SUSE messed with GRUB.

[grizwald]

Hi Guys,

I recently installed SUSE [free version] onto my 160GB Laptop drive which has Elyssa [only] installed on it.

I chose the ' install using unallocated space [100GB]' option.

SUSE shrunk the 60GB partition with Mint on it such that mint no longer had enough room to download a simple email, and then installed itself in a new 60GB partition that it created, right next to the one containing Mint!

In addition, there was a new GRUB menu installed with the usual stuff on it and Mint was listed last, as one would expect.

Having found SUSE was unsuitable for my requirements [and how!] I went back to Mint and discovered the problem listed above.

Using a bootable G-Parted CD, I deleted the SUSE partitions and expanded the Mint one to its original size (+/-) and went back to using Mint.

The only problem is that I still get the SUSE Grub window first and need to cursor down to the Mint entry. Next I get the usual Mint Grub screen where I can run Elyssa.

No big deal but I would like to remove the SUSE Grub screen.

Being a qualified Arm Chair Expert [ACE] it seems that all I need to do is find the Grub entry and delete that part which precedes the Mint entry. But how???

I have had a trawl around the forum, Interent and pored over several written tomes without success. Using Terminal with the Grub prompt, I get error messages to all texts suggested, i.e. "grub> find /boot/grub/stage1" for example. With some trepidation I have even pondered using DOS and the FDISK /MBR command. The H/D has never had windows on it so the likelihood of any surprises in that department are minimal.

Any suggestions [polite] will be most welcome.

Thanks,

Griz.

[67GTA]

You need to reinstall Mint's grub back to the MBR. Post a copy of your /boot/grub/menu.lst from Mint, and just for good measure, post the output of

Code: Select all

sudo fdisk -l

from a terminal.

[grizwald]

Hi 67GTA,
This is a copy of the existing boot/grub/menu.1st file.


# 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 change this entry to 'saved' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

gfxmenu=/etc/grub/message.elyssa

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 5

# 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=/dev/sda1 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,0)

## 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 mode) 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

## 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, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

title Linux Mint, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

title Linux Mint, kernel memtest86+
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST


and this is the results of sudo fdisk -l command.

griz@griz-laptop-HP ~ $ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for griz: *********

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000d384b

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 6525 52412031 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 18849 19457 4891792+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 * 6526 9136 20972857+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda5 18850 19457 4883760 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order
griz@griz-laptop-HP ~ $



Here is a screen shot using GParted.




The extra sda3 partition is a surprise... will need to look into this.

I do hope the above is of some help and I thank you for your interest.

Cheers,

Griz.

[67GTA]

Open a terminal and run

Code: Select all

sudo grub

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root (hd0,0)

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setup (hd0)

This will reinstall Mint's grub version back to the MBR. Partition 2 & 3 are useless. They were created by the suse installer. You could just delete them. It is best to use gparted to create the partitions you want instead of letting each distro run wild. They like to create a lot of partitions that aren't really needed.

[grizwald]

.
Hi 67GTA,

I have followed your advice and am delighted to confirm that it has solved my problem perfectly.
I then deleted the partitions as you suggested and have ended up with what you see below. A perfect solution.



Thank you very much indeed for all your help, much appreciated.

Grizwald.