grub-install woes, please help

[elandqui]

So I've been trying to get GRUB installed so I can dual boot my laptop, and have a big roadblock. When trying to run

/sbin/grub-install /dev/hda

I get the error:

/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1 does not have any corresponding BIOS drive.

I found a fix for that online by replacing /dev/hda with the path above in /boot/grub/device.map, but when I run grub-install again, I get the error

/dev/hda does not have any corresponding BIOS drive.

So how do I fix both? For the curious, I'm following the directions at:

http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO...rub-HOWTO.html

Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

-- Eric

[Seren]

Someone may know a quicker solution to this, but what you might try is to run "info grub", put your cursor on * Installation:: and hit enter, then go down to the bottom of the page and put your cursor on * Installing Grub Natively:: , hit enter and follow those instructions. They may require you to make a grub boot floppy or boot CD, and the instructions for those are also in the Installation page. Whatever you decide to do, it's always a good idea to make a grub boot floppy or CD, because your grub installation on the Master Boot Record can get wiped out all too easily if Windows is also residing on the hard disk.

[loft306]

or since this looks like raid you could just use lilo and it will prob work
lilo trusts that u know where the hdd is
also check in /dev to see if there is another device name being used.

[elandqui]

Thanks guys, but the online help manual didn't tell me anything that helped. I'd get a boot floppy, but my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. The link I mentioned showed how to get Windows going without having it wipe out GRUB, but left out a lot of details that's taken me days to fill in.

As for using LILO, again I'm trying to follow the directions I've found and I don't know how to get a dual boot going with LILO. If there is a way to do this (and I haven't found one yet), how would I? Also, how do I check to see if another device name is being used in /dev? Another name for what? And if that's the problem, how do I fix it?

The bottom line is I just need to get grub-install /dev/hda to run without giving me an error. If it helps, I'm using version 0.92-1mdk.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[elandqui]

OK, I got that problem figured out! Here's the solution:

The device.map file must read:

(fd0) /dev/fd0
(hd0) /dev/hda
(hd0,0) /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1

There is another problem with the link in the first post: The next changes are to be made to /boot/grub/menu.lst NOT /boot/grub/grub.conf

There is another problem with the howto. The guy says to boot up and when the GRUB menu comes up, put the Windows CD in and then select Windows, but there is an error that comes up when I attemp to boot Windows. This guy is so bad about filling in all the details and leaving out crucial steps! Any ideas on how to fix this? My menu.lst file looks like this:

title Mandrake Linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 quiet devfs=mount vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title Windows 2000
map (hd0,0) (hd0,2)
map (hd0,2) (hd0,0)
rootnoverify (hd0,2)
chainloader +1

title DOS Boot Disk
map (hd0,0) (hd0,2)
map (hd0,2) (hd0,0)
chainloader (fd0)+1

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 devfs=mount
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 failsafe devfs=nomount
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title floppy

I'm attempting to boot from the Windows CD, but it doesn't work from either the Windows or DOS selection.

Any ideas?

[Seren]

I"m a little confused by your mention of a Windows CD, but as I understand what the author writes in the article you URLed, and as I read `info grub`, it looks like the Windows 2000 part of your menu.lst was written to boot a Windows OS that resides on the third partition of your first hard drive. Is that where it is?