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I have been advised to post here re: my Phoenix BIOS not recognising (and therefore booting) from the HDD once Ubuntu 13.04 was installed.

I have pasted the contents of the boot-repair tool below, which seemed like it knew what to fix with the MBR of the HDD, but it still does not show in BIOS and fails to load the OS.

I have also recognised I am unable to even boot from the 13.04 live CD also, is this linked?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

=====================================

 Boot Info Script e7fc706 + Boot-Repair extra info      [Boot-Info 3June2013]


============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================

 => Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 1 of 
    the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks 
    in partition 94 for .

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  Grub2 (v1.99-2.00)
    Boot sector info:  Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the boot sector of sda1 
                       and looks at sector 96990360 of the same hard drive 
                       for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks 
                       in partition 94 for .
    Operating System:  Ubuntu 13.04 
    Boot files:        /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab 
                       /boot/grub/i386-pc/core.img

sda2: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       swap
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 

============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 80.1 GB, 80060424192 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9733 cylinders, total 156368016 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition  Boot  Start Sector    End Sector  # of Sectors  Id System

/dev/sda1    *          2,048   151,554,047   151,552,000  83 Linux
/dev/sda2         151,554,048   156,366,847     4,812,800  82 Linux swap / Solaris


"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________

Device           UUID                                   TYPE       LABEL

/dev/loop0                                              squashfs   
/dev/sda1        a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520   ext4       
/dev/sda2        ffc7825d-ed7e-4fda-ae65-ffb0a12c7b09   swap       
/dev/sr0                                                iso9660    Ubuntu 12.04 LTS i386

================================ Mount points: =================================

Device           Mount_Point              Type       Options

/dev/loop0       /rofs                    squashfs   (ro,noatime)
/dev/sr0         /cdrom                   iso9660    (ro,noatime)


=========================== sda1/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  set have_grubenv=true
  load_env
fi
set default="0"

if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
  menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
  menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
  set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
    saved_entry="${chosen}"
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function recordfail {
  set recordfail=1
  if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}

function load_video {
  if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
    insmod all_video
  else
    insmod efi_gop
    insmod efi_uga
    insmod ieee1275_fb
    insmod vbe
    insmod vga
    insmod video_bochs
    insmod video_cirrus
  fi
}

if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
   font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
else
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
fi
    font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi

if loadfont $font ; then
  set gfxmode=auto
  load_video
  insmod gfxterm
  set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
  set lang=en_US
  insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=10
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
if background_color 44,0,30; then
  clear
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
    set gfxpayload="${1}"
    if [ "${1}" = "keep" ]; then
        set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7
    else
        set vt_handoff=
    fi
}
if [ "${recordfail}" != 1 ]; then
  if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then
    if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then
      if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then
        set linux_gfx_mode=keep
      else
        set linux_gfx_mode=text
      fi
    else
      set linux_gfx_mode=text
    fi
  else
    set linux_gfx_mode=keep
  fi
else
  set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
export linux_gfx_mode
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520' {
recordfail
    load_video
    gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
    insmod gzio
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='hd0,msdos1'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    else
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    fi
    linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520 ro   quiet splash $vt_handoff
    initrd  /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
}
submenu 'Advanced options for Ubuntu' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520' {
    menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.8.0-19-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.8.0-19-generic-advanced-a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520' {
    recordfail
        load_video
        gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
        insmod gzio
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='hd0,msdos1'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
        fi
        echo    'Loading Linux 3.8.0-19-generic ...'
        linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520 ro   quiet splash $vt_handoff
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
    }
    menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.8.0-19-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.8.0-19-generic-recovery-a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520' {
    recordfail
        load_video
        insmod gzio
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ext2
        set root='hd0,msdos1'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
        fi
        echo    'Loading Linux 3.8.0-19-generic ...'
        linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520 ro recovery nomodeset 
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
    }
}

### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='hd0,msdos1'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    else
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    fi
    linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='hd0,msdos1'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    else
      search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520
    fi
    linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
  source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=============================== sda1/etc/fstab: ================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=ffc7825d-ed7e-4fda-ae65-ffb0a12c7b09 none            swap    sw              0       0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)

  38.135612488 = 40.947802112   boot/grub/grub.cfg                             1
  38.139686584 = 40.952176640   boot/grub/i386-pc/core.img                     1
  38.134609222 = 40.946724864   boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic                  1
  38.134609222 = 40.946724864   vmlinuz                                        1
   1.195560455 = 1.283723264    boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic               2
   1.195560455 = 1.283723264    initrd.img                                     2

=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

cat: write error: Broken pipe
cat: write error: Broken pipe

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :
=================== log of boot-repair 2013-07-28__09h35 ===================
boot-repair version : 3.199~ppa6~precise
boot-sav version : 3.199~ppa6~precise
glade2script version : 3.2.2~ppa45~precise
boot-sav-extra version : 3.199~ppa6~precise
boot-repair is executed in live-session (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, precise, Ubuntu, i686)
ls: cannot access /home/usr/.config: No such file or directory
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit
file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash -- maybe-ubiquity

=================== os-prober:
/dev/sda1:Ubuntu 13.04 (13.04):Ubuntu:linux

=================== blkid:
/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/sr0: LABEL="Ubuntu 12.04 LTS i386" TYPE="iso9660"
/dev/sda1: UUID="a9c996a1-b93b-4ae0-bb25-c74083240520" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda2: UUID="ffc7825d-ed7e-4fda-ae65-ffb0a12c7b09" TYPE="swap"


1 disks with OS, 1 OS : 1 Linux, 0 MacOS, 0 Windows, 0 unknown type OS.



=================== sda1/etc/default/grub :

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"




=================== sda1/etc/grub.d/ :
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root    4096 Apr 24 17:06 grub.d
total 72
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  7541 Apr  9 09:28 00_header
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  5974 Apr  9 08:53 05_debian_theme
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 11381 Apr  9 09:28 10_linux
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 10258 Apr  9 09:28 20_linux_xen
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  1688 Dec  5  2012 20_memtest86+
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 10976 Apr  9 09:28 30_os-prober
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  1426 Apr  9 09:28 30_uefi-firmware
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   214 Apr  9 09:28 40_custom
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   216 Apr  9 09:28 41_custom
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   483 Apr  9 09:28 README


=================== UEFI/Legacy mode:
This live-session is not EFI-compatible.
SecureBoot maybe enabled.


=================== PARTITIONS & DISKS:
sda1    : sda,  not-sepboot,    grubenv-ok  grub2,  grub-pc ,   update-grub,    32, with-boot,  is-os,  not--efi--part, fstab-without-boot, fstab-without-efi,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot, apt-get,    grub-install,   with--usr,  fstab-without-usr,  not-sep-usr,    standard,   not-far,    /mnt/boot-sav/sda1.

sda : not-GPT,  BIOSboot-not-needed,    has-no-EFIpart,     not-usb,    has-os, 2048 sectors * 512 bytes


=================== parted -l:

Model: ATA SAMSUNG SV8004H (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 80.1GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system     Flags
1      1049kB  77.6GB  77.6GB  primary  ext4            boot
2      77.6GB  80.1GB  2464MB  primary  linux-swap(v1)




Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0
has been opened read-only.


Error: Can't have a partition outside the disk!

=================== parted -lm:

BYT;
/dev/sda:80.1GB:scsi:512:512:msdos:ATA SAMSUNG SV8004H;
1:1049kB:77.6GB:77.6GB:ext4::boot;
2:77.6GB:80.1GB:2464MB:linux-swap(v1)::;



Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0
has been opened read-only.


Error: Can't have a partition outside the disk!


=================== mount:
/cow on / type overlayfs (rw)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
udev on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=0620)
tmpfs on /run type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,size=10%,mode=0755)
/dev/sr0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 on /rofs type squashfs (ro,noatime)
none on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /run/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,size=5242880)
none on /run/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/ubuntu/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=ubuntu)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /root/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/sda1 on /mnt/boot-sav/sda1 type ext4 (rw)


=================== ls:
/sys/block/sda (filtered):  alignment_offset bdi capability dev device discard_alignment events events_async events_poll_msecs ext_range holders inflight power queue range removable ro sda1 sda2 size slaves stat subsystem trace uevent
/sys/block/sr0 (filtered):  alignment_offset bdi capability dev device discard_alignment events events_async events_poll_msecs ext_range holders inflight power queue range removable ro size slaves stat subsystem trace uevent
/dev (filtered):  agpgart autofs block bsg btrfs-control bus cdrom cdrw char console core cpu cpu_dma_latency disk dmfm dmmidi dri dvd dvdrw ecryptfs fb0 fd full fuse hpet input kmsg log lp0 mapper mcelog mem midi net network_latency network_throughput null oldmem parport0 port ppp psaux ptmx pts random rfkill rtc rtc0 sda sda1 sda2 sg0 sg1 shm snapshot snd sr0 stderr stdin stdout uinput urandom usbmon0 usbmon1 usbmon2 usbmon3 usbmon4 usbmon5 usbmon6 usbmon7 vga_arbiter zero
ls /dev/mapper:  control

=================== df -Th:

Filesystem     Type       Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/cow           overlayfs 1007M  427M  581M  43% /
udev           devtmpfs   999M   12K  999M   1% /dev
tmpfs          tmpfs      403M  780K  402M   1% /run
/dev/sr0       iso9660    702M  702M     0 100% /cdrom
/dev/loop0     squashfs   673M  673M     0 100% /rofs
tmpfs          tmpfs     1007M  612K 1006M   1% /tmp
none           tmpfs      5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
none           tmpfs     1007M   76K 1007M   1% /run/shm
/dev/sda1      ext4        73G  4.1G   65G   6% /mnt/boot-sav/sda1

=================== fdisk -l:

Disk /dev/sda: 80.1 GB, 80060424192 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9733 cylinders, total 156368016 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00074457

Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048   151554047    75776000   83  Linux
/dev/sda2       151554048   156366847     2406400   82  Linux swap / Solaris


Partition outside the disk detected.

=================== Recommended repair
Recommended-Repair
This setting will reinstall the grub2 of sda1 into the MBR of sda.
Additional repair will be performed: unhide-bootmenu-10s


Unhide GRUB boot menu in sda1/etc/default/grub
grub-install (GRUB) 2.00-13ubuntu3,grub-install (GRUB) 2.

Reinstall the GRUB of sda1 into the MBR of sda
Installation finished. No error reported.
grub-install /dev/sda: exit code of grub-install /dev/sda:0

chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda1 update-grub
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
Unhide GRUB boot menu in sda1/boot/grub/grub.cfg

Boot successfully repaired.

You can now reboot your computer.

pastebinit  packages needed
W: Failed to fetch cdrom://Ubuntu 12.04 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20120423)/dists/precise/main/binary-i386/Packages  Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs

W: Failed to fetch cdrom://Ubuntu 12.04 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20120423)/dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/Packages  Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs

E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).
Could not install pastebinit
Please install the [pastebinit ] packages.  Then try again.
6
  • Is this a laptop or desktop with UEFI? What maker and modelnumber is the laptop, desktop or mainboard (if selfbuilt)? Error messages point to issues in the partition table, swap might be a bit too small, but if you choose one of the provided options during install, that should be fine.
    – LiveWireBT
    Jul 28, 2013 at 10:22
  • Thanks for the reply. It is a desktop machines 770 with an oldish 80GB HDD. The motherboard came with the machine (Phoenix). There's no reference to UEFI in the BIOS so I guess it doesn't support that?
    – leopheard
    Jul 28, 2013 at 13:41
  • My bad, I could have searched for the HDD model to find that it's a old IDE/PATA drive. If you have chosen the install option which installs Ubuntu and discards all previous data, then everything should be working. If you didn't choose that option you should try reinstalling with that option (it's odd that the bootloader was installed to a partition). Due to the drives age, there is also the possibility of a drive failure.
    – LiveWireBT
    Jul 28, 2013 at 16:24
  • I'm not at home at the mo, but i remember that it wouldn't allow me to install it to the root, would only allow to sda1 I think. Cheers for the help so far, an going to try it in another machine later.
    – leopheard
    Jul 28, 2013 at 19:55
  • Thanks for the reply. Still get the usual 'OS not found'. I have taken this HDD out, installed it in an Acer Aspire T160, put Ubuntu 13.04 back on it (used 32bit as won't be staying in this case hopefully). Installed okay, but booting says 'system disk not ready' or similar. I've tried with the BIOS ACPI etc. on and off etc. Boot-repair did nothing and told me to paste the following pastebin link: paste.ubuntu.com/5924774
    – leopheard
    Jul 29, 2013 at 12:33

2 Answers 2

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Look for drive Sr0 embedded in your hard drive by bios manipulation. Sr0 is a loopback device that if I am correct, uses your DVD or CD as a caching device. It can break hard drives making them not be able to be formatted properly

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Flashing the BIOS

In modern PCs the BIOS is stored in rewritable memory, allowing the contents to be replaced or 'rewritten'. This rewriting of the contents is sometimes termed flashing. This can be done by a special program, usually provided by the system's manufacturer, or at POST, with a BIOS image in a hard drive or USB flash drive. A file containing such contents is sometimes termed 'a BIOS image'. A BIOS might be reflashed in order to upgrade to a newer version to fix bugs or provide improved performance or to support newer hardware, or a reflashing operation might be needed to fix a damaged BIOS. — Via Wikipedia

If I read this correctly you should be able to go to your computers manfac web site and get a bios update saved to a jump drive and flash the bios, unless the system in question is old enough to have EEPROM (doubtful from your description, I am glad dip switches are gone as well)

Although you could try running freedos, install fdisk and see if the partitions got wonky when you tried to write a new OS worked for me when window stalled during a partition split fdisk and freedos allowed me to rewrite my partition have my bios recognize and install Ubuntu saving my system!

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