[SOLVED] Boot Loader Present Without an Actual Linux Installation?
Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide
This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.
Click Here to receive this Complete Guide absolutely free.
Boot Loader Present Without an Actual Linux Installation?
Hey all,
I've been fighting to dual-boot my MacBook Pro, OSX Snow Leopard and Ubuntu 10.10.
I shrunk the Mac partition, installed rEFIt, created a 2 GB swap partition and a ext4 partition with the rest, then installed Ubuntu in the ext4 partition. I then realized that I had installed the boot loader to the main sda rather than to the Ubuntu ext4 partition that I had created (among other problems). I wanted to wipe Ubuntu and reinstall it.
So, using gparted, I turned the swap and ext4 partitions back into free space, so there is NO LINUX ON MY HD. Just some free space.
However, when I boot up through rEFIt, I still get the Tux logo next to the Apple logo, and the option of "Boot Linux from HD." When I choose this, I get a "No bootable device, insert boot disc then press any key" error. Which makes sense, since there is no Ubuntu to boot.
What I don't understand is why I still even have the option to boot Linux. I'm thinking that I haven't managed to remove the boot loader from the first installation, so it's still present in one of my other partitions and rEFIt is finding it.
Some additional info...
My partitions in gparted look like
Partition File Sys Label Size Used Unused Flags
/dev/sda1 fat32 EFI 200.00 MiB 22.16 MiB 177.84 MiB boot
/dev/sda2 hfs+ Mac HD 139.70 GiB 100.83 GiB 38.87 GiB --
unallocated = 92.99 GiB
(Does the boot flag mean that I accidentally put the boot loader on /dev/sda1?)
OSX still boots and runs fine, so I would love to fix this without having to wipe it entirely.
So, any ideas? Is there somewhere else within the system to look for helpful information? Am I right in thinking I put grub somewhere that it shouldn't be? And can I remove it?
I'm sure some of what I've done is pretty stupid. I'd appreciate any sort of pointer or advice, even if it's not a solution.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.