Comment 116 for bug 441941

I see a variety of hardware listed here and a few mentions of Dell Vostros. I'm using a Vostro 1520 dualbooting Win7/Ub 9.10 and was experiencing this MBR problem as well as some erratic behavior in Windows 7 (intermittent keyboard and mouse drivers not loading, display drivers not loading, the same problems I had with Ubuntu 9.04).

During the course of troubleshooting my Windows issues I updated the BIOS from A03 to A07. Ever since then both my Windows issues have been resolved and the MBR is no longer getting hosed every few boots.

So for those still having this problem, check your manufacturer's website for any applicable updates...you may be barking up the wrong tree.