I am pretty new to the whole Ubuntu thing. I wish I could answer your question, but I can't. Yet.
I started on Ubuntu and it's derivations based on two things: back on my September 5th posting I talked about all that.
Every computer I run Ubuntu on, grub is in the MBR. Even my dual boot systems, I use grub to choose between Linux and usually MS Windows as the other OS. On those systems, I install MS Windows first, then over-write it's boot loader with Linux's (grub or Lilo, depending on Distro, and which boot loader they like).
Running that way I have never seen the issue you mention. I know there are a ton of boot managers out there other than the one in Linux, but for my simple needs, I have never needed them.
From what you are saying though, it sounds like *any* grub based distro would have this problem, that this is not particular to Ubuntu.
If that is not true: If other grub based distros do not have the issue, then it sounds like a grub set-up/configuration issue that is particular to Ubuntu, but that should be fixable with some judicious work in /boot/grub/menu.lst. I just compared my office systems: Laptop running OpenSUSE 10.2, desktop running Ubuntu 6.10. It is hard to see based on that that OpenSUSE would not behave the same way as Ubuntu: nothing obvious, although OpenSUSE specifies more options on the kernel line.
I started on Ubuntu and it's derivations based on two things: back on my September 5th posting I talked about all that.
Every computer I run Ubuntu on, grub is in the MBR. Even my dual boot systems, I use grub to choose between Linux and usually MS Windows as the other OS. On those systems, I install MS Windows first, then over-write it's boot loader with Linux's (grub or Lilo, depending on Distro, and which boot loader they like).
Running that way I have never seen the issue you mention. I know there are a ton of boot managers out there other than the one in Linux, but for my simple needs, I have never needed them.
From what you are saying though, it sounds like *any* grub based distro would have this problem, that this is not particular to Ubuntu.
If that is not true: If other grub based distros do not have the issue, then it sounds like a grub set-up/configuration issue that is particular to Ubuntu, but that should be fixable with some judicious work in /boot/grub/menu.lst. I just compared my office systems: Laptop running OpenSUSE 10.2, desktop running Ubuntu 6.10. It is hard to see based on that that OpenSUSE would not behave the same way as Ubuntu: nothing obvious, although OpenSUSE specifies more options on the kernel line.