Old xp drive boot directly in without grub menu offer. Ubuntu 10.04.01 was installed on a new drive.
Have tried the same method on another machine with existing xp. Second drive was not new. It just worked.
Have tried several reinstalls, including with advanced on both sda and sdb.
Have tried sudo grub-install --root-directory= to both sda and sdb.
All directories are visible on sdb.
---------From a live CD
:~$ grep_menuentry /media/mydrive/boot/grub/grub.cfg
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-24-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-24-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
:~$
---------
Am at wits end. First machine I am unable to install dual boot on.

From terminal of your live cd can you post sudo fdisk -l results?

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 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: 0x76f376f3

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 9728 78140128+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 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: 0x0008fdcf

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 60616 486893568 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 60616 60802 1490945 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 60616 60802 1490944 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdc: 32.0 GB, 32044064768 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 31044 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2016 * 512 = 1032192 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x688948fe

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 * 1 31044 31292320+ b W95 FAT32

Thank you.

Did you physically disconnect sda1 when you were installing ubuntu on sdb1? Is either sda1 or sdb1 sata and the other ide? In mb bios which drive is boots first?

Did not have either disconnected during installs. Both are ide. Tried mb bios both ways and when sdb first didn't make a difference I went back and remain at sda first.

Thanks for your response.

Solved. My friend's computer can't handle >137Gb drives or lba. It's an older machine and he bought the 500Gb drive on sale w/o realizing his system wouldn't handle it. I finally realized it was the new drive at fault and started running diagnostics from Western Digital. The drive is fine but the system just doesn't have the ability to run it.

Thank you Larry for spinning me toward the right direction.