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[Peder <peder.moller@xxxxxxxxx>]

I had the "no bootable disk" problem on Windows and Ubuntu after installing on my MacBook Pro, (Penryn) in the following order: OSX, Windows XP (using bootcamp), rEFIt, Ubuntu 8.04. When I synchronized the MBR with the rEFIt, Ubuntu started working but windows said that it couldn't find "<windows root>\system32\hal.dll"
I then reinstalled _everything_ (what a pain that OSX can't reformat FAT32 and Swap partitions made by Ubuntu, and that bootcamp can't run unless everything is one big OSX partition), but with rEFIt last with exactly the same result. Reading this thread, I guess this isn't surprising :(
And now I'm no longer baffled by the smoothness with which I installed 7.10 previously...
I hope some of you geniuses will find a neat workaround, but until then I'll try to find a messy one...

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MBR Partition Table is cleared during install
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/222126
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Support, which is the registrant for Mactel Support.

Status in Mactel Support: Confirmed
Status in “parted” source package in Ubuntu: Confirmed
Status in “ubiquity” source package in Ubuntu: New

Bug description:
Binary package hint: ubiquity

Ubuntu 8.04 Final

Intel Macs have an EFI system and a GPT. The installer seems to handle the GPT correctly (as it has in the past), but it has recently come up that the installer is completely emptying the contents of the MBR partition table which is still required to boot Windows and Ubuntu (GRUB relies on the MBR partition table). The two tables are not synced automatically.

When users install Hardy, they are suprised to find that the system is unbootable (the EFI loader cannot "see" the partition as bootable). a tool such as rEFIt or gptsync can copy the information in the GPT into the MBR table thus fixing the issue (for most). 

This is even more serious for users with other working OS installs in addition to Ubuntu (such as other linux distros and Windows) since it completely dumps the information needed to boot these installs as well.

The expected procedure (and how the previous Ubuntu install seems to have handled it) is to 'update' both the GPT and the MBR table with changes instead of completely losing the information stored there.

gparted / parted seemed to update both tables properly previously as well.

I will be doing a full install on my iMac later and will be able to add additional information.