How to get out of "grub rescue" prompt? [solved]

[Noodlecakelol]

A while ago I purchased a computer from a school group that was selling them to make money for their activities, and the computer I bought from them they had installed Linux Mint onto it ( computer originally had windows 7 ) and I had absolutely no idea how to work it and was following a YouTube video for it and I think I entered a really bad command of something and I don’t know how to fix it.... when I entered it I remember everything went black and all the writing disappeared and it was really weird. And since then when ever I try to turn it on it sends me to “grub rescue” and and commands I have looked up it says “unknown command” and I really want to know how to fix this. I barely bought this computer a month ago and haven’t been able to use it since because of a wrong code. And I purchased a windows 7 repair disk in hope to fix it but I can’t get it to boot the disk to get it back to windows 7.
Please help.. I don’t know what to do, the computer didn’t come with any manuals and I don’t know how to work linux at all since I’m new to it, and I need it for schooling...


Please help!!! ):

[gm10]

Did you switch your computer from EFI to legacy/CSM mode in the BIOS? That could explain things stopping to work including the Windows 7 repair disk failing. I suggest you check your BIOS and switch that back. If you're not confident about finding it, just setting the BIOS to default values should be enough.

Otherwise I could talk you through operating the grub rescue prompt but it would be easier to boot the system from a live USB/DVD of Linux Mint. If you have the possibility to create one I'd suggest you download Linux Mint 19 (your choice of editions, personally I prefer MATE, and take 64-bit), create a bootable USB/DVD and then boot from that - access the BIOS boot menu during boot usually via Esc or whatever key works for your BIOS or adjust the boot order in the BIOS directly to make sure it boots from the USB or DVD drive first (change it back later once you're done with the next step).

If there's any data you need to recover from the computer's disk you can do it then, but since you said you never got to use it I assume that's not an issue. I would then suggest to select Install Linux Mint from the desktop and replace your existing installation. You don't know what the school group did to that system, it's always best to start out with a fresh install.

[Faust]

My usual fix is to boot from "Parted Magic" ( on a USB ) and re-install GRUB .

I guess any Live Linux USB would do , but there's a tool called Grub Doctor on Parted Magic that has a GUI
.... useful for folks who don't like doing things from terminal .

Edit :-
For anyone wanting to go the terminal route , these are useful guides -

https://techgage.com/news/repairing_a_b ... on_ubuntu/
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how- ... rub-rescue

[Noodlecakelol]

Thank you so much for replying!
And it is on the correct settings but it still doesn’t do anything besides sit on grub rescue even if I change it, and I don’t have a way of creating a disk/usb. Also i’m Not sure how to change it to boot from CD first as I did not see an option to do that, sorry I really don’t know How to do these kinds of things lol

[Noodlecakelol]

I still haven’t discovered a way to fix this I don’t want to have to pay money to take it in to be repaired since I already just spent money on buying it..

[gm10]

. Also i’m Not sure how to change it to boot from CD first as I did not see an option to do that, sorry I really don’t know How to do these kinds of things lol

Depends on your BIOS. Boot with the Windows repair disk in the drive, try hitting Esc, F1, or F2 during boot to get either into the boot menu or the BIOS (it could also be another key, it may tell you on the screen though). If you get into the boot menu (usually Esc does that) it should give you the Windows repair disk as an option. Choose it. If you get into the BIOS, there should be a Boot category that has the boot order, move the DVD drive to the front, save settings and reboot.

Use the repair disk to repair your Windows installation. Once in Windows, you can then create a bootable Linux Mint USB or DVD, boot into that, and install Mint. If you want to keep your Windows installation, make sure to choose to install side by side.

Once you're all done and set up, if you did change the boot order in the BIOS, best go back and change it back then.

[Pierre]

so Noodlecakelol said that they had replaced that win-7 with that copy of LinuxMint,
and so that windows 7 repair disk won't install Win-7 or Repair Grub Loader, either.

what is needed is the boot-repair-disk & A rescue disk that includes the Boot Repair tool :
ttps://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/

does the machine have a CD_Drive ? that you can boot with ?
or you may have to write that ISO to a usb stick, and boot the machine, from that, instead.

[gm10]

so Noodlecakelol said that they had replaced that win-7 with that copy of LinuxMint,
and so that windows 7 repair disk won't install Win-7 or Repair Grub Loader, either.

My understanding was he simply didn't know how to boot from it. I'm not entirely sure whether it's a dual boot or not. Either way, Faust already gave him good links how to operate the GRUB rescue prompt, there's not much more to add there, so I think anything with a GUI is the preferable option at this point.

If you've got a better idea, by all means please try to help him out, you are more than welcome to.

[Noodlecakelol]

(I’m a chick btw ) and Yes my computer has a CD drive, and I have tried to make it boot from Cd first and it doesn’t read the disk, And or show up that the disk is there.
And I really don’t want to make a USB because the only other computer I have has a pretty bad virus on it and I don’t know if it will get transferred or not, and I obviously don’t want that to happen lol
I can’t even figure out how to just get it back to booting up Linux either, at this point I would be happy with anything just as long as I could get it working, And the links that Faust posted it doesn’t recognize the “is” command.
Do you think there’s anyway of fixing it without haveing to spend anymore money on it, and possibly not messing with my other desk top since I don’t know if it will transfer the virus or not

Thank you all for your responses though!

[Pjotr]

For the sake of completeness: this will get you out of an "ordinary" Grub prompt:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... u-visible-
(item 15, right column)

[Faust]

For the sake of completeness: this will get you out of an "ordinary" Grub prompt:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... u-visible-
(item 15, right column)

Drat !
I can't test that out now .... short of deliberately borking GRUB on one of my systems

I see that the "Grub Rescue " link I posted from "Techwalla" is 8 years old , and its probably that long since I tried it ,
and there are much easier ways to get the same result .

But I still can't think what can have changed that much in the very limited list of commands in " GRUB Rescue " .... ?

PS - just out of curiosity , how long has that item been on the google site ? ..... item 15, right column

[gm10]

I see that the "Grub Rescue " link I posted from "Techwalla" is 8 years old , and its probably that long since I tried it ,
and there are much easier ways to get the same result .

But I still can't think what can have changed that much in the very limited list of commands in " GRUB Rescue " .... ?

Nothing much changed in that time. I had to do one a few months ago when a laptop HDD died while I was on the road. It's still the same it ever was.

PS - just out of curiosity , how long has that item been on the google site ? ..... item 15, right column

Since the -24 fiasco is my guess.

[Pjotr]

PS - just out of curiosity , how long has that item been on the google site ? ..... item 15, right column

Since yesterday.

This thread triggered me to find out how to get from a Grub prompt (an "ordinary" Grub prompt) to the Grub menu again. Something that has puzzled me for some time.

With the help of the invaluable askubuntu I found it out, turned the askubuntu how-to into an even easier and more accessible one, and published it on my website. For myself in the first place (nothing is so annoying as knowing that you once knew how to do something, but have forgotten it since), and for others to benefit as they please....

[gm10]

PS - just out of curiosity , how long has that item been on the google site ? ..... item 15, right column

Since yesterday.

This thread triggered me to find out how to get from a Grub prompt (an "ordinary" Grub prompt) to the Grub menu again. Something that has puzzled me for some time

Doesn't it tell you though? I could swear it says to press Esc at the bottom. Or maybe that's just my graphical GRUB theme - I get the command prompt in a window, in text mode I guess it fills the screen? I just can't remember. Intriguing.

[Noodlecakelol]

I tried the next link Faust sent and it did nothing when I pressed esc, it just popped up press F12 for boot options but that takes me to the one-time boot menu.
And if I select the cd drive it shows up “selected boot device failed. Press any key to reboot the system.”

I don’t know if this will help or not but the system I have is a Dell Optiplex 7010
And when ever it goes to grub rescue it says “error: file ‘/boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod’ not found.”

[Pierre]

that Dell Optiplex 7010 does have a DVD drive & so it should be able to read DVDs
but, if it doesn't do that, then it may well be a faulty laser in it. ...

however, what happens when you first switch on the Machine ?
- does it boot up okay ?.
- does it get to the log-in screen okay ?.
do you fail at this point ? you can't type in any pass-code ?.
- is there any User's Name mentioned on the log-in screen ?.

and if there is none of that - - you are getting that “grub rescue” prompt:
- what is actually written on the screen, after that “grub rescue” prompt?.

is it just a blank screen, or is there any other messages ? any at all ?.

Finally - - are you able to get-online in the evening ? and be able to stay online for a few hours, at least ?.

[slipstick]

And the links that Faust posted it doesn’t recognize the “is” command.

That command is not "is", it's ''ls" (lower case letter L, not i), short for "list".

Useful info here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2 ... #grub.3E-1

Do you think there’s anyway of fixing it without haveing to spend anymore money on it, and possibly not messing with my other desk top since I don’t know if it will transfer the virus or no

If you're making a disk or USB stick with a Linux program, I wouldn't expect a Windows virus to be able to infect the Linux program.

[HaveaMint]

Would this be of any help?
http://karuppuswamy.com/wordpress/2011/ ... for-grub2/

[Faust]

A while ago I purchased a computer from a school group that was selling them to make money for their activities .....

Leaving aside the interesting discussions on " GRUB Rescue" , we haven't really helped Noodlecakelol
get her machine into a usable state .
----------------

Let's take a step back and review the facts and the options .
My guess is that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the machine you bought ,
but you don't want to spend more money by taking it to a repair shop .... that makes perfect sense !

We will never know exactly what you did following the Youtube guide , but it doesn't really matter now .
I'm also guessing that getting the " GRUB Rescue" option to work might be a bit of a challenge .

The remaining options are to repair GRUB with one of those utility discs , or to install a new operating system
of your choice ( and I would recommend Mint 18.3 ) .
But either way , your machine MUST be able to boot from a USB stick or a DVD .....
.... so you will have to find a way to write to one of those on someone else's computer .

Schools and colleges often change the boot order on their machines so that cunning students can't bypass
their security protocols ( let's just hope that they didn't set a BIOS password ! ) .

You REALLY need to get into that BIOS menu , and make sure that the machine has "USB" or " Optical drive "
( or something similar ) as the first and second boot options ..... or the other way around .

You can usually get into BIOS by repeatedly tapping one of the "Function" keys ( top row of the keyboard )
.... right after pressing the " Power On " button .
F2 or F8 often works , but google your specific make and model if it doesn't .

Let us know what happens and please include your specific make and model details ( edit : OK you've done that ) .

If none of this works your next best option might be to make friends with some " geeky / Sheldon" types
This kind of problem is so much easier to fix for someone who has " hands-on " .

Most of all ..... Do not give up !
If we let technology defeat us , the cost will be our humanity !
.... or something like that anyway

[Noodlecakelol]

I did not know that is was ls not is oops...
And I can see the Dell loading screen and then it goes directly to grub rescue. I can access the bios menu and I have The CD option as #1 should I change that?

And now the ls command is actually working ( probably because I didn’t know that) and it pops up “ (hd0) (hd0,msdos5) (hd0,msdos1)

and when it’s on grub rescue there’s nothing after grub rescue
Also i’m Not able to get on the internet at all with it because all I can do is access bios and grub rescue