Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB.
Hi All, I hope this is not a redundant post or common issue, but I couldn't solve my issue myself or by searching other threads and google.
Yesterday I installed Windows 8 on a small partition, followed by Linux Mint 14 MATE on another small partition with plans to make the rest of the space shared. However, I never got a GRUB menu at startup! I tried following the instructions on the GRUB info page from google by doing something like:
# grub-install /dev/sda
but I don't really know my way around GRUB, and when I rebooted I just got the grub prompt that looked like
grub>
and I couldn't get out. I used the install USB I used to run Mint from USB, from which I did something like:
install -d /mnt/mount !!to create a mount point
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/mount !!sda1 is the Mint partition
grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/mount sda
This got me back where I started, and I don't want to risk losing computer access again, so I came for help! any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!!!
-John
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB!
might i suggest downloading and using a program called "boot repair". i haven't used it but I see many who have success with it in fixing grub issues and such. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB!
Thanks for the tip dannyboy!
That got me a GRUB menu, though unfortunately it only includes Mint, there is no Windows 8. Is there another quick fix to this too?
EDIT: Nevermind, this looks pretty easy. I'll give it a go!
-John
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB!
From your usb disk after it boots to desktop
Go to a terminal
do sudo fdisk -l
so you can determine the linux partition you want to create grub in.
Then from the command line
Code:
$ sudo mount /dev/sda5 /mnt
Mine is sda5. yours is likely different
Code:
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
sudo chroot /mnt
Now you are in the partition you need to create a grub in.
Code:
#grub-install /dev/sda **mine is sda. yours may be different
#update-grub
After you update grub you should get a list. It should include Windows
You are not done.
Code:
#exit
$sudo umount /mnt/sys
$sudo umount /mnt/proc
$sudo umount /mnt/dev
$sudo umount /mnt
Then reboot, remove the USB device. You should see a grub menu with Linux Mint & Windows.
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB!
ubume, I tried your method and I just installed the grub on /dev/sda. after updating the grub the list returned looks like:
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
the initrd item doesn't look like windows... any suggestions? I haven't done the unmounting part yet.
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB.
Moved to Other OS.
Post link to BootInfo report that Boot-Repair creates.
ubume2's grub reinstall is the full chroot method which can be used when the two line mount & install method does not work.
But usually Boot-Repair just fixes things.
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB.
oldfred, thanks for reminding me to post the log from boot-repair:
http://paste2.org/p/2569606
there's an error about a cat something that may be the problem, I've seen errors about cat before.
Also, the ~22000 lines of invalid argument errors may indicate somethings wrong :P
-John
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB.
Try with Quantal and check whether Grub would see Win 8.
With Mint 14; go to /etc/apt/sources.list and block the Nadia repo, by adding # in front of it and,
add
and then update.
Install grub-pc or reinstall it
and check whether your win8 is seen.
if not,
Quote:
sudo apt-get install boot-repair
and run boot-repair as root. While working, it'd see your win8.
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB.
I do not know what the broken pipe error is that generated all the error lines.
But you have Windows in sda5 which cannot be.
Windows only boots from a primary partition with the boot flag or sda1 thru sda4. So if you moved it from sda1 its boot.ini is wrong. Or if it was a second install some or most of its boot files were in the first install. Also PBR will be wrong.
Since it did not post boot.ini which script normally does it may be other issues in the XP NTFS partition?
Only with XP there are work arounds to make it work in a logical partition, but it would be better to move it back to a primary. Based on your partition table it looks like you just just use fixparts to convert to primary. Probably still would need repairs to boot.ini and PBR. NTFS partition have to have the same start and size info in the PBR - partition boot sector as the partition table. Normally chkdsk from XP will fix that, but you need boot flag and XP in a primary partition for chkdsk to work well.
To convert a partition from primary to logical, at least one free (unallocated) sector must exist between the partition and the one that precedes it.
Fixparts - Repair broken partition tables (not overlapping issues) & delete Stray gpt data from MBR drives
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1705325
http://www.rodsbooks.com/fixparts/
First backup partition table, use your drive for sdX or sda, sdb etc.
sudo sfdisk -d /dev/sdX > parts.txt
Then use gparted to move boot flag to new XP primary partition and use a XP disk to run chkdsk. And edit boot.ini with correct partition.
Re: Fresh Linux Mint 14, No GRUB!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jamedfor
ubume, I tried your method and I just installed the grub on /dev/sda. after updating the grub the list returned looks like:
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
the initrd item doesn't look like windows... any suggestions? I haven't done the unmounting part yet.
Well, could be something about Windows 8.
From command line sudo chmod +x /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober.
Then sudo update-grub.
If you don't see Windows generated after you press the update-grub command, there is a problem. I haven't had any problem with Win 7 grub item being generated. I've used the method described in post 4 with Linux Mint, and have had no problems.