grub-install says can't identify filesystem; won't install

["Dan B." <danb@kempt.net>]

When I run "grub-install /dev/sdb1", it says:

  /usr/sbin/grub-setup: error: unable to identify a filesystem in hd1,gpt1; safety check can't be performed.

and does not install GRUB2.  (It's still the same if I use the syntax
("grub-install (hd1,gpt1)".)


This is on a disk tht has a GPT partition table, and whose first partition
has the "bios_grub" flag.  Also, this is a new disk--that partition is
still full of zeroes.

Also, grub-install spits out about 33 instances of this message:

  error: superfluous RAID member (2 found).


Does anybody recognize those symptoms or my error?


I wouldn't think GRUB2 would insist on finding a file system on the
device on which in installs its low-level boot code.

That makes me wonder if I'm not using the right GRUB2 command or not
quite catching what the error message is trying to tell me.


I already have GRUB2 installed on (hd0,gpt1), but that was accomplished
in the Debian installer (Squeeze), not via the command line.

However, I tested running grub-install as above on a second disk
earlier (before adding a new disk as /dev/sdb), and didn't have this
problem.  Unfortunately, I can't yet tell what's different now.



Thanks,
Daniel