Caution: Installing GRUB's stage1 in this manner will erase the normal BootSector (the first sector of a partition) used by an OS.
GRUB can currently boot GNU Mach, Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD directly, so using it on a boot sector should be okay. But generally, it would be a good idea to back up the first sector of the partition on which you are installing GRUB's stage1. This isn't as important if you are installing GRUB on the first sector of a hard disk, since it's easy to reinitialize it (e.g. by running `FDISK /MBR' from DOS).
If you decide to install GRUB in the native environment, which is definitely desirable, you'll need to create a GRUB boot disk (i.e. a GrubBootFloppy), and reboot your computer with it. Otherwise, see Installing GRUB using grub-install.
Once started, GRUB will show the command-line interface (see Command-line interface). First, set the GRUB's RootDevice (note that GRUB's root device doesn't necessarily mean your OS's root partition; if you need to specify a root partition for your OS, add the argument into the command kernel) to the partition containing the boot directory, like this:
grub> root (hd0,0)
If you are not sure which partition actually holds this directory, use the command find (see find), like this:
grub> find /boot/grub/stage1
This will search for the file name /boot/grub/stage1 and show the devices which contain the file.
Once you've set the root device correctly, run the command setup :
grub> setup (hd0)
This command will install the GRUB boot loader on the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the first drive. If you want to put GRUB into the boot sector of a partition instead of putting it in the MBR, specify the partition into which you want to install GRUB:
grub> setup (hd0,0)
If you install GRUB into a partition or a drive other than the first one, you must chain-load GRUB from another boot loader.
After using the setup command, you will boot into GRUB without the GRUB floppy.