OLD System, dual boot 2 drives one dead

[narwhale]

I know this is kinda out there but please help if you can. I have an old 2001 Compaq with it's origional 40GB HDD. I got into Ubuntu and love it. I recycled an old 30GB drive and plugged it in back when 9.04 came out. I had to use super GRUB to get the mount points to mesh. Now these are Ultra ATA100 drives and the 30GB has died right when I was upgrading to 9.10 Ubuntu.
The problem is that I cannot access the GRUB boot menu with the dead drive pulled [I get a GRUB Error 25] so I figured I would pull the drive in the BIOS but that did not work I still need that dead drives firmware to boot. I have ordered a new drive but need help with how to go about removing the dead drive, installing the new one and returning to a dual boot 2 drive system. I know this is not a GRUB 'site' but I hope there are many of you that know a lot more about this than I do. :confused:

[computer_freak_8]

Try using the SGD (Super Grub Disk) from here (http://prdownload.berlios.de/supergrub/super_grub_disk_0.9799.iso). If that doesn't work, try the SG2D (Super Grub 2 Disk) from here (http://prdownload.berlios.de/supergrub/sgd_cdrom_1.21.iso.gz). (You can see all the files here (http://developer.berlios.de/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10921).)

Also, on this (http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html) page, it has error code listings for Grub 0.97; under "Reported by Stage 2", it mentions:
25 : Disk read error
This error is returned if there is a disk read error when trying to probe or read data from a particular disk.

[narwhale]

I'm researching the features for reinstal MBR in windows and /or uninstal GRUB and reinstal MBR in windows. I think Super GRUB will be my best solution and will prep me best for the new HDD due Friday:) Will Post results when complete!

[narwhale]

I booted to CD with the SGD in slot and it was intuitive and simple to revert to a single disc boot of Windows from a master boot disc drive!!!!!!
I am now set up to install a new HDD with Linux [Ubuntu 9.10] as soon as the new drive arrives:):):)
Anyone with similar trouble should use Super GRUB as an option; it is a simple solution to dual boot with duel drives in an ATA100 formatte!

[computer_freak_8]

I booted to CD with the SGD in slot and it was intuitive and simple to revert to a single disc boot of Windows from a master boot disc drive!!!!!!
I am now set up to install a new HDD with Linux [Ubuntu 9.10] as soon as the new drive arrives:):):)
Anyone with similar trouble should use Super GRUB as an option; it is a simple solution to dual boot with duel drives in an ATA100 formatte!
Haha, glad to hear you got it working! ;-)

SGD has saved me so many times, it's ridiculous. (I haven't needed SG2D yet, fortunately.) I don't know about SG2D, but I do know that SGD fits on a single (1.44MB) floppy disk. And it can bring a computer from "Boo!" to "WooHoo!" in less than 2 minutes. Eventually, I learned how to do it from a Linux LiveCD using the Grub Shell, but SGD's speed and interface really can't be beat, provided you don't need the full Linux LiveCD system.

Now, enjoy Ubuntu! :p