GRUB install error

Question

Whenever I try to install Ubuntu, I get a fatal error that reads:

Executing'grub-install /dev/sda' failed. This is a fatal error.

Its the same as this, but my graphics appear to be running fine.

Also, I'm a complete novice at this and really need simple instructions to understand what I'm doing. I've tried booting from a LiveCD and a USB stick. I don't want to dual boot it because its an old computer that I erased XP and plan on only using Linux on it. When I used a USB stick and set the persistent file storage high, I was able to run it, but only as long as the flash drive was plugged in.

Solution

Please follow this guide https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/Installing#ChRoot . While you will likely still get an error when you get to the grub-install command, at least you'll be able to see (and post here) the exact error message to determine what is going wrong.