Ubuntu 11.10 fakeraid 0

hello NBR

i have a little problem i hope you could help me sort out.

i am trying to install ubuntu 11.10 to my M17x-R1, with fakeraid 0. when i try to install ubuntu, it sees my raid array correctly, but i doesn't quite know where to begin..

where should i install grub to, how big swap partition should i make, and where should i make the /boot point??

i would also like to preserve my windows partition without reinstalling windows.

i have some different "devices" showing up:
dev/mapper/nvidia (not specified how large, seems like it's the raid array)
dev/mapper/nvidiasomething1 (windows 7 loader) (100 MB Partition)
dev/mapper/nvidiasomething2 (1 TB partition)


any suggestion appreciated

 

I am not sure what exactly you are asking.

Your software raid array should show up as /dev/dm-0 or somesuch. You can install grub to the MBR of that raid array.

 

so i should install GRUB to the raid array (dev/mapper/nvidia), and not one of the partitions?

and /boot should be set to the partition where ubuntu is installed, rigtht?

thanks for the reply by the way

 

Yeah, that's how I did it when I had dmraid running on my asus G50V a couple of years back.

You don't have to put /boot on a separate partition, it can just be part of your root filesystem /

The Ubuntu installer should let you resize your partitions to make room if you need to. You should back up your data before you do that, just in case. Resizing sometimes can go wrong.

Also if you're running raid0 if you aren't backing up on a regular schedule you are asking for trouble in general.

 

actually im in the middle of the installation now. i got the partitions resized, ubuntu installed, but for some reason GRUB won't install... i am trying right now to get it work, do you have any suggestions?

and yes i made a backup, just in case

 

What error are you getting from the grub installer?

Are you sure you're pointing it at the correct device mapper target?

 

don't remember the exact message, but it was something about "grub didn't install, it was a fatal error"

i tried both the ubuntu partition and the array.

 

Hm lol, can't really do much with that.

Try pressing ctrl+alt+f4 to switch to the log when it fails to get more detailed information.

You can switch back to the installer with alt+f1 or alt+f7 (can't remember for ubuntu)

 

would it help if i tried to install grub legacy?

 

I don't think so, you could try it if you want. But to help more you should find out exactly what is happening with the installation log.

 

how exactly would i go about that? reinstall ubuntu and wait for i to fail and then find a log by pressing ctrl + alt + f4?

 

Yes the installer log should have info at the end when the grub issue comes up.

You can scroll backwards/forwards with shift+pageup and pagedown

 

i will try that thanks