Anaconda fails to install grub.conf on dual boot

xtian · #1 17th June 2012, 09:47 PM

I used the custom option in Anaconda to set mount points and preserve my original Luks and Lvm pre-installer set-up. After selecting the mount points in Anacoda, the next screen selects the boot partition. by custom, I selected the second partition sda2 (hd0,1) 500mb as boot since this is a dual boot install.

When the system rebooted, I got blinking cursor. there is nothing to unlolck Luks. With some more looking from the installer cd, I see there is no grub.conf in grub/ directory.

whats going on?

this is the second attempt. the first install did the same thing only a mistake with Luks masked the problem. in that case, the system boots to the grub prompt. now that I sorted Luks, the grub problem is still the same only there is nothing to unlock Luks.

secipolla · #2 18th June 2012, 12:01 AM

See if https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/GRUB#..._2_boot_prompt helps (right till the end of the page).

Also check https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Anaconda

xtian · #3 18th June 2012, 08:52 PM

"Starting with Fedora 16, GRUB 2 is the default bootloader on x86 BIOS systems."

Oh. With this reinstall, I have Luks working so the system doesn't boot the the grub prompt. In my previous "borked" install, I did boot to the grub prompt, but grub said it was 0.9.

I will look at the other link. Thank You.

secipolla · #4 19th June 2012, 11:42 AM

From what I see from this post and your other one at http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showth...ub#post1585839 , it didn't fail to install, it's just that you asked it to install to /dev/sda2 instead of to the MBR.
So you can either boot into rescue mode in the CD and try to install grub2 form there (I think there's an option for that, otherwise here's how to mount your system: http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showpo...31&postcount=4 ) or re-install but choosing to install GRUB to the MBR.

xtian · #5 19th June 2012, 03:40 PM

@secipolla: I can't install on MBR because Windows won't operate properly and this is documented in the Fedora Docs. In short, I recreated the same steps from my F15 install (I believe). I didn't have to do a separate Grub install then, so why now? Did I miss a step or is there a change in the installer which borks the install when performed in these steps.

For those who have not read this post, let me summarize the principal problem I encountered during this install. The task was upgrading the Fedora 15 install on my laptop. This included dual boot to Windows and Luks encryption for the Fedora sda3 (hd0,2) partition.

The goal was to upgrade without erasing the /home partition. I found many examples of Luks install and multiple LVM partition installations "from scratch", but I could not find examples of posts or help guides for upgrading. It wasn't as easy as taking the instructions for a "from scratch" install and skipping the Luks and LVM setup steps. There were a few steps necessary including the command vgchange which I was unfamiliar with. The net result was my own mistakenly believing I had mounted the Luks partitions correctly, only to find the Luks opened (to allow the installation) but destroyed during the installation.

After three attempts at installation performing the same steps and experiencing the same results (save for the one install without Luks), I've sorted out what I need to do to preserve the Luks setup. And I'm experiencing the same repeated problem with Anaconda borking the boot install.

I keep notes and local copies of guides I gather from past installs and I have not experienced this problem before. I don't know why the situation has changed since installing Fedora 15 when I used the instructions (linked in the forum post referenced by member secipolla) without any fault with grub.

secipolla · #6 19th June 2012, 04:34 PM

So you have GRUB-legacy in the MBR?
You installed GRUB2 from F17 at sda2, the grub you had on the MBR isn't installed anymore, only the files are there but the new Fedora doesn't have anything to do with them.
Maybe you should use the instructions to enter your installed system from the live-CD and then uninstall grub2 (grub won't see it anyway, AFAIK) and install grub (not grub2) to the MBR again, but this time from the new system.

xtian · #7 19th June 2012, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secipolla

So you have GRUB-legacy in the MBR?

No. As per the Fedora Documentation:
"During installation, Microsoft's DOS and Windows installation programs completely overwrite the MBR, destroying any existing boot loaders. If creating a dual-boot system, it is best to install the Microsoft operating system first. " [1]

My notes from the last install expressly stated to install the boot mount point at the first sector of sda2, but this was for grub 0.9.

[1]: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/...ub-whatis.html

secipolla · #8 19th June 2012, 07:14 PM

That means that if you install Windows after Fedora, it will overwrite the MBR and you'll either have to re-install grub or use easy-bsd (or something like that) to boot fedora using Windows' boot loader.

The impression I have is that when you installed F15 (which used grub legacy) you did in fact install grub to the MBR and that's why you can't boot anything now. Or can you boot into Windows?

You can install grub2 to the MBR and it should detect Windows normally. Many people have that set-up and we don't see anyone here having trouble about grub2 not detecting their Windows installation.

xtian · #9 20th June 2012, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secipolla

The impression I have is that when you installed F15 (which used grub legacy) you did in fact install grub to the MBR and that's why you can't boot anything now.

I am upgrading from Fedora 15 to Fedora 17. In this post from July 2011 (quoted in the previous post), I learned from user michaaa62 how to install Fedora 15 with Luks. And it worked perfectly installing entirely from Anaconda

In this post I'm installing Fedora 17, and skipping Fedora 16. For this installation, now, that I am posting about, I have Windows installed from last year on (hd0,0) I've not touched it. The machine does not boot into Windows automatically. I am attempting to install Fedora 17 on (hd0,1) and (hd0,2). I hope that clarifies for you what I'm doing.

Quote:

You can install grub2 to the MBR and it should detect Windows normally.

OK. This is a change then since Fedora 15.

Since the machine does not boot, then its your recommendation I boot from Live media and manually install grub2 to the /boot partition using, I guess, the rpm package? Or reinstall the entire system and this time option the MBR instead of the first sector of sda2?

secipolla · #10 20th June 2012, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtian

Since the machine does not boot, then its your recommendation I boot from Live media and manually install grub2 to the /boot partition using, I guess, the rpm package? Or reinstall the entire system and this time option the MBR instead of the first sector of sda2?

Not to the boot partition, to the MBR (/dev/sda).
Boot the live-CD and I think that there's an option to install grub only or to recover the system.

xtian · #11 21st June 2012, 03:58 PM

I've put the steps I used for the install into a pastebin:
http://pastebin.com/n5PJWXTe