Installing Ubuntu on second HDD
 

Hi there! I'm experiencing the following problem: I want to install Ubuntu on my custom built PC. I managed to install it but I don't see any sign of a boot loader. I have two HDD's - one is 1TB and another 320GB which I'd like to use for studying Linux. I partitioned the disk as follows:
40gb /
500mb /boot
13gb swap
the rest /usr
I've read somewhere that boot loader information should be chosen as /boot (500mb), i.e. second HDD (for Linux). The reasoning behind it is that if windows fails, it won't corrupt MBR (which I have little knowledge about).
This tutorial: http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/10/27...2-hard-drives/ doesn't mention anything about it.
Another point. My motherboard is ASUS P6T. In BIOS the SATA configuration was chosen to be Enhanced->IDE. It is the only option for both HDD's to be recognized by the system. Otherwise the PC is just restarting itself all the time. Could this be a reason? When I managed to make my hdd 2 bootable, the operating system was not found.
I tend to think that I messed up with the boot loader info. Anyway, I would be very grateful if smb could help me with this prob. Many thanks!

Nope - not if you want to be able to boot it ...Good idea IMHO. Looks like you can select either disk to boot from the BIOS - you'll need this functionality to "isolate" the two systems.
Boot the Ubuntu CD, go here, do as it says and post the RESULTS.txt file it generates.
That way we can see you full boot environment and give proper advice.

Results.txt
 

Thank you syg00! Below is the contents of the file generated by the script. By looks of it it seems that I need to reinstall Linux, question however still remains how to go about Grub and MBR?!


Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012]


============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================

=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb.

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD

sda2: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 7
Boot files: /Windows/System32/winload.exe

sda3: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files:

sda4: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files:

sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 12.10
Boot files: /etc/fstab

sdb2: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: Extended Partition
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sdb5: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: Grub2 (v1.99)
Boot sector info: Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the boot sector of sdb5
and looks at sector 78557346 of the same hard drive
for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks
in partition 72 for .
Operating System:
Boot files: /grub/grub.cfg

sdb6: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sdb7: __________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files:

============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System

/dev/sda1 * 2,048 206,847 204,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda2 206,848 308,979,711 308,772,864 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda3 308,979,712 720,625,663 411,645,952 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda4 720,625,664 1,953,521,663 1,232,896,000 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS


Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sdb: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System

/dev/sdb1 * 2,048 78,127,047 78,125,000 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 78,127,102 625,141,759 547,014,658 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 78,127,104 79,103,999 976,896 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 79,106,048 104,495,103 25,389,056 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb7 104,497,152 625,141,759 520,644,608 83 Linux


"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 FEFEAF89FEAF38B3 ntfs
/dev/sda2 F63EAADC3EAA94E1 ntfs
/dev/sda3 8A50A16950A15CA7 ntfs Documents
/dev/sda4 E83EA50C3EA4D4BA ntfs Media
/dev/sdb1 0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c ext3
/dev/sdb5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d ext3
/dev/sdb6 0851c2d9-7c02-4212-8c15-8ecd9d23d8f9 swap
/dev/sdb7 9a76bc96-8d5b-492c-84a0-c17d1b5e3ba4 ext3
/dev/sr0 iso9660 Ubuntu 12.10 i386

================================ Mount points: =================================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sdb1 /media/ubuntu/0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks2)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)


=============================== sdb1/etc/fstab: ================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# / was on /dev/sdb1 during installation
UUID=0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /boot was on /dev/sdb5 during installation
UUID=76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d /boot ext3 defaults 0 2
# /usr was on /dev/sdb7 during installation
UUID=9a76bc96-8d5b-492c-84a0-c17d1b5e3ba4 /usr ext3 defaults 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sdb6 during installation
UUID=0851c2d9-7c02-4212-8c15-8ecd9d23d8f9 none swap sw 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

============================= sdb5/grub/grub.cfg: ==============================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
set default="0"

if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}

function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
}

if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos7'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos7 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos7 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos7 9a76bc96-8d5b-492c-84a0-c17d1b5e3ba4
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 9a76bc96-8d5b-492c-84a0-c17d1b5e3ba4
fi
font="/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi

if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=en_GB
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
if background_color 44,0,30; then
clear
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
set gfxpayload="${1}"
if [ "${1}" = "keep" ]; then
set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7
else
set vt_handoff=
fi
}
if [ "${recordfail}" != 1 ]; then
if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then
if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then
if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then
set linux_gfx_mode=keep
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=keep
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
export linux_gfx_mode
if [ "${linux_gfx_mode}" != "text" ]; then load_video; fi
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c' {
recordfail
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos5'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos5 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos5 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
fi
linux /vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
initrd /initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
}
submenu 'Advanced options for Ubuntu' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c' {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.5.0-17-generic-advanced-0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c' {
recordfail
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos5'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos5 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos5 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.5.0-17-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.5.0-17-generic-recovery-0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c' {
recordfail
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos5'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos5 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos5 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.5.0-17-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=0d96369e-ff58-416e-baca-20aa6e2eaf5c ro recovery nomodeset
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
}
}

### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos5'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos5 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos5 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
fi
linux16 /memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos5'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos5 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos5 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos5 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 76eb2077-bac1-4a70-8f26-b2267514c86d
fi
linux16 /memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-FEFEAF89FEAF38B3' {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 FEFEAF89FEAF38B3
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root FEFEAF89FEAF38B3
fi
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sdb5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

GiB - GB File Fragment(s)

= grub/grub.cfg 1
= initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic 63
= vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic 22

=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
No volume groups found

You won't learn much if you just go reinstalling any time you find a problem ... ;)

That looks like you changed the boot order of the hard disks in the BIOS prior to installing Ubuntu. If you're happy to leave it that way in future, there is a simple fix that will allow you to boot both (without having to change the boot order all the time). This leaves the Win7 disk unaltered.
It's also possible to simply leave things as they are now, and get the free EasyBCD for Win7 and use it to add the Ubuntu system to the Win7 boot menu. That is also straight-forward, and will allow you to boot either from the Win7 disk.