how to install grub to the root partition

[jiminid]

Hi eveybody,
I intend to download the newest version of Mint and add it to my ubuntu/windows XP dual boot system. Last time i did it ( and it may have been because my brain was even more newbified than it is now) I overwrote my mbr with mint and had great probs getting everything back to the way it was. My question is, "When I get to the point in the install where it asks where to install grub and has hd0 as the default...
what do I put in there? Hard drives set up thusly:

hda-win xp

hdb1 ubuntu
hdb2 pclinuxos
hdb3 kubuntu
hdb4 extended partition
hdb5 mepis
hdb6 mint
hdb7 swap

Last time I think I put in hdb1,6 and the world blew up, which I think means that my menu.lst on pclos couldn't find anything to boot with. think grub didn't accept the entry, loaded to the mbr by default and then froze whenever I tried to boot with it...oh well, old news.

Using this partition table, where would i install grub, bear in mind that I need to install it to the mint root because I am chainloading from the pclos
grub which is installed on the mbr. (hd1,5)? in grub nomenclature? or /dev/hdb6 for linux?

Appreciate any help here, as I really don't want to mess this up again and have to reinstall everything.

Thanks for your help!

jiminid

"amateurs built the ark, experts built the titanic"
the earth is just too fragile a basket for the human race to place all of its eggs in...

[telic]

I can only wish you luck.

With Bianca running okay, installing a Feisty partition damaged Bianca's HAL (hardware abstraction layer).

With Feisty running okay, installing a Bianca partition damaged Feisty's HAL.

Your mileage may vary.

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[jiminid]

I can only wish you luck.

With Bianca running okay, installing a Feisty partition damaged Bianca's HAL (hardware abstraction layer).

With Feisty running okay, installing a Bianca partition damaged Feisty's HAL.

Your mileage may vary.

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Great closing line, telic.
so, uh, you mean I'm hosed? the only HAL I'm familiar with says things like "Dave, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dave."
I mean, the partitions are already there and in fact, I already have them chainloaded from pclos...do you mean Mint does not play well with others and has to be installed as the ONLY OS on a drive? Is it based on Edgy? I had probs with it, ended up skipping it entirely and going directly to feisty, which works quite nicely... (I have a 30gb I'm not using) could add that if necessary on a new machine I'm building, but would prefer to keep that one solid 64 bit. mmmh, when will the build based on Feisty be coming out?

Any ideas from anyone greatly appreciated as the weekend, she is approaching...

jiminid

[telic]

so, uh, you mean I'm hosed?

No more than my PC might be "hosed" by your hardware response to the same software.

My PC has two HDs (HDA and HDB), which I configure to be entirely separate, in every way. I use manual BIOS select to boot either HDA or HDB, not a single GRUB. In this way, each HD is insulated from a boot disaster on the other HD.

I had to put Bianca and Feisty on entirely separate HDs. You might not need to do that. I can only offer input based on my experience, for whatever that's worth.

As you've likely discovered, the bottom line in this Wild Frontier OS game is that you must be prepared to have your PC setup "hosed" while moving from one Linux DOS-prompt to the next.



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[Boo]

I don't see how the HAL from one OS on one partition can affect the the HAL of another OS on another partition.

I am about to install fiesty on one of my multi boot systems, so we will see what it does to mint.

stay tuned to the nex exciting installment of Boo uses a big hammer to fit a square peg in a round hole.

[buckster]

Installed Fiesty on second partition after Bianca. I had no issues. (other than an ugly brown desktop)

[telic]

My Feisty fiasco happened with the Beta version, about a month ago. Good to know the HAL hullabaloo may have been fixed.

I luuuuuv Feisty's chocolate-brown wallpaper. Almost as much as I luuuuuv Bianca's dark green wallpaper.

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