Random

During installation, most Linux distributions overwrite your MBR with a piece of their boot loader (GRUB, LILO etc.). In most cases this works perfect, but sometimes this can break your multi-boot configuration or your previous OS. The simple solution is to install the entire boot loader on the partition where you install Linux (your boot partition). Note that this method works only when you are installing Linux on a primary partition.  You will also have to make your boot partition active or use another boot loader to boot into Linux

Installing the boot loader on your boot partition is quite simple in most Linux distributions. Here are the steps to do this in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).



Step 1: Follow the steps to install Ubuntu as you normally would, until your reach the “Ready to install” screen as in this picture.



Step 2: On the “Ready to install” screen, click “Advanced…” on the lower right.



Step 3: Choose your boot partition from the “Device for boot loader installation” dropdown list instead of “hd0” which is the default. This site tells you how to find the name of your partitions - Partition naming scheme.

Click OK and install away.