preupgrade grub2 failed: now can't boot

[sean darcy]

On 02/06/2012 08:49 PM, Greg Woods wrote:
> On Mon, 2012-02-06 at 19:48 -0500, sean darcy wrote:
>
>> grub2-install --no-floppy /dev/sdg
>> /sbin/grub2-setup: warn: Your embedding area is unusually small.
>> core.img won't fit in it..
>> /sbin/grub2-setup: warn: Embedding is not possible.  GRUB can only be
>> installed in this setup by using blocklists.  However, blocklists are
>> UNRELIABLE and their use is discouraged..
>> /sbin/grub2-setup: error: will not proceed with blocklists.
>>
>> What do I do now! Embedding area???
>
> This is the area at the beginning of the disk, before the first
> partition. Grub2 needs the first partition to start at 2048, but default
> partition layouts from Grub-1 systems start at 63. I have run into this
> several times and it is a royal pain. There may be some games you can
> play with gparted (shrink the partition, then move it), or you can do
> like I did, which is to dump the first partition, change it to start at
> 2048 (shrinking it a bit), making a new file system on the new
> partition, and restoring it.
>
> --Greg
>

Wow! Not to belabor the obvious, but why doesn't preupgrade check this 
at the beginning. Or reinstall grub1. Anything would be better than 
leaving you with an unbootable brick.

I've created a grub1 stanza that boots F16. In fact, the ubuntu grub2 
wiki shows how to chainload grub2 from grub1 - which is pretty neat but 
probably useless. Interestingly, the kernel upgrade to 3.2.3 changed 
grub.conf as well as grub.cfg!

Can I just stay with grub1?  I really don't want to mess with gparted 
wizardry on my boot partition. Unless there are some really clear 
instructions on how to move the beginning address. As I remember, you 
shrink by moving the ending address.

sean