I need some help from the linux gurus here...

I have two hard drives in my notebook. Windows 7 on sda and Ubuntu 10.10 on sdb. Grub is on the MBR of sdb

I have the bios set to boot to the sdb, and grub gives me a prompt to select either Ubuntu or Windows, with the default Windows in two seconds so I can tell my wife just turn it on and wait....and you will get Windows.

Well..... After the last round of updates in Ubuntu last week (which I think included a kernal update? Not sure...) Ubuntu wanted a restart to finish updates...

After the restart, grub comes up with only the windows option. No other menu entries.

I've looked at the grub2 docs and am really confused.

I've got a 10.04 on USB I can run, and I have the original 10.10 install disk I can boot from.

Any pointers on getting grub fixed?

-Rob A>

I can't imagine a standard update trashing grub but Ubuntu does some strange things at times, especially the LTS version.

Can you post output from fdisk -l (as su) and the contents of grub.cfg?

Grub2 aka 'grub disaster'. Whatever you do procede with caution, (No backups to revert to an earlier MBR/installation that would get you back to the previous kernel I suppose?)

I had similar problems with a LinuxMint 9 installation where trying to update the kernel broke grub2. Maybe the previous kernel is still on the disk. As GnuTux you need to look at your /boot/grub/grub.cfg file (the one that says DO NOT EDIT, which of course you can)

Some possible tools.
It has been some time since I tried an original Ubuntu, does the live CD/DVD have an option for fixing grub.

There is a grub rescue disk 'supergrub2' http://www.supergrubdisk.org/ free, small (fd size), live CD , worth a try. It should get you into the actual installation instead of working off a live CD/usb.
( did not have much luck with rescantux which is a bigger beast, its the same site, that might be worth a try as well).

Try reinstalling Grub2 from LiveCD:
http://www.noobslab.com/2011/07/install ... ve-cd.html

But for some reason Grub seem not being detecting Ubuntu.

You might have had a bad update or updates interrupted. If the above does not work you can try something like this:
Start LiveCD or LiveUSB (same system architecture as installed) and make sure you have internet available. Open terminal and:








From here you will be as root from the LiveCD, but within the installed system







Reboot.
Remember that I wrote "sdb1" because I understand that this is where you have installed the system. You have to use "sdb1" then when you log in as root to the installed system with "chroot" and reinstall Grub2, it install in the MBR of "sdb" (As was supposedly set on your installed system)

Thanks allot YAFU! That was almost what fixed me up, but I did have to add a :


as well as that is where the grub conf lives.

-Rob A>