Grub Rescue Prompt Megathread

[sendblink23]

I need help - by the way this ubuntu install is made from Wubi

I was upgrading my laptop that had 10.04 to 10.10... but while downloading the files the system froze & after turning it off then turning it back on... when I select ubuntu... the next screen I see is:
grub>

Well I went here and read the area of Wubi... here is the issue

I type in: ls
I get: (hd0) (hd0,2) (hd0,1)

I do not see at all what you wrote of: (memdisk), (loop0),....

So I decide hmm let me try: ls (hd partitions that were detected)/boot/grub
1. ls (hd0)/boot/grub
error: unknown filesystem

2. ls (hd0,2)/boot/grub
error: file not found.

3. ls (hd0,1)/boot/grub
error: file not found.

What the hell is going on here... did downloading the upgrade files kill my grub or ubuntu install?
Sorry I don't have a livecd or any spare blank cds, nore a usb to install a ubuntu on it to re-install(on this laptop)... in other words I'm stuck on this grub> screen or going into Windows 7 to try any fix

[Quackers]

Mr sendblink, I don't know anything about wubi, never having used it. Buuuuuuut, isn't the command you want
ls (loop0)/boot/grub
or is that for something else?

[drs305]

I need help - by the way this ubuntu install is made from Wubi

What the h*** is going on here... did downloading the upgrade files kill my grub or ubuntu install?
Sorry I don't have a livecd or any spare blank cds, nore a usb to install a ubuntu on it to re-install(on this laptop)... in other words I'm stuck on this grub> screen or going into Windows 7 to try any fix

You can look at (hd0,1) and (hd0,2) and see what they contain:

ls (hd0,1)/
ls (hd0,2)/

If they don't contain your Ubuntu partitions, and I have no reason to think they will, then the only way I know to repair it is to get into another OS and mount the root.disk file so you can inspect and possibly repair it.

If you don't have data on the Ubuntu wubi installation, it's probably going to be faster to reinstall it that it will be to try to determine what has happened and how to fix it.

If you do have data in your Ubuntu install, make sure you save the Windows file /ubuntu/disks/root.disk, which is your Ubuntu install.

I am about to leave for the night but will think on this and post back if I can think of something else you can do.

[sendblink23]

Mr sendblink, I don't know anything about wubi, never having used it. Buuuuuuut, isn't the command you want
ls (loop0)/boot/grub
or is that for something else?

Quack quack! =P

If you read the thread... it says

Locate the Ubuntu Partition.
ls - This will display the known drives/partitions.
You should see (memdisk), (loop0), and your Windows partition (hdX,Y)

As you can see, I wrote if I type: ls I don't see those.. I only see: (hd0) (hd0,2) (hd0,1)

And just to be sure I did try that command you mentioned & the other one for fun...
1. ls (loop0)/boot/grub
error: no such disk.

2. ls (memdisk)/boot/grub
error: no such disk.

:/ facepalm to my wubi hehehee


@ drs305.. just saw your reply.. I'll check those out.. and report back soon - to the last question.. yes I have allot of data in the ubuntu install

[Quackers]

Ah, sadly my wish to assist is outweighed by my lack of knowledge
And not for the first time

[sendblink23]

@ Quackers =P no worries - its fun when things get messed up... we learn new things afterwards

Okay they both give allot of things(i honestly can't type them all)... but that i can notice reading...

ls (hd0,1)/
it has in it... $Boot ... Volume Boot/ bootmgr BOOTSECT.BAK grldr ..... some things like that

ls (hd0,2)/
it has in it.. $Boot and more at the end... System Volume Information/ temp/ ubuntu/ Windows/ wubildr wubildr.mbr

Just by looking at them it seems those 2 partitions are the Windows install partitions - the 1st one is what Windows 7 uses to boot(or recovery thing) & the 2nd one is the actual Windows 7 C: drive (in it it does mentioned Document and Settings/ Program Files/ ... etc)... but it does mention the Ubuntu folder & wubi in it

No clue what hd0 is (the one its calling - unknown filesystem)... I guess that is just calling my hard drive is on crack

Does that help?

---

I entered Win7 ... and inside that ubuntu folder... (C:/ubuntu/
I don't have anymore /disk folder - I think somehow it erased my root.disk when downloading the upgrade files.. it probably went crazy when it froze the system while on that process

I guess I'll forget about that install & data files.. and this time do a another wubi but instead just a straight up 10.10 install

[drs305]

No clue what hd0 is (the one its calling - unknown filesystem)... I guess that is just calling my hard drive is on crack

Does that help?

It doesn't help, but it does confirm. They are your Windows partitions, as suspected. (hd0) is just the first drive.

I am writing a guide for netbook users to be able to boot into the LiveCD from the rescue prompt, accessing the ISO on a thumb drive. I am going to experiment to see if it will allow doing the same from an ISO file placed in a Windows folder. This may be a way for you to at least recover your files.

I'm signing off but will check back tomorrow to see if you have made any progress. If my test succeeds I'll offer that as a test, and possible solution.

[ThePsychoAxeman]

If all you get is (hd0) you most likely have a partition table or disk error. Seek assistance elsewhere! (fsck, e2fsck, TestDisk, etc.)

I got (hd0). What do I do now?

[drs305]

I got (hd0). What do I do now?

The reason I didn't address it in the body of the guide is that partitioning problems can be difficult to analyze. When Grub returns (hd0), it means it can't find the partitions.

If you can boot to a LiveCD, you can use Disk Utility or Gparted from the System, Administration menu to see if these apps detect your partitions.

From the command line, you can run sudo fdisk -l (lowercase L) to inspect the partition structure.

The fsck and e2fsck commands may resolve errors which can cause these issues. The only commands I will provide here which might solve your issue are the following. Substitute the correct X,Y values for the partition in question. The partition must be unmounted, so only run the commands from the LiveCD or other system rescue CD.

sudo e2fsck -C0 -p -f -v /dev/sdXY
If it finds errors:
sudo e2fsck -f -y -v /dev/sdXY

TestDisk is an excellent analytical app that can also repair partition table problems. More than likely you will need assistance to correct any partition problems that you find. The best course of action would be to start a new post and include any information you get from running the above items.

[xfajardo]

Hello, first off, by far this is the most well addressed thread regarding the Grub issue.

I've landed here because I too have an issue with the Grub, I too have tried all possible ways to fix this and so far I've not been successful at it.

I had a stable copy of Ubuntu 9.10 installed with the Wubi from Windows XP.
I then updated to the 10.04 release from the upgrade manager from inside Ubuntu, and like all I got the grub rescue > prompt after rebooting the machine.

I tried everything with the Live CD for Ubunto 9.10 but nothing really happened, then I tried all the stpes with the Ubuntu Live CD 10.04 and nothing happened.

Tried running the script inside the 10.04 CD but I coudn't even get my flash drive to mount. Tried it with the 9.10 live cd and I could get the script to run

I'm adding here my results from the boot info scripts here:

               Boot Info Script 0.55    dated February 15th, 2010                    

============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

 => Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive in 
    partition #256 for /boot/grub.

sda1: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows XP
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  Windows XP
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM /wubildr.mbr /wubildr

sda2: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       Extended Partition
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  

sda5: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows XP
    Boot sector info:  According to the info in the boot sector, sda5 starts 
                       at sector 63.
    Operating System:  
    Boot files/dirs:   /ubuntu/winboot/wubildr.mbr /ubuntu/winboot/wubildr 
                       /ubuntu/disks/root.disk /ubuntu/disks/swap.disk

sda5/Wubi: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  
    Operating System:  Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda ___________________ _____________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xd2a0fe15

Partition  Boot         Start           End          Size  Id System

/dev/sda1    *             63   191,767,904   191,767,842   7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2         191,767,905   312,576,704   120,808,800   5 Extended
/dev/sda5         191,767,968   312,576,704   120,808,737   7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: ____________________________________________________________

Device           UUID                                   TYPE       LABEL                         

/dev/loop0                                              squashfs                                 
/dev/loop1       cf19aa97-3b45-4686-9a14-a6a876f334b7   ext4                                     
/dev/ramzswap0                                          swap                                     
/dev/sda1        1C189857189831AE                       ntfs                                     
/dev/sda5        12CA5D0422703041                       ntfs                                     

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev  output: ===========================

Device           Mount_Point              Type       Options

aufs             /                        aufs       (rw)
/dev/sr0         /cdrom                   iso9660    (rw)
/dev/loop0       /rofs                    squashfs   (rw)
/dev/sda1        /media/1C189857189831AE  fuseblk    (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,default_permissions,blksize=4096)


================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"

======================== sda5/Wubi/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
    saved_entry=${chosen}
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function recordfail {
  set recordfail=1
  if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
set root=(loop0)
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
set root=(loop0)
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=es
insmod gettext
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.32-25-generic" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root='(hd0,5)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
	loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
	set root=(loop0)
	linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=/dev/sda5 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro   quiet splash
	initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.32-25-generic (recovery mode)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root='(hd0,5)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
	loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
	set root=(loop0)
	linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=/dev/sda5 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro single 
	initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root='(hd0,5)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
	loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
	set root=(loop0)
	linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda5 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro   quiet splash
	initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic (recovery mode)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root='(hd0,5)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 12ca5d0422703041
	loopback loop0 /ubuntu/disks/root.disk
	set root=(loop0)
	linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda5 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro single 
	initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root='(hd0,1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 1c189857189831ae
	drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
	chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

============================= sda5/Wubi/etc/fstab: =============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
/host/ubuntu/disks/root.disk /               ext4    loop,errors=remount-ro 0       1
/host/ubuntu/disks/swap.disk none            swap    loop,sw         0       0
/dev/fd0        /media/floppy0  auto    rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0       0

================= sda5/Wubi: Location of files loaded by Grub: =================


   4.0GB: boot/grub/core.img
   4.7GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
   1.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
   1.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic
   2.5GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic
   1.6GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic
   1.0GB: initrd.img
   1.0GB: initrd.img.old
   1.6GB: vmlinuz
   2.5GB: vmlinuz.old