Linux Mint Forums

by **dpitch40** on Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:41 pm

I installed Linux Mint 14 on my laptop today. The whole installation process seemed to work fine, but now when I try to boot I get a black screen with the prompt

error; file not found.
Grub rescue>

Previously, my HDD had three main partitions: one for Windows 7, one shared one for data (both NTFS), and one ext4 partition for Ubuntu. I wiped the Ubuntu partition and installed Linux Mint on it. My BIOS was set to boot to this partition with GRUB so I could either let it continue to Linux or select to boot to Windows. So I'm guessing that some part or dependency of GRUB got erased when I formatted the ext4 partition, and GRUB now needs to be reconfigured with Linux Mint. I can still boot with the Live USB drive I used to install Linux Mint, so I should be able to use that to fix the problem. What do I do?

EDIT: I also appear to be able to access most of the files on my Linux Mint partition when booting from the USB stick.

by **srs5694** on Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:48 pm

Please download the Boot Info Script and run it from a Linux emergency system. Post the RESULTS.txt file that the script produces, either between code tags or as a link. That will provide debugging information that's vital for figuring out what's wrong.

by **dpitch40** on Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:04 pm

Code: Select all: Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012] ============================= Boot Info Summary: =============================== => Grub2 (v1.97-1.98) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 1 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks in partition 6 for (,msdos6)/boot/grub. => Syslinux MBR (3.61-4.03) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb. sda1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD sda2: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Windows 7 Boot files: /Windows/System32/winload.exe sda3: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Boot files: sda4: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: Extended Partition Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: sda5: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: swap Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: sda6: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ext4 Boot sector type: Grub2 (v1.99) Boot sector info: Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the boot sector of sda6 and looks at sector 1258242408 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks in partition 72 for . Operating System: Linux Mint 14 Nadia Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: vfat Boot sector type: SYSLINUX 4.03 2010-10-22 Boot sector info: Syslinux looks at sector 393448 of /dev/sdb1 for its second stage. SYSLINUX is installed in the / directory. According to the info in the boot sector, sdb1 starts at sector 0. But according to the info from fdisk, sdb1 starts at sector 62. Operating System: Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /syslinux.cfg /efi/BOOT/grubx64.efi /ldlinux.sys ============================ Drive/Partition Info: ============================= Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________ Disk /dev/sda: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System /dev/sda1 * 2,048 206,847 204,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS /dev/sda2 206,848 488,357,887 488,151,040 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS /dev/sda3 488,357,888 1,074,386,943 586,029,056 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS /dev/sda4 1,074,388,990 1,465,147,391 390,758,402 5 Extended /dev/sda5 1,074,388,992 1,097,824,255 23,435,264 82 Linux swap / Solaris /dev/sda6 1,097,826,304 1,465,147,391 367,321,088 83 Linux Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________ Disk /dev/sdb: 2002 MB, 2002747392 bytes 62 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1017 cylinders, total 3911616 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System /dev/sdb1 * 62 3,909,347 3,909,286 c W95 FAT32 (LBA) "blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________ Device UUID TYPE LABEL /dev/loop0 squashfs /dev/sda1 E84A83CF4A8398C8 ntfs System Reserved /dev/sda2 5EDCFDE2DCFDB3FD ntfs /dev/sda3 F248D7E148D7A2A1 ntfs /dev/sda5 26632d70-9032-48cf-aab5-b3dc74664d7c swap /dev/sda6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa ext4 /dev/sdb1 02AE-3E5D vfat ================================ Mount points: ================================= Device Mount_Point Type Options /dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime) /dev/sda6 /media/mint/45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks2) /dev/sdb1 /cdrom vfat (ro,noatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro) =========================== sda6/boot/grub/grub.cfg: =========================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # # DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE # # It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates # from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub # ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ### if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then set have_grubenv=true load_env fi set default="0" if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then menuentry_id_option="--id" else menuentry_id_option="" fi export menuentry_id_option if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}" save_env saved_entry set prev_saved_entry= save_env prev_saved_entry set boot_once=true fi function savedefault { if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then saved_entry="${chosen}" save_env saved_entry fi } function recordfail { set recordfail=1 if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi } function load_video { if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then insmod all_video else insmod efi_gop insmod efi_uga insmod ieee1275_fb insmod vbe insmod vga insmod video_bochs insmod video_cirrus fi } if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then font=unicode else insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='hd0,msdos6' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos6 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos6 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa fi font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2" fi if loadfont $font ; then set gfxmode=auto load_video insmod gfxterm set locale_dir=$prefix/locale set lang=en_US insmod gettext fi terminal_output gfxterm if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then set timeout=-1 else set timeout=10 fi ### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ### set menu_color_normal=white/black set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray ### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ### set menu_color_normal=white/black set menu_color_highlight=white/light-gray ### END /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ### function gfxmode { set gfxpayload="$1" if [ "$1" = "keep" ]; then set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7 else set vt_handoff= fi } if [ ${recordfail} != 1 ]; then if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then set linux_gfx_mode=keep else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi else set linux_gfx_mode=keep fi else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi export linux_gfx_mode if [ "$linux_gfx_mode" != "text" ]; then load_video; fi menuentry 'Linux Mint 14 MATE 64-bit, 3.5.0-17-generic (/dev/sda6)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { recordfail gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode insmod gzio insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='hd0,msdos6' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos6 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos6 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa fi linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa ro quiet splash $vt_handoff initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic } menuentry 'Linux Mint 14 MATE 64-bit, 3.5.0-17-generic (/dev/sda6) -- recovery mode' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { recordfail insmod gzio insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='hd0,msdos6' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos6 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos6 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa fi echo 'Loading Linux 3.5.0-17-generic ...' linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa ro recovery nomodeset echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...' initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic } ### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ### ### END /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ### ### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ### menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" { insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='hd0,msdos6' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos6 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos6 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa fi linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin } menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" { insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='hd0,msdos6' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos6 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos6 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos6 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa fi linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8 } ### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ### menuentry 'Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-E84A83CF4A8398C8' { insmod part_msdos insmod ntfs set root='hd0,msdos1' if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 E84A83CF4A8398C8 else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root E84A83CF4A8398C8 fi chainloader +1 } ### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ### ### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ### # This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the # menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change # the 'exec tail' line above. ### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ### if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then source $prefix/custom.cfg; fi ### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ### -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================== sda6/etc/fstab: ================================ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0 # / was on /dev/sda6 during installation UUID=45ff03d0-5f86-4542-a801-149f9508a7aa / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation UUID=26632d70-9032-48cf-aab5-b3dc74664d7c none swap sw 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =================== sda6: Location of files loaded by Grub: ==================== GiB - GB File Fragment(s) 613.630958557 = 658.881224704 boot/grub/grub.cfg 1 569.936050415 = 611.964174336 boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic 2 679.618125916 = 729.734406144 boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic 1 569.936050415 = 611.964174336 initrd.img 2 ?? = ?? initrd.img.old 1 679.618125916 = 729.734406144 vmlinuz 1 =========================== sdb1/boot/grub/grub.cfg: =========================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- if loadfont /boot/grub/font.pf2 ; then set gfxmode=auto insmod efi_gop insmod efi_uga insmod gfxterm terminal_output gfxterm fi set menu_color_normal=white/black set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray menuentry "Start Linux Mint" { set gfxpayload=keep linux /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper iso-scan/filename=${iso_path} quiet splash -- initrd /casper/initrd.lz } menuentry "Start Linux Mint (compatibility mode)" { linux /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper xforcevesa iso-scan/filename=${iso_path} ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw noapic noapci nosplash irqpoll -- initrd /casper/initrd.lz } menuentry "Check the integrity of the medium" { linux /casper/vmlinuz boot=casper integrity-check iso-scan/filename=${iso_path} quiet splash -- initrd /casper/initrd.lz } menuentry "Test memory" { linux16 /install/mt86plus } -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================== sdb1/syslinux.cfg: ============================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- default menu.c32 prompt 0 menu title UNetbootin timeout 100 label unetbootindefault menu label Default kernel /ubnkern append initrd=/ubninit file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash -- label ubnentry0 menu label Start Linux Mint kernel /casper/vmlinuz append initrd=/casper/initrd.lz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash -- label ubnentry1 menu label Start in compatibility mode kernel /casper/vmlinuz append initrd=/casper/initrd.lz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper xforcevesa nomodeset b43.blacklist=yes ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw noapic noapci nosplash irqpoll -- label ubnentry2 menu label Integrity check kernel /casper/vmlinuz append initrd=/casper/initrd.lz boot=casper integrity-check quiet splash -- label ubnentry3 menu label Memory test kernel /isolinux/memtest append initrd=/ubninit label ubnentry4 menu label Boot from local drive kernel /ubnkern append initrd=/ubninit label ubnentry5 menu label Start Linux Mint (compatibility mode) kernel /casper/vmlinuz append initrd=/casper/initrd.lz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper xforcevesa iso-scan/filename=${iso_path} ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw noapic noapci nosplash irqpoll -- label ubnentry6 menu label Check the integrity of the medium kernel /casper/vmlinuz append initrd=/casper/initrd.lz boot=casper integrity-check iso-scan/filename=${iso_path} quiet splash -- label ubnentry7 menu label Test memory kernel /ubnkern append initrd=/ubninit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =================== sdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ==================== GiB - GB File Fragment(s) ?? = ?? boot/grub/grub.cfg 1 ================= sdb1: Location of files loaded by Syslinux: ================== GiB - GB File Fragment(s) ?? = ?? ldlinux.sys 1 ?? = ?? menu.c32 1 ?? = ?? syslinux.cfg 1 ?? = ?? syslinux/vesamenu.c32 1 ============== sdb1: Version of COM32(R) files used by Syslinux: =============== menu.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx) syslinux/vesamenu.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx) ========= Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive: ========= sdc =============================== StdErr Messages: =============================== FIBMAP: Invalid argument No volume groups found

I installed Linux Mint to sda6. Note: the second to last line (FIBMAP: Invalid argument) repeats thousands of times, I left all but one out for simplicity.

by **srs5694** on Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:12 am

I think these are the critical entries:

Code: Select all: ============================= Boot Info Summary: =============================== => Grub2 (v1.97-1.98) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 1 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks in partition 6 for (,msdos6)/boot/grub.

This indicates that GRUB 1.97 or 1.98 is installed in the MBR of the disk. This version of GRUB will execute. It appears to be intact and it looks for its support files in /dev/sda6's /boot/grub directory. By itself, this seems OK; but....

Code: Select all: sda6: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ext4 Boot sector type: Grub2 (v1.99) Boot sector info: Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the boot sector of sda6 and looks at sector 1258242408 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks in partition 72 for . Operating System: Linux Mint 14 Nadia Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab

Another version of GRUB (1.99) is installed in the boot sector of /dev/sda6. Since 1.99 > 1.98, my hunch is that your Ubuntu installation put GRUB 1.97 or 1.98 in the MBR; then when you installed Mint, it put its newer GRUB in /dev/sda6, leaving the MBR-resident GRUB code "orphaned" and unable to work correctly because it's relying on support files that no longer exist -- they've been replaced with newer incompatible support files.

The solution to this problem is to re-install GRUB in the MBR of /dev/sda. There are a number of ways to do this. The one that I find easiest to explain is:

Download the Super GRUB2 Disk and burn it to a CD. (I think it'll also work on a USB flash drive, but I'm not positive of that.)
Boot the Super GRUB2 Disk and play with its menu until you find an option that gets Mint to boot. (There are several options, and you may need to try several. IIRC, "Detect any GRUB2 configuration file" usually works for me.)
Once in Mint, open a shell and type "sudo grub-install /dev/sda".
Remove the Super GRUB2 Disk and reboot to test.

With any luck it should work at this point. If not, try again, but also do a "sudo update-grub" instead of "sudo grub-install /dev/sda". If that works, try Googling on "re-install GRUB" for alternative methods of doing the job.

by **dpitch40** on Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:34 am

srs5694 wrote:Another version of GRUB (1.99) is installed in the boot sector of /dev/sda6. Since 1.99 > 1.98, my hunch is that your Ubuntu installation put GRUB 1.97 or 1.98 in the MBR; then when you installed Mint, it put its newer GRUB in /dev/sda6, leaving the MBR-resident GRUB code "orphaned" and unable to work correctly because it's relying on support files that no longer exist -- they've been replaced with newer incompatible support files.

I thought it was something like this. I will try Super GRUB2 as soon as possible; thanks. Out of curiosity, is there anything I could have done before installing Linux Mint to prevent this from happening?

by **srs5694** on Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:42 pm

dpitch40 wrote:I thought it was something like this. I will try Super GRUB2 as soon as possible; thanks. Out of curiosity, is there anything I could have done before installing Linux Mint to prevent this from happening?

Probably not before, but possibly during. There should be an option in the installation that enables you to specify where GRUB is installed -- in the MBR (/dev/sda) vs. in the Mint boot partition (/dev/sda6, in your case). Selecting the former rather than the latter would have avoided the problem. That said, I don't know offhand if Mint's installer actually presents such an option. Some distributions have attempted to make installers more "user-friendly" by eliminating such "confusing" options and instead relying on algorithms to try to figure out the best approach to take. Unfortunately, such algorithms invariably fail in some cases, leading to more problems for at least some users.

by **dpitch40** on Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:03 pm

Anyway, your solution worked like a charm. Thank you very much.

Linux Mint Forums

Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Re: Installed Linux Mint 14, GRUB Broken

Who is online