Install GRUB on NTFS

Solution 1:

I am using grub4dos to dual boot XP and XP64. Both systems are on NTFS filesystems.

Setup was simple: I copied the grub4dos folder onto my NTFS file system. Renamed the windows boot loader "ntldr" out of the way and copied the grub4dos boot loader "grldr" to "ntldr". That way I am still using a microsoft standard MBR which makes my corporate required virus scanner happy.

This method also keeps my partitions independent. I can dump a partition off to an external drive and load a different operating system in it's place. I keep Vista32, XP32, Vista64 and XP64 images on my external drive. In about 1.5 hrs I can load any one of those images onto either of my two laptop partitions and be ready to go without fussing with boot configurations.

Edit: One more tip. When you do a windows install set the hidden bit on all partitions except the one on which you are installing windows. The window installer will replace the boot sequence on the bootable partition and you loose partition independence.

Solution 2:

No, stable grub does not support booting from NTFS at the moment.

You would need a small FAT partition to use GRUB. Alternatively, consider using the native bootloader or another third-party loader.

That being said, support is being worked on for (currently alpha) grub2.