"BAD idea" warning when trying to recover Grub, after Windows removed it

Posted by Shazzner on Ask Ubuntu See other posts from Ask Ubuntu or by Shazzner
Published on 2011-01-02T08:43:34Z Indexed on 2011/01/02 9:58 UTC
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Filed under:

10.10

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grub2

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dual-boot

Tried sudo grub-install on sda1 but it complained about being a BAD IDEA.

I had to install windows for a work related issue so I used a separate disk (I had used it for ubuntu on this computer, but bought a bigger disk so installed ubuntu on that and left the old one in in case I needed an old file). Windows installed fine but overwrote Grub. So if I choose the Ubuntu disk to boot first in BIOS I get a blank screen.

I googled and followed this advice: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows

However, when I get down to this section:

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444 /dev/sda1

I get this:

Attempting to install GRUB to a partition instead of the MBR. This is a BAD idea…

--recheck does nothing. Any ideas?

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