Tried to install Mint to a Flash Drive. Now I can't boot from the main hard disk.

Posted by Dan on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Dan
Published on 2011-01-15T00:58:20Z Indexed on 2011/01/15 1:55 UTC
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linux

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grub

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mint

Hello, all. I'm kind of new to Linux and I need some help. I wanted to install a Linux distro to a flash drive so that I can have a portable OS with all my settings, programs, etc. wherever I go. So I fired up a Linux Mint Live CD and installed Mint to the flash drive, and this seems to work OK. But now, whenever I try to boot up my system normally without the flash drive plugged in, it doesn't seem to work. It basically hangs for a bit, and then I get the following prompt:

error: no such device: (some long hex val)
grub rescue>

However, when I try powering my system up when the USB is plugged into the computer, it gives me an option between using the OS installed on my USB and the OS installed on my HD. Selecting the latter, everything loads up just fine. I'm guessing that installing Mint to the flash drive somehow messed with my native Grub installation, but, again, I'm kind of new to Linux, so I'm not sure exactly why. Any help is greatly appreciated.

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