machine.

but if it does boot in any machine ..........den where can i find out how it does so ?????? if da flash can boot into any machine. then def da external can boot into any machine.

its jus my way of thinkin .. my logic.
plz correct me if im wrong

[yancek]

In your initial post, you indicate that you created four partitions on the external drive; /, /boot, /home and swap.

In post #5, you state that you have two partitions on the external drive and that the first is ntfs. Which is it? In your first post, are you referring to directories or partitions?

If you posted the partition information I asked for in my last post as well as the contents of the /boot/grub/grub.cf file on the external, you would probably be able to get some specific advice.

[Toadbrooks]

OK, here's the issue. ALL hard drives depend on the bootblock and MBR of the primary hard drive, which is both sda and C: depending on whether you ask Windoze or Linux what it's name is. The problem is that the Windows boot will not accept the existance of a linux partition. So while you can format and install linux into a secondary disk, you CAN NOT make the windoze boot work with it.

You can do one of two things. First you can install Linux on the external drive from your windoze box. You connect up your external, insert the Linux CD or flashdrive, reboot, select install, select the version which allows you to control the destination of the install, and make sure everything linux goes on the external drive. This WILL replace the windows boot on the primary drive with GRUB, but this isn't a problem because GRUB will let you continue to have access to the windoze partition. NOTE: This MUST be done on the system you want to use it on. Doing it on another system then connecting it up to your laptop will NOT work.

Second, you can use the boot parameters in your BIOS to boot from an external drive in the same manner that you boot from a CDROM or flash drive. I do not believe anything special has to be done to the external to allow this, but I haven't done it, so I cannot say for sure.

Either should resolve your issue for the laptop.

[yancek]

ALL hard drives depend on the bootblock and MBR of the primary hard drive

Not really. On almost any computer there is an option to set the boot priority. If it is a newer computer, it can be set to boot a flash or external usb drive. If the external drive has an operating system properly installed and the bootloader correctly configured, it will boot the system on it regardless of what is on the internal drive. In fact, it will boot without any internal drive. If the OP installed Grub to the mbr of the internal drive, he would need to have his external attached to boot windows.

There is conflicting information about the number of partitions the OP has posted as well as how many partitions he has on the external drive and if he posted the information requested he might get a resolution to the problem.

[Toadbrooks]

I meant to say all INTERNAL hard drives depend on the MBR of the primary one. (Although there is a caveat even for that, if you have multiple disk controllers.)

Still, I figure if he has the BIOS configured to support external drives, he wouldn't have asked the question in the first place. It is kinda difficult figuring out exactly what he needs, since he won't be specific about what he has and what he wants.

[Toadbrooks]

If the OP installed Grub to the mbr of the internal drive, he would need to have his external attached to boot windows.

Now that I cannot agree with, since I've done it. I formatted an internal primary drive with windoze, then formatted the secondary drive and installed linux. The secondary format replaced the MBR on the primary drive. I later took the secondary drive out, but was still about to boot windoze from the primary using GRUB which was on the primary.

[yancek]

Now that I cannot agree with, since I've done it. I formatted an internal primary drive with windoze, then formatted the secondary drive and installed linux. The secondary format replaced the MBR on the primary drive. I later took the secondary drive out, but was still about to boot windoze from the primary using GRUB which was on the primary

Unless you had a Grub boot partition on the primary, that would be pretty difficult to do. The master boot record holds only 512 bytes and the Grub boot files are over 100KBs on modern systems.

[mackubex]

ok ... heres whhat i did ..
i deleted the initial installation .( formated the drive completely )

then i booted into ubuntu with a LIVE CD !!! maverick !

installed ubuntu again on the harddrive .. with da same partitions ie : / swap /boot /user

together thses 4 partitions tk up about 60gb of space.

the rest is designated as free space by linux


now all i need to do is find out how to mk ubuntu boot from this harddrive on any computer in da world !!!! ........ dats all i wanna do .. make a standalone installation so i can boot from any computer in da world into the ubuntu installed on this external harddrive .........

plz note grub is on da external ... no sign of grub or any linux component on my primary harddrive .

ill post the info required by yancek shortly

[mackubex]

Attach the external drive to the machine you used to install it.
Put your Ubuntu install CD in the drive and boot the computer from the CD.
Open a terminal and run this command to get drive/partition information: sudo fdisk -l (lower case Letter L)
Create a mount point for the /boot partition on the external.
Mount that partition.
Go to the /boot/grub directory and post the grub.cfg file here along with the fdisk -l output.
You probably need to change the entry in the grub.cfg file on the external.

mackubex@chris-linux:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for mackubex:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x28000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 19 152586 de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 20 1619 12840960 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 1619 31516 240154624 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 31516 60802 235234304 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 31516 44265 102400000 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x5d315c71

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 32 250880 83 Linux
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sdb2 32 7570 60546049 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 32 275 1951744 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb6 275 1491 9764864 83 Linux
/dev/sdb7 1491 7570 48827392 83 Linux





sda is where windows is located

sdb is da external

[Toadbrooks]

now all i need to do is find out how to mk ubuntu boot from this harddrive on any computer in da world !!!! ........ dats all i wanna do .. make a standalone installation so i can boot from any computer in da world into the ubuntu installed on this external harddrive .........

If that's what you want, the only way to do it is in the BIOS of every computer you want to do it on. You have to set the BIOS to boot from external hard drives before it checks the internal ones. If you did the load correctly, it will find the linux boot on the external and boot as you wish.

This is the same way to set the BIOS to boot from CDROMs.