Error with grub while updating SLES 10 FCS to SLES 10 SP 1

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 1

Situation

ERROR: grub> install --stage2=/boot/grub/stage2 (hd0,0)/grub/stage1
ERROR: Error 5: Partition table invalid or corrupt
ERROR: An error occurred during boot loader installation.

While the server would still boot fine, grub's graphical splash screen was missing. A text-based grub menu was presented instead.

Resolution

Edit the /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Make sure that the"gfxmenu" line is pointed to the correct device. In this case, the failure was occuring because it looked as follows:
gfxmenu (/dev/md1, 0) /message

In this situation the menu.lst is pointed to a software mirrored device, which the BIOS cannot recognize during bootup. It needs to be changed to the physical device to be recognized properly during bootup.

The following changed fixed the issue (which was only cosmetic in nature):
gfxmenu (hd0,0) /message

NOTE: This location/device may vary from server to server.

Disclaimer

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