Corrupt Bootloader? (Please Read)

[JaredWard]

[SOLVED] Corrupt Bootloader?

Hey guys... I have no idea how this happened but here is a brief description of what went down. I tried to install a version of Linux on one of my HD's (not on my SSD which I use as my main drive which has ML) and for some reason the install went haywire & screwed up the bootloader on my main drive. Of course I deleted the partition with the corrupt install of Linux & I tried to repair permissions and re-install Chimera on my SSD but nothing would seem to work. Needless to say I'm confused because I can boot into my SSD through my backup of Mountain Lion. Here is a picture...

^It just hangs there. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[JaredWard]

Bump. Any thoughts? I'm hoping it's something simple but I've never experienced this problem before.

 

[ghorwith]

Bump. Any thoughts? I'm hoping it's something simple but I've never experienced this problem before.

Are you certain the SSD is still the first internal drive in the boot sequence? You might also try the standalone Chimera installer.

 

[JaredWard]

Yeah... it's still the first & I tried the standalone + MB Lion Edition & Mountain Lion Edition.

 

[ghorwith]

Ordinarily, as you know, you should be able to overwrite the bootloader by a simple installation. Obviously, this isn't working for you, which suggests there may be problems with the partition (not out of the question since you were playing with linux too). You could just delete the hidden bootloader files, and manually replace them with Chimera, but my suggestion is to make a clone of the SSD (generally CCC doesn't clone the boot sector, but you could exclude it manually if you wish), rerun Chimera and recover the SSD clone.

 

[JaredWard]

Where are the hidden boot files exactly? I'll probably take your advice but I'm just curious.

 

[JaredWard]

I tried the Boot0 solution but that did nothing. Here is what it's saying now under "H"... (after that it just repeats the process of trying to boot)

I backed up my SSD like you said & tried to clone it back but apparently Carbon Copy must have copied the boot sector because I still have the problem. Can you tell me what to uncheck or exclude? I have no idea where the boot sector is.

 

[cnaught]

Have you tried booting off a live Linux USB/CD and running something like gparted it inspect the partition / boot area?

 

[JaredWard]

I haven't. The disc I tried was my cousin's (BackTrack) and I had no idea this would happen. I don't have much experience with Linux either but the fact that it screwed up the bootloader on my main drive makes no sense because I tried to install it on a separate HD.

 

[JaredWard]

UPDATE: So... I finally got my backup working. What I did this time is I erased my main drive completely & then used Carbon Copy to restore my backup + installed Chimera. I guess CC doesn't clone your boot sector after all. Thanks again for the help ghorwith!

PS: NEVER install on Linux on your Hackintosh unless you're super experienced with it.