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I dded the hard drive with zeros as a simple way to clear out the sensitive data (yes, I'm aware there are better ways, but it was fast and easy). I am now attempting to install Ubuntu Server 12.04, but I run into an issue when I get to installing GRUB.

I issue grub-install /dev/sda and get a fatal error back.

My question is, are the two things related or "happy" coincidences?

If the two are related, is there a good way to solve the issue?

Dan
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  • Filling a hard drive with zeros is enough, by the way. See [zero fill vs random fill](http://superuser.com/a/522765). – Dennis Mar 31 '13 at 04:41

1 Answers1

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The command

grub-install /dev/sda

attempts to install GRUB in the Master Boot Record (MBR) of /dev/sda.

The problem is: A freshly zeroed hard drive doesn't have an MBR!

To create an MS-DOS partition table / MBR, use the following command:

parted /dev/sda mklabel msdos
Dennis
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