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This is my second time installing Ubuntu, and I haven't got much luck yet. (My first ruined Windows' MBR.)

It's been nearly a week since trying to install and reinstall Ubuntu so I can dual-boot it with my existing Windows 7 installation. I followed the steps about installing the OS from linuxbsdos.com, partitioning my lone HDD into 3, inserting the EasyBCD entry of Ubuntu to the MBR and all. Yet I still have my problems:

  1. When I load my Ubuntu entry (which is Grub2), all I get is the Grub4DOS command line. I'm not a computer technician and I have bleak info about command lines so it's hard for me to boot it from there.

  2. When I load my Ubuntu entry (which is Grub Legacy or Wubi or any other entry than Grub2), all I get is a blinking cursor and that's where it ends. I need to restart my machine all over again.

I'm starting my fifth(?) reinstallation of Ubuntu and I hope it's fine. But then, I'm not even sure, judging that all my previous installations failed.

I have an Acer Aspire 4755G laptop, with an Intel i7-2670QM 2nd-gen processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 750GB HDD. I used a 64-bit version of Precise and my Win7 is also 64-bit.

Can someone help me here?

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  • Can you add some hardware details to your question so we can help you better? It is difficult to tell if it is an installation or hardware compatibility issue from your question.
    – Mark Rooney
    Sep 6, 2012 at 8:25
  • Hmm, I have an Acer Aspire 4755G laptop, with an Intel i7-2670QM 2nd-gen processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 750GB HDD. I used a 64-bit version of Precise and my Win7 is also 64-bit.
    – Paul
    Sep 6, 2012 at 8:34
  • Grub4DOS, Grub Legacy, Grub2, Wubi, EasyBCD, wow, what an unholy mess you've done with your poor MBR.
    – MestreLion
    Sep 20, 2012 at 1:54
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    By the way, that tutorial you mentioned is atrocious! It recommends kepping Window's MBR and using a very complex approach of using EasyBCD to insert Ubuntu as one of Window's boot options. Ewwwwwwww. Trust me: forget it. Install ubuntu using the default options, letting grub2 install at MBR. Much easier!
    – MestreLion
    Sep 20, 2012 at 1:57

1 Answer 1

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Paul, first of all, as an Ubuntu user and lover, I'm sorry for your failed attempts and frustration.

But, honestly.... that tutorial you followed is horrible, and doomed to failure. The approach it chooses is extremely complex and fragile.

If you're starting over for the 5th time, how about trying from scratch the default, sane, easy way? I assume you're trying the "real" Ubuntu, not the Wubi one, correct?

First, clear that mess in Window's boot list, so that Windows boot list is the default one, using the MBR as it wants, with no Grub4DOS or anything, booting straight to Windows. Use the Windows install/recovery DVD for that. Done? Ok, So let's begin:

1 - Boot from the Ubuntu Live CD (or USB key)

2 - Install it normally. I assume you know about partitioning. If not, just ask. Or use the "Install Along Windows" option for auto-partitioning

3 - Grub2 (the boot manager) goes to /dev/sda, the MBR of your boot drive, where it belongs. Do NOT install it in a partition (like /dev/sda1)

4 - Reboot. You now will have both Windows and Ubuntu in grub2's boot menu. Choose either, and be happy ;)

5 - If any Windows (or even other Linux) future install messes with grub, follow these instructions to restore grub

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