Mac Mini. No boot without USB.

[obi-hun-kenobi]

I have two Linux Mint computers, One that works very well and it is a Gateway Netbook that I have wiped windows off of. And a Mac Mini that I have recently installed Nadia on. On my Mac Mini 2006, I booted the USB through rEFIt and decided to wipe Mac OS X completely. (I have an Intel Solo chipset and cannot install Mountain Lion so I decided to abandon OS X altogether because of my experience with Mint on my Netbook.) Now my current issue is when I boot up my Mac with the USB in, it works perfectly fine, Linux Mint is installed, and can download programs through the software manager. Without the USB inserted I get a gray screen with a folder with question mark in it. Now I have tried what other forums have suggested and Installing Grub on my sda1, but still no boot without usb. I also have tried through Terminal installing boot-repair via Ubuntu Servers and when the download completes in Terminal it cannot locate the file. I want to be able to boot my Mac with Linux Mint without the USB in.

Any Suggestions ?

[srs5694]

Please run the Boot Info Script and post the RESULTS.txt file that it creates, either between code tags or as a link.

[obi-hun-kenobi]

Code: Select all

  Boot Info Script 0.61      [1 April 2012]


============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================

 => Grub Legacy0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 
    105134180 of the same hard drive for the stage2 file.  A stage2 file is at 
    this location on /dev/sda.  Stage2 looks on partition #2 for 
    /boot/grub/menu.lst..
 => Grub Legacy (v0.97) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on boot 
    drive #1 in partition #2 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       BIOS Boot partition
    Boot sector type:  Grub2's core.img
    Boot sector info: 

sda2: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System:  Linux Mint 14 Nadia
    Boot files:        /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab

sda3: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       swap
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 

sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       iso9660
    Boot sector type:  Grub Legacy
    Boot sector info:  Grub Legacy (v0.97) is installed in the boot sector 
                       of sdb1 and looks at sector 1 on boot drive #2 for the 
                       stage2 file.  A stage2 file is at this location on 
                       /dev/sdb.  Stage2 looks on the same partition for 
                       /boot/grub/stage2.
    Operating System:  
    Boot files:        

============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 60.0 GB, 60011642880 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7296 cylinders, total 117210240 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/sda1                   1         1,987         1,987  ee GPT
/dev/sda2    *          1,988   115,177,769   115,175,782  83 Linux
/dev/sda3         115,177,770   117,210,206     2,032,437  82 Linux swap / Solaris


GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition    Start Sector    End Sector  # of Sectors System
/dev/sda1              34         1,987         1,954 BIOS Boot partition
/dev/sda2           1,988   115,177,769   115,175,782 Data partition (Windows/Linux)
/dev/sda3     115,177,770   117,210,206     2,032,437 Swap partition (Linux)

Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sdb: 2064 MB, 2064646144 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1969 cylinders, total 4032512 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    *              0     1,800,191     1,800,192  17 Hidden NTFS / HPFS


"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________

Device           UUID                                   TYPE       LABEL

/dev/sda2        6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b   ext4       
/dev/sda3        e9918950-01e3-4c66-bcbd-d46829d38095   swap       
/dev/sdb1                                               iso9660    Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon 32-bit

================================ Mount points: =================================

Device           Mount_Point              Type       Options

/dev/sda2        /                        ext4       (rw,errors=remount-ro)


=========================== sda2/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
#            grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-legacy-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default		0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout		3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title		Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root		(hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader	+1
#
# title		Linux
# root		(hd0,1)
# kernel	/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
##      alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
##      lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
##      lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
##      altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
##      howmany=7
# howmany=all

## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
##      indomU=true
##      indomU=false
# indomU=detect

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
##      memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title		Linux Mint 14 Nadia, kernel 3.5.0-17-generic
uuid		6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
kernel		/boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b ro quiet splash 
initrd		/boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
quiet

title		Linux Mint 14 Nadia, kernel 3.5.0-17-generic (recovery mode)
uuid		6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
kernel		/boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b ro  single
initrd		/boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic

title		Linux Mint 14 Nadia, memtest86+
uuid		6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
kernel		/boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=========================== sda2/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$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
   font=unicode
else
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
else
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
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 Cinnamon 32-bit, 3.5.0-17-generic (/dev/sda2)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
	insmod gzio
	insmod part_gpt
	insmod ext2
	set root='hd0,gpt2'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	fi
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b ro   quiet splash $vt_handoff
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
}
menuentry 'Linux Mint 14 Cinnamon 32-bit, 3.5.0-17-generic (/dev/sda2) -- recovery mode' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod gzio
	insmod part_gpt
	insmod ext2
	set root='hd0,gpt2'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	fi
	echo	'Loading Linux 3.5.0-17-generic ...'
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic root=UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b 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_gpt
	insmod ext2
	set root='hd0,gpt2'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	fi
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
	insmod part_gpt
	insmod ext2
	set root='hd0,gpt2'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b
	fi
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ "x${timeout}" != "x-1" ]; then
  if keystatus; then
    if keystatus --shift; then
      set timeout=-1
    else
      set timeout=0
    fi
  else
    if sleep --interruptible 3 ; then
      set timeout=0
    fi
  fi
fi
### 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 ###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=============================== sda2/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/sda2 during installation
UUID=6b0bc40e-95e6-4e93-afbb-2f01cd4d8c6b /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=e9918950-01e3-4c66-bcbd-d46829d38095 none            swap    sw              0       0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sda2: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)

  48.207975388 = 51.762919424   boot/grub/grub.cfg                             1
  48.210611343 = 51.765749760   boot/grub/menu.lst                             1
  50.132024765 = 53.828851712   boot/grub/stage2                               1
  46.305635452 = 49.720297472   boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic               2
   0.793851852 = 0.852391936    boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic                  2
  46.305635452 = 49.720297472   initrd.img                                     2
  46.305635452 = 49.720297472   initrd.img.old                                 2
   0.793851852 = 0.852391936    vmlinuz                                        2

========= Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive: =========

sdc 

here is what i got. thanks for your help.

[srs5694]

Some critical points about your installation:

• You've got a hybrid MBR setup, which is dangerous and unnecessary. It's probably best to go with either a pure-MBR setup and a BIOS-mode boot of Linux or a pure-GPT setup and an EFI-mode boot of Linux. Either approach is possible, but you'll need to use GPT fdisk (gdisk) to change your partition table. I'm not sure which approach would be less likely to create boot problems.
• You've got evidence of both GRUB Legacy and GRUB 2 installations on your hard disk, but GRUB Legacy is installed in the MBR. This is unusual for recent versions of Mint, since Mint has used GRUB 2 for a long time. OTOH, the GRUB Legacy setup does include references to Mint 14, so it looks valid and should theoretically work.
• Your USB flash drive also has a GRUB Legacy installation.

Chances are that your flashing question mark at boot time is because the firmware is looking for an EFI boot loader but not finding one. I'm a little unsure of precisely what the Mac firmware will use and under what circumstances, but my suspicion is that you'll be able to get it working in either of two ways:

• BIOS/MBR -- Convert the disk to a pure-MBR setup with gdisk (type "r" followed by "g", then type "w" to save the changes). If you're lucky, it will then start working, or at least launch GRUB, since the Boot Info Script output suggests it should work.
• EFI/GPT -- This one's trickier. You'd need to convert the disk to a pure-GPT setup by creating a new protective MBR and convert /dev/sda1 to an EFI System Partition (type "t" followed by "1" and "EF00" in gdisk; then type "x" followed by "n"; then type "w" to save your changes). You'll then need to create a FAT32 filesystem on /dev/sda1 by typing "sudo mkdosfs /dev/sda1". Then you'll need to install an EFI boot loader on the ESP. The easiest way to do this is probably to mount it at /boot/efi (you may need to create a mount point), download the binary zip file of my rEFInd, and run the install.sh script. With any luck, you'll then see rEFInd when you reboot, and it should launch Mint.

I can make no guarantee that either method will work, and in fact there's a risk that either one could make matters worse. Given the relative complexity and nature of changes for each approach, it's probably best to try the BIOS/MBR method first and try the EFI/GPT method only if the BIOS/MBR approach doesn't work. (The EFI/GPT procedure has an equal chance of working if done after the BIOS/MBR method is attempted.)

[obi-hun-kenobi]

So I installed gdisk in the terminal, ran it did sudo gdisk /dev/sda, did the r, g, w order and that reset the MBR partition I think.
Now even when the USB is in the computer, I still get the flashing folder with the question mark in it. Should I just start from square one and reinstall Linux Mint and if so, how would I go about doing that ? And what would be your preferred installation settings so I dont run into this problem again.

[srs5694]

My apologies; I forgot one key item in my description: You must mark one of the partitions as bootable. You can do this with fdisk and its "a" option. It doesn't really matter which partition you mount as bootable, but one of them must be. You should be able to do this from a Linux emergency system, including the Mint installer.

If that doesn't work, you can try my second suggested remedy or re-install from scratch, whichever you prefer.

[obi-hun-kenobi]

So I've been doing some research and apparently I've acquired the gray screen of doom on macs, when I press the alt button with a USB drive with Linux Mint 14 cinnamon iso on it I get no response from the mac. I think my computer is shot. Should I try and install rEFIt with a USB ?