Grub Read Error? 3 times now

[symon1980]

Hi fellow mint users
im a bit annoyed at the moment. i never had this problem before
but eversince i changed to the kde version of mint, everything is fine for about a week
then one day my computer won't boot, and says Grub Read Error.
i have fixed it a couple of times by reinstalling grub, then a couple days later, same problem.
i have reinstalled mint kde 3 times in the last couple of weeks, and even bought a new hard drive,
everything seemed fine for a few days again, then kaput..... Grub Read Error....
What the hell???

[Husse]

Does not ring a bell I'm afraid - or rather luckily
Exactly what error do you get?
Read error and then an error number I would think
This could be
A bad DVD - yes even if you manage to install and run there may be some error. Not likely but possible
Check the md5sum and if possible verify the DVD
A failing disk controller - not all that unlikely given that it happens on a new disk as well - not quite easy to check. If you have the possibility to use the hard disk in another computer for some time, do that.
Some program that corrupts grub - but I've never heard of it

[symon1980]

its weird. when i get that grub read error, i reboot, and it won't even boot a live cd. lol, i have tried booting fedora, ubuntu, kubuntu, opensuse...etc.
and it refuses to boot. lol
then after an hour or so, iw will let me boot a cd or get back into my installation on my hard drive.....
i've just changed all my cables around, blown out dust from my case, tried other ports etc, and its working at the moment....
im hoping it was something simple, like my sata power cable, but im waiting to see if anything goes wrong again...
if it does, i'll install a different distro, just to see if i get the same error, if so... then i know i got a hardware problem somewhere :s

i guess it could be anything from my power supply, mobo, or even ram:s
but we'll see.... i'll keep posted

symon.

[symon1980]

oh, my other and unlikely guess, would be maybe a boot sector virus from a program i have... (doubt it)
or yes, it could be a program corrupting grub... dunno, doubt it, but possible....
wouldn't explain why i can't boot live cd's half the time though...
hmmm.
ahwell.

[Husse]

I see hardware failure - sorry
Nothing works and you leave it turned off for maybe an hour - and it works
Sounds like a self healing capacitor to me - but where?

[McLovin]

Out of curiosity, what kind of computer is it? And what Bios does it use? MS seems to be making some backdoor deals with hardware manufacturers to lock into Windows in Bios, (the only one I've actually heard about is Toshiba, but this is MS we're talking about here)

[Husse]

to lock into Windows in Bios

How would that be made?
The BIOS checks and if it's not Windows does not boot?
Can't really see how.... but it would be very Micros$ftish...

[McLovin]

Not sure how they do it, but somehow MS struck a deal with Toshiba to force the bios on their laptops to check for windows, and only boot windows, i saw a couple of forum posts, I think on the Ubuntu forums, a guy that had a Satellite that every few boots would rewrite the MBR to the default Windows. I have ni idea how they do it, but they do. But then again alot of companies lock the bios so you can't change alot of the settings.

[Fred]

I am with Husse here. Most likely a hardware problem. Either a bad capacitor or heat related chip failure. Make sure your fans, heat sinks,and filters are clean and fans functional.

Fred

[Husse]

Hi Fred
How could I forget heat ....
Maybe because we got lots of snow after one of the warmest winters ever

[nick]

Hi

While I agree it is probably a hardware failure, Toshiba do play dirty.

"Toshiba laptop phoenix BIOS locks down end user to Windows Vista

This BIOS is ONLY for use with Windows Vista. Please do not install this BIOS for use with Windows XP, or other Windows versions. "

Don't buy Toshiba

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions ... ost2705017

Nick

[symon1980]

Im running a pc that i built myself, its Amd Dual core athlon 64 2.01 ghz, 1gig ddr2ram, blah blah.
I think the problem was my sata power cable, because so far, since i changed it over, everything runs fine
but im still waiting to see if anything does go wrong in the next week or so.... i'll keep you posted:)

[symon1980]

well friends... i can say with certanty, that the problem i had, was indeed to do with
my sata power cable being faulty. This would explain why my system would freeze half the time.... due to not
enough power getting through to the hard drive, and would also explain why after tinkering inside my computer case, things would be
normal again for a little while, then turn to crap again after... (must of bumped the power cable while fiddling inside)
bit like my moblile phone charger, lol... to get it to work i have to fiddle with the wire and get it in the right position to charge my phone, lol. im too
lazy to get another one :d

ahwell, anyways... im glad it was something so simple and didn't have to fork out cash to buy new hardware bit by bit until i discovered the problem.
Everything has been working perfectly since
thanx for the input anyways guys
symon

[McLovin]

well friends... i can say with certanty, that the problem i had, was indeed to do with
my sata power cable being faulty.

Ohhh, that'll do it