HOWTO: migrate wubi install to partition

[lesliek]

I appear to have a new problem after using the migration script.

I can boot up either in Ubuntu 10.04 (default) or in Windows 7 and all seems normal.

However, if, in Ubuntu, I go to Computer > File System > Properties, I'm told "some contents unreadable".

I ran GParted from a live CD, unmounted the relevant partition (/dev/sda5) and checked it. No errors were reported.

What could be the explanation for the "some contents unreadable" message and is there a way to fix the problem?

Leslie

[bcbc]

lesliek,
Try running nautilus as root: Alt-F2, gksu nautilus. See if you still get that message.

[lesliek]

Well, I did that, but couldn't find a way to get up an icon for the file system, so as to duplicate what I'd been able to do when I ran nautilus as an ordinary user.

Instead, I got a message saying, "Could not display 'computer:'. Nautilus cannot handle 'computer' locations."

Did the message I got at first not mean what it said? Did it really mean, "some contents unreadable BY YOU, an ordinary user"? If so, that'd be a relief to me, since otherwise everything seems to have gone so well!

Thanks again for all your help: the blog post about the disappearing root.disk, the migration script and your answers to my babyish questions.

Leslie

[bcbc]

Well, I did that, but couldn't find a way to get up an icon for the file system, so as to duplicate what I'd been able to do when I ran nautilus as an ordinary user.

Instead, I got a message saying, "Could not display 'computer:'. Nautilus cannot handle 'computer' locations."

Did the message I got at first not mean what it said? Did it really mean, "some contents unreadable BY YOU, an ordinary user"? If so, that'd be a relief to me, since otherwise everything seems to have gone so well!

Thanks again for all your help: the blog post about the disappearing root.disk, the migration script and your answers to my babyish questions.

Leslie

Okay I see what you mean by that error: when you click Go, Computer. I just clicked on the file system on the left bar and then File, Properties.

I hadn't noticed the "some contents unreadable" message before, but I was able to reproduce it and then running as root it didn't appear. Also searching on the error message, it seems to be a consensus that this is a permissions issue.

So I think it's okay. If you have any other questions, don't hold back. Any and all feedback is welcome

[pakopako]

Not sure if I'm in the right state to ask this (just spend four days almost non-stop trying to unscrew myself after borking a harddrive repartitioning), but I think something went wrong with my migration.

I started with a WUBU install on my HDD, but after a little stumbling, managed to move it to a USB flash-drive.

Now to do that, I still left a copy of root.disk on SDA (again, stumbling), but bcbc's script copied the right one (the one on the USB). Unfortunately I don't know how it created grub.cfg and I don't know what file I'm editing.

The command-line I used to migrate

sudo bash wubi-move-2.1.sh /dev/sda3 /dev/sda4

I'm given GRUB2 upon boot, which is a nice turn of events, but the Ubuntu choice is a bit weird.

recordfail
set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(/dev/sda,msdos3)'
search ..
linux /boot/vmlinuz...
initrd /boot/initrd.img...

This gives me a white-screen of death.
Now, if I edit it and remove

recordfail
set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode

, I get a few UDEVD error messages and killing, but I get to my Ubuntu login screen. I tried "sudo update-grub", but the loader doesn't seem to change.

I thought it was affecting my Windows loader (I haven't removed WUBI from Windows yet because having it "installed" meant my USB drive WUBI would work, but that GRUB loader is unchanged.

What did my update-grub update then? And why does it say "insmod ext2" when the partition Ubuntu is resting on is not ext2?

[bcbc]

pakopako,

Check /etc/default/grub for a line like this:

#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

Copy that line, remove the # from the front and set it to:

GRUB_GFXMODE=text

By the way, to edit the file:

gksu gedit /etc/default/grub
#or
sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Then run "sudo update-grub" again. If that works okay you might want to experiment with different values other than 'text'. See here for more info: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275

PS that "insmod ext2" is okay. It's probably just a legacy naming issue, but it's used for any ext file system.

Also, what graphics card do you have? Do you have any custom drivers installed?

[pakopako]

Then run "sudo update-grub" again. If that works okay you might want to experiment with different values other than 'text'. See here for more info: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275
...
Also, what graphics card do you have? Do you have any custom drivers installed?

Thanks bcbc. I'm no longer getting that white screen after selecting Ubuntu, it just turns off. It turns back on again when I'm at the Ubuntu login screen.

I am curious why that worked. I rebooted and edited the entry and found the starting two lines to be the same. And when I hit CTRL-X to see it run, the UDEVD errors no longer showed up. Granted, a quarter-line of ANSI text showed up in the upper left, but then the screen did the shut off and on bit before the login screen.

What is supposed to happen after selecting Ubuntu from GRUB?

I'm running 11.04 on an M200 laptop; according to lspci and lshw, my built-in video is a NV34M [nVidia Go5200 32M/64M]. Pretty sure I don't have custom drivers, just the standard nVidia ones from the Ubuntu Software Center.

[bcbc]

Thanks bcbc. I'm no longer getting that white screen after selecting Ubuntu, it just turns off. It turns back on again when I'm at the Ubuntu login screen.

I am curious why that worked. I rebooted and edited the entry and found the starting two lines to be the same. And when I hit CTRL-X to see it run, the UDEVD errors no longer showed up. Granted, a quarter-line of ANSI text showed up in the upper left, but then the screen did the shut off and on bit before the login screen.

What is supposed to happen after selecting Ubuntu from GRUB?

I'm running 11.04 on an M200 laptop; according to lspci and lshw, my built-in video is a NV34M [nVidia Go5200 32M/64M]. Pretty sure I don't have custom drivers, just the standard nVidia ones from the Ubuntu Software Center.

The lines don't change, but the value of $linux_gfx_mode does. And it forces grub into text mode.

There's some tweaking required for nvidia and unfortunately I don't know a lot about this as I've never owned an nvidia card. I suggest you keep your current setup or play with some different graphic resolutions, and maybe start a new thread to find out how to get around this problem.

Good luck!

[pakopako]

The lines don't change, but the value of $linux_gfx_mode does. And it forces grub into text mode.

There's some tweaking required for nvidia and unfortunately I don't know a lot about this as I've never owned an nvidia card. I suggest you keep your current setup or play with some different graphic resolutions, and maybe start a new thread to find out how to get around this problem.

Good luck!

Thanks bcbc, I think I'll keep what I have for now since it's letting me boot into Ubuntu with little problems. I still see udevd errors and killed processes, but no signs that my installation is hindered. In fact, other users here have similar errors and a workaround is found. (Although, again, I don't understand exactly why the workaround works or what was wrong in the first place.)

Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!

[Tallowman]

Just used your script to migrate my Wubi 11.10 to a new partition on my laptop. Outstanding - amazed at how simple this has been.

Just started with Linux and Ubuntu as I start a new job in Jan with a web company that use Ubuntu. So far loving the support, the ease of use, the community, etc etc I could go on.

Thanks again for the effort you have put into this!

One question, what are the new memtest options I have in the grub now?

Cheers,
Tallowman