Loads GRUB then restarts back to BIOS
 

Hi, I installed Kubuntu today and it worked fine when I was using it. I then restarted and loaded up Windows - also worked fine.

Now I have just restarted to play with Kubuntu a bit more, and it gets to the bit in the BIOS where it says

Boot from CD:...
GRUB 1.5
Loading GRUB

The screen then goes blank and my PC restarts. No option of which OS to boot from. This is a major problem as I need to access Windows and if GRUB won't give me the option i'm left with very little choice with what to do.

At the moment I have managed to boot into Windows by changing the order my HD's boot in (I put my Windows one first, and my storage HD second - previously they were the other way round for some reason). However, when I do this - although it loads Windows fine - GRUB doesn't appear to load. I doubt GRUB was installed onto my backup HD (it has no OS on it, just data) but this is the only reason why I could think why it wouldn't load.

But then I have managed to use GRUB once today to boot into Windows... Cry Help please!

Btw, i'm a Linux noob so please use simple language Smiley

Thanks

EDIT: I just loaded up MSCONFIG from Windows and under the BOOT.INI section there is only Windows listed as operating systems.

Also, I have checked the GRUB directory from Windows and the Device file says this:

"(hd0) /dev/sda(hd1) /dev/sdb"

Now when I was installing Linux my Windows harddrive was referred to as sdb and my backup one as sda. I was thinking, if my Backup drive was set to boot first, would linux have installed GRUB on that instead of in Windows? Obviously Windows didn't have trouble being on the second Boot HD, but maybe Linux got confused? Thanks

boot with Kubuntu - go in rescue mode
perform an output of to have a view of your partition table.
Next have a look at your /boot/grub/grub.conf maybe get a backup 1st.
And setup grub again.

Then it will work.

i suspect GRUB is in the MBR of your backup HDD, coz it is most likely the automated isntallation of Kubuntu (I stand to be corrected, coz i never used it), would have isntalled the bootloader (GRUB) in the MBR of the drive set as primary boot device at the time. So since your motherboard was set to load through your backup HDD, now as to why it is not loading - i don't know, sounds like GRUB got corrupted.

What I reckon you do is (wait for someone to give you advice, coz I myself am quite new to all this), format the 1) MBR of your secondary HDD.
2) Leave your HDD order setup as it is.
3) Boot with some LIVE CD version of linux.
4) Gain root access to the partitions of your current linux installation
5) Open up /boot
6) Edit the drive definitions of grub
7) Somehow install GRUB again on the mbr of the primary HDD (Which should be your windows HDD from what I understood).

Yet, honestly, the easiest solution, if you just started using linux and have nothing major saved.
Just scrap everything and start over with your drives set up the right way around.
And maybe not go for installing GRUB in the MBR, but in the boot of your primary boot partition (hope that is technically correct :P)