Can't install anything! Error 1327. Invalid Drive D:\(from hardware)

nappymonster · 04-26-2008, 02:24 AM

Hi all,
I've been dual booting ubuntu 7.10 and vista for about a month, with ubuntu on the external and vista on the internal, though if i unplug the external Grub get's confused and won't boot anything.

I only noticed this a couple of weeks after installing ubuntu, and i think it was caused by ubuntu, but can't be a 100% because i didn't use vista at all for a while.

I can't view the external drive, most likely because it's Ext3, and in safely remove it isn't given a drive letter. But whenever i install anything, i get "Error 1237. Invalid Drive D:\"

This occured for all installers i've tried.

Nappymonster

Update: I've just been thinking, and testing, and it's only with .msi installers that it gives the error. an .exe one worked (i think).

**Terrister** · 04-26-2008, 07:30 AM

Since this involves ubuntu, I am going to transfer you to the forum that handles this.

**shuuhen** · 04-26-2008, 11:17 AM

I don't use Windows much, so I don't know why it does some of the strange things it does, but a part of the problem here is quick to debug. The reason you have to have the external plugged in is because GRUB is installed on the MBR of the internal drive, but the external drive has the configuration file.

You're right in assuming the reason you can't view the external in Windows because it's formatted as ext3. Microsoft's operating systems do not support non-Microsoft filesystems (at least I've never seen a Windows OS support them). If you need to share stuff between the two operating systems, you can use a partition formatted as FAT32.

A possible solution if you don't want to always have the external connected is boot into Ubuntu and use grub-install to put GRUB on the external drive. Then you should be able to use the Windows recovery console (part of the Windows install disc from what I remember) to reinstall the Windows MBR code to the internal drive. Finally, make sure the BIOS has external drives above internal hard drives in the boot order.

To install GRUB on the external drive, open a terminal (Terminal in Ubuntu, Konsole in Kubuntu) and type:

Code:

sudo grub-install --no-floppy /dev/drive

where drive is something like sda or sdb (pick whichever one Ubuntu's installed on). If you need help identifying this post the contents of /etc/fstab and/or the result of fdisk -l. If you get an error about not finding fdisk, type sudo fdisk -l instead

04-26-2008, 02:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
nappymonster Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: England Posts: 57 OS: Windows XP	Can't install anything! Error 1327. Invalid Drive D:\(from hardware) Hi all, I've been dual booting ubuntu 7.10 and vista for about a month, with ubuntu on the external and vista on the internal, though if i unplug the external Grub get's confused and won't boot anything. I only noticed this a couple of weeks after installing ubuntu, and i think it was caused by ubuntu, but can't be a 100% because i didn't use vista at all for a while. I can't view the external drive, most likely because it's Ext3, and in safely remove it isn't given a drive letter. But whenever i install anything, i get "Error 1237. Invalid Drive D:\" This occured for all installers i've tried. Nappymonster Update: I've just been thinking, and testing, and it's only with .msi installers that it gives the error. an .exe one worked (i think). Last edited by nappymonster : 04-26-2008 at 02:54 AM.

04-26-2008, 07:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 6,904 OS: Xp	Re: Can't install anything! Error 1327. Invalid Drive D:\ Since this involves ubuntu, I am going to transfer you to the forum that handles this. __________________

04-26-2008, 11:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
shuuhen Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 723 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.4, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux	Re: Can't install anything! Error 1327. Invalid Drive D:\(from hardware) I don't use Windows much, so I don't know why it does some of the strange things it does, but a part of the problem here is quick to debug. The reason you have to have the external plugged in is because GRUB is installed on the MBR of the internal drive, but the external drive has the configuration file. You're right in assuming the reason you can't view the external in Windows because it's formatted as ext3. Microsoft's operating systems do not support non-Microsoft filesystems (at least I've never seen a Windows OS support them). If you need to share stuff between the two operating systems, you can use a partition formatted as FAT32. A possible solution if you don't want to always have the external connected is boot into Ubuntu and use grub-install to put GRUB on the external drive. Then you should be able to use the Windows recovery console (part of the Windows install disc from what I remember) to reinstall the Windows MBR code to the internal drive. Finally, make sure the BIOS has external drives above internal hard drives in the boot order. To install GRUB on the external drive, open a terminal (Terminal in Ubuntu, Konsole in Kubuntu) and type: Code: sudo grub-install --no-floppy /dev/drive where drive is something like sda or sdb (pick whichever one Ubuntu's installed on). If you need help identifying this post the contents of /etc/fstab and/or the result of fdisk -l. If you get an error about not finding fdisk, type sudo fdisk -l instead __________________ Has it been a few days since I replied to your thread? Don't panic! I'm a busy college student and may forget a post if I'm extra busy (or it might just take me a while to be able to do a decent reply). If you still need help and are awaiting my reply after a few days, PM me about it. When posting what errors you get, please give the full message. It makes helping you much easier.