Cannot boot into Linux Mint 18.1 64 bit in a dual boot system with windows 10.

[Jim river]

It boots into shell with dos message
"no caching mode page found
assuming drive cache write through
Ubuntu built-in shell
enter help for list of built-in commands"

I tried setting removable device as first boot priority and booting into a boot able stick and get the same message.

[michael louwe]

@ Jim river

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Try checking the functionality of the Removable device and the BIOS settings.

What is your computer brand and model.? Or try to post the Terminal output for inxi -Fxz and sudo parted -l.

If you can boot into a Live LM 18.1 USB/DVD, try reinstalling grub.efi ... https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/6

[Jim river]

jim@mars ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System: Host: mars Kernel: 4.4.0-53-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.2.7 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.1)
Distro: Linux Mint 18.1 Serena
Machine: Mobo: Gateway model: DX4375
Bios: American Megatrends v: P11-A3 date: 06/27/2013
CPU: Quad core AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics (-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 15969
clock speeds: max: 2000 MHz 1: 2000 MHz 2: 800 MHz 3: 800 MHz
4: 1000 MHz
Graphics: Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Kabini [Radeon HD 8400 / R3 Series]
bus-ID: 00:01.0
Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
Resolution: 1280x1024@60.02hz
GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD KABINI (DRM 2.43.0, LLVM 3.8.0)
GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 11.2.0 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio: Card-1 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] FCH Azalia Controller
driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2
Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Kabini HDMI/DP Audio
driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:01.1
Card-3 Microsoft LifeCam Cinema driver: USB Audio usb-ID: 002-002
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-53-generic
Network: Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e000 bus-ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 1000.2GB (11.4% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST1000DM003 size: 1000.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 276G used: 104G (40%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7
ID-2: swap-1 size: 3.69GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda8
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 37.8C mobo: N/A gpu: 37.0
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 197 Uptime: 1:24 Memory: 1495.2/3381.1MB
Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.3.461) inxi: 2.2.35

[michael louwe]

@ Jim river

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For some guidance on dual-booting LM alongside Win 10/8.1 in UEFI and GPT-disk mode, please refer to .......
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=163126 (dual-booting UEFI computers)
http://linuxmint-installation-guide.rea ... en/latest/
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... ct/windows
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... nt-install
https://www.tecmint.com/install-linux-m ... uefi-mode/ (note step 17 - if Win 8.x/10 could not boot, <sudo update-grub>)
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=122276 (manual partitioning Tutorial for Legacy BIOS mode and MBR/ms-dos disks)[use as a guide]

Ensure that Secure Boot, Fast Boot and CSM(or Legacy BIOS) are disabled in BIOS setup, Fast Startup is disabled in Win 10/8.1(>Control Panel >Power options), the Live LM media(DVD or USB-stick) is booted in UEFI mode in BIOS setup.

To dual-boot, you only need to pre-shrink the Windows partition if you intend to use the manual "Something else" install method, ie no need to do so if you intend to use the automatic "install LM alongside Windows Boot Manager" method, which will be followed by the LM Installer auto-partitioning the disk and auto-installing the Linux Grub bootloader onto the Windows ESP. Only a root / and swap partition will be auto-created with a total default size of about 20GB. The user will be given the option to increase this default size by moving a slider on the colored Partition table, subject to the maximum available free space in the Windows partition.

For the "Something else" install method, manually partition the pre-shrunk free space accordingly, eg 50GB for /, 1.5X RAM size for Swap(at the end of this space) and 200GB for Home; and ensure that the "Device for boot loader installation" is the Windows EFI System Partition(= ESP = fat32/about 104MB/mount point is /boot/efi) which is usually dev/sda1.
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P S - Your AMD graphics card may require a fix for screen freezing during boot ... viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122257
https://linuxmint.com/rel_sonya_cinnamon.php

[lsemmens]

Ensure that Secure Boot, Fast Boot and CSM(or Legacy BIOS) are disabled in BIOS setup, Fast Startup is disabled in Win 10/8.1(>Control Panel >Power options), the Live LM media(DVD or USB-stick) is booted in UEFI mode in BIOS setup.

BE careful. I had just the opposite today on my Toshiba Laptop. Linux was working fine when dual booting with Windows 10. I elected to make Linux the ONLY operating system so re-installed from a live usb disk. On reboot I could not get beyond grub. After setting CSM(Legacy BIOS) to active I re-installed linux and now all is well. This device was one of the last Windows 8 machines sold so it shouldn't have been an issue in UEFI mode, and it wasn't in Wondoze. I'm not complaining, nor am I "looking for help" Just observing that the opposite might be true.

[Jim river]

I erased the iso on the bootable usb and downloaded a new one and verified it and successfully wrote it to the usb after formatting it to fat32. I got the same reults ie. booted into linux shell. First I had a question about the shell. If I press help I get a list of commands. My question is are any of those commands able to get me into linux.

A little background may help because I am not sure what I should try next. The dual boot was successfully set up initially and I used it problem free for many months. Then about a month or two ago I started getting into the shell on some attempted boots. I would just pull the plug and try again and usually get into Linux on the first additional attempt, sometimes it took 2 attempts. Now no matter what I try even with a bootable usb as first priority in BIOS I invariably end up in the shell. Until recently I had not booted into windows since long before the problem started so I don't think windows is contributing to the problem, although it is in and of itself a big problem.

I looked at the NVIDIA link you supplied and after some research I am afraid that if I attempt to follow that procedure and the graphics card somehow, all of a sudden, became problematic that the Linux Mint 18.1 Driver Manager may not offer me any alternatives.

[michael louwe]

@ Jim river

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You can try a repair of the file system on the disk by doing a sudo fsck /dev/sda1(sda1 = your / or root partition) from the Live USB, as per ... viewtopic.php?t=201560
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=266416

Last resort is to do a reinstall of LM.