Grub 2 lost / Can I install again,keeping my files?

[sdim]

Hi,everyone.
I had to install XP Pro on a friend's pc recently,already dual booting with Helena.
As expected,Grub 2 was ruined.I tried to fix it,but nothing happened.Nevertheless,I'm not asking about Grub 2,as I've found the guide,and I'll try to follow it.
The question is whether I can re-install Helena over the previous Helena installation,without losing the files that already exist there.
Someone suggested that I install Helena again,and when I get to the point where the installer asks about formatting the disk,select NO FORMAT.
Is this true?Can it be done? No file of the previous installation will be lost that way...?
Many thanks.

[Biker]

Depends on how you set up your partitions. Normally, if you tell gparted not to format the partition, it will still delete the files in preparation for the install.

You should be able to get to the partition by booting from a Live CD and at that point, you can fix GRUB.

[vincent]

Hmmm...I've also heard of the "no format" way to install Grub, for those who don't want the hassle of installing Grub via some simple terminal commands, but I have never tried it myself and I believe it would be safer and less riskier to re-install Grub directly from the LiveCD (which I have done successfully in the past). You say you tried to fix it, but nothing happened...could you explain in more detail so we can help you out?

[markcynt]

As expected,Grub 2 was ruined.I tried to fix it,but nothing happened.

Reinstalling/restoring Grub 2 is really very simple.

Can you tell us the steps you took to restore GRUB 2 ?

A link to the guide,the portion of it you used, and a Gparted screenshot would also be helpful.

[sdim]

Many thanks for the eagerness to help,guys.
The thing is,it's not my pc,so I don't have a GParted screenshot.I can tell you,though,that I followed this tutorial:https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2 ... m%20LiveCD
The message I get when I' ve tried all this (I don't know if I did it OK,though...) is "cannot find /" or something.
Is it certain that if I follow the above tutorial,Grub 2 will be OK?

[markcynt]

The partitioning info is needed.

Either from a Gparted screenshot or:

In a terminal

Code: Select all

sudo sfdisk -l

Please reply back with the output.