Accidently installed grub to usb

Question

While doing a fresh ubuntu install (dual boot with XP using resize), I somehow managed to install grub to the source usb instead of to the harddrive. Normal harddrive boot goes straight to XP. Booting from USB leads me to grub. From there i can boot into ubuntu. Pretty cool actually, but not what I had in mind.

How do I install Grub to HD?

How do I recover my USB?

for GUI based approch see this http://askubuntu.com/q/129254/35775 — Web-E, Jun 19 '12 at 14:58
was unable to mount usb when grub from stick was used. after grub restored on hd it was possible to access my data again. plugging into another computer the live ubuntu on stick also usable... accepting answer — Detnuomnu, Jun 20 '12 at 10:08

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 19 '12 at 19:40

6

From your booted Ubuntu system, open a terminal, then use the following commands :

sudo grub-install /dev/sdX
sudo update-grub

Replacing sdX with the actual drive, which will probably be sda, but use disk utility to double check if you are unsure.

edited Jun 19 '12 at 19:40

Detnuomnu

2,007

answered Jun 19 '12 at 14:52

Fernhill Linux Project

3,899

1

This got me booting normally again. Ideas on the USB stick? – Detnuomnu Jun 19 '12 at 19:40

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 24 '12 at 01:19

You can wipe your USB stick by Format. Plug it into your Windows machine, go to My Computer, and then right click your USB stick and select "Format".

If you don't like formatting, you can try deleting the partition on the USB with GParted and recreate the partition. But remember to backup.

To reinstall GRUB:

Make a new Ubuntu Live CD and Boot from it.
Install boot-repair using these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair

boot-repair

enter image description here

Click "Recommended repair". This will reinstall GRUB in the MBR of the adequate disk(s). Then reboot.

Accidently installed grub to usb

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