[Solved] Linux Mint 19.3 boots to Grub

[southdeltan]

I run Linux Mint 19.3. After a kernel update I waited a few days to reboot. I rebooted yesterday and now it only goes to the Grub screen.

Grub>

I've tried a lot of things I found on google but I can't get it to boot into Linux.

Any suggestions?

southdeltan

[DAMIEN1307]

I run Linux Mint 10.3.

REALLY ???, Mint 10.3 ???...You do Know that the year now is 2021, Right ???...DAMIEN

[southdeltan]

Oops, that's supposed to be 19.3. Let me fix that.

[bendipa]

Do you know which partition root is on? You can find out easily enough.

[southdeltan]

I think so. I didn't even know I had partions. I figured that out by googling.

Unfortunately everything I have searched for has pertained to systems that have 2 operating systems or can log into linux but not grub.

I only have on os running on it.

[bendipa]

Once you know for certain where root is, you can boot to Linux from the grub prompt and then fix grub properly.To find out root at the grub prompt, remove any usb drives then type ls. You should see a series of outputs like (hd0,msdos1), hd0,msdos2)...etc. Note, it may show (hd0, gpt1)...gpt2 instead. In order to find your root choose one of the early ones, eg try typing ls (hd0,msdos1)/ (use gpt if that is initially listed with ls). If that combination is correct then you should see the root folders listed, eg usr, home,var, lib, etc. So find the correct combination and let me know what it is.

[southdeltan]

(hd0,msdos1) is what I come up with.

[bendipa]

OK. So your computer is running in Legacy MBR. You need to run the following commands:
1) set root=(hd0,msdos1)
2) linux /boot/vm ... After typing 'm' hit the tab key. At this point, if you correctly found the root partition earlier, the command should partially autocomplete to show part of the kernel version if you have more than 1 listed. Most users have 2. Eg, I would be offered vmlinuz-5.4.0-71 and 72 generic. . In that case the command will autocomplete to '7'. Take the latest version by adding a 2 (in my case) and hit tab again. The command should then autocomplete to look like linux /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-72 generic ... then complete the command by adding root=/dev/sda1. So the whole command would look like (in my case):-
linux /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-72 generic root=/dev/sda1. Hit Enter key.

3) Now we repeat the previous process, except we use the initrd command instead. So type initrd /boot/in ... and hit the tab button. Choose the same version of initrd as that of vmlinuz (ie the latest). The command should autocomplete to look like initrd /boot/initrd-5.4.0-72 generic. Hit Enter Button.
4) Finally type boot and hit Enter. If you've typed everything correctly the system should start to boot up showing a splash screen as it loads for a minute or so, until you reach the login screen. Then proceed as usual.

Let us know if you get that far, as you still need to fix grub once you're booted.

[southdeltan]

When I type boot/vm and hit the tab it gives me this: vmlinuz vmlinuz.old

grub> linux boot/vmlinuz

This is about as far as I got from googling.

when i tried the next command it gave me an invalid file name.

So that's where I'm stuck.

[bendipa]

Well it seems you haven't got a proper kernel version to boot from. You can actually boot from 'vmlinuz', providing you have the file 'initrd.img' present as well, with kernel and initrd versions present. Vmlinuz and initrd.img are just symlinks to the latest kernel and initrd versions. If you run ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot do you see any kernel version? If not, you're stymied, and you'll need to re-install Mint, unless you backed up your system beforehand.

[southdeltan]

I tried that and it brings up a ton of files, some run off the screen and I can't see them.

I tried looking for two that had the same versions and I don't see 2 that match.

[southdeltan]

In one of my other attempts before I posted here I saw 'initrd.img' and vmlinuz together.

[bendipa]

I tried that and it brings up a ton of files, some run off the screen and I can't see them.

I tried looking for two that had the same versions and I don't see 2 that match.

You shouldn't have 'a ton' of files. From ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot you should see something like this (with the exception of efi):

efi, grub,
System.map-5.4.0-71-generic, System.map-5.4.0-72-generic,
config-5.4.0-71-generic, config-5.4.0-72-generic,
initrd.img-5.4.0-71-generic, initrd.img-5.4.0-72-generic,
memtest86+.bin, memtest86+_multiboot.bin, memtest86+.el
vmlinuz-5.4.0-71-generic, vmlinuz-5.4.0-72-generic

The bottom line shows my 2 kernels and their version numbers, and 2 lines above shows my initrd versions. One version of each is essential for booting up. I'm assuming all along of course, that (hd0,msdos1) was the correct partition you gave me for the root.

[southdeltan]

Do they have to be the same version?

ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot shows a screen full of files with different versions. I didn't find 2 that matched.

[bendipa]

Yes they do need to be the same version, and I can't understand why there isn't at least one pair of initrd and linuz of the same version. That makes no sense, since every kernel update produces a new pair at least once a month. I need to see what it is you're actually looking at because at the moment I'm not too sure, so I'm going to suggest an alternative to make things clearer.

Boot up from your live mint USB stick, open the terminal (Cntrl+Alt+T), then run command sudo parted -l. Highlight the output then copy it (Cntrl+Shift+C) and paste it here (Cntrl+V). Then highlight it and hit the code (</>) button, which should line it all up.

[southdeltan]

I don't have a usb boot, but my wife is bring me some dvd's. How do I get that from my srcewed up computer to this laptoP?

[bendipa]

I see. So you are now saying you haven't got a Live Mint USB stick. So how exactly did you install Mint onto your computer? What version of Mint did you install, and from what medium. Did you actually do the installation yourself? How old is this computer that Mint was installed on?

What do you mean by 'How do I get that from my srcewed up computer to this laptoP'

[kato181]

boot into your live session and in terminal run the following command..
sudo update-grub

[southdeltan]

I see. So you are now saying you haven't got a Live Mint USB stick. So how exactly did you install Mint onto your computer? What version of Mint did you install, and from what medium. Did you actually do the installation yourself? How old is this computer that Mint was installed on?

What do you mean by 'How do I get that from my srcewed up computer to this laptoP'

I can't recall if I used a mint usb stick or a dvd. I don't remember what the first version was but I updated to 19.3 months ago. I did it by myself reading tutorials online. I'm not sure how old the computer is, I bought it on ebay. It's a Gateway DX4860-UB21P.

I've had very few problems with it and have been able to fix the few I had.

Since my desktop is messed up and I can't boot it up, I'm having to use my work laptop to log into the forums here.

[southdeltan]

boot into your live session and in terminal run the following command..
sudo update-grub

The problem is I can't boot into linux at all.