[Boot-Repair] Graphical tool to repair the PC boot in one click

[oldfred]

@aaronpboguero

Do you have secure boot on? It looks like Ubuntu was installed with the signed kernels for secure boot.
Can you directly boot the ubuntu entry in UEFI menu?
You have run the 'buggy' UEFI often suggested by Boot-Repair, but it also now suggests undoing it.
Line 1019
You may want to retry after deactivating the [Backup and rename Windows EFI files] option.

Some systems have modified UEFI to only boot Windows. For those the only way to boot ubuntu is to rename the Windows efi file and make that name be shim so your actually boot grub. But then you can only boot Windows using the boot entry by Boot-Repair with the renamed file. But there is a bug in grub that will not boot Windows 8.1 with secure boot on.

To undo & to rename files to their original names, you just need to tick the "Restore EFI backups" option of Boot-Repair.
Then you should be able to directly boot Windows from UEFI menu. And with secure boot off boot Windows from grub menu.
If your system is one of those that only boots Windows you can only dual boot with secure boot off.

HP puts a lot of extra .efi files into the efi partition. Boot-Repair does not know which may be important, so it adds all of them to boot menu in 25_custom file. I have instructions to backup & houseclean those extra entries if desired in link in my signature.

[marquitusus]

Hi, I have and old kernel working in ubuntu 12.04, but not the new ones I installed after. They get freezed in boot process.
This is what I get:

VFS: Cannot open root device "LABEL=/" or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

I tried with the Ubuntu Boot Repair, and it didn't worked. This is what it shows: http://paste.ubuntu.com/6701999

Can anyone help me?

Thanks a lot!
Marc

[oldfred]

I have never installed a new kernel, but you must have missed a step. You have no initrd line like this in your older kernel boot stanza. You should be creating a new initrd image so grub update finds it.

initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-29-generic

[marquitusus]

Yeah, already tried it, but it neither worked. The computer said me something like "cannot find the file"
Really, the initrd file is not in the /boot directory. What shoul I do?

I just tried to update to 3.5 kernel version, and it happened the same: the initrd file has not appeared! Only the vmlinuz one, not the initrd
Any idea?

[oldfred]

A little research says it is optional if kernel compiled correctly.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/35939...l-initrd-files
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9...-img-in-ubuntu

[gidsgoldberg]

I installed Ubuntu 13.04 (64 bit) on to a 2nd drive whilst the first drive (sbda) has Windows 7. When I rebooted I was not given the grub bootloader and booted straight to Ubuntu.
After running boot-repair, I now get the GRUB boot loader but with no Windows option.
Here is the output from boot-repair: http://paste.ubuntu.com/6726912/
Please can you help me to restore the option of booting to Windows 7?

[oldfred]

@gidsgoldberg
You have grub installed to the MBR of every drive. That is the default fix from Boot-Repair. But you should be able to uncheck the default and in advanced choose the Windows install and sda. It will install a Windows type boot loader to sda.
From BIOS (or one time boot key) you should be able to boot Windows.
And from BIOS set sdb as first in boot order and boot grub.

Not sure why the reinstall of grub did not find Windows. Did you leave it hibernated or does it need chkdsk. Those cannot be fixed from Ubuntu, but from your Windows repairCD or flash drive, if you cannot boot Windows or Windows repair console from Windows boot loader in sda.

Grub only boots a working Windows that is not hibernated or needs chkdsk. After you resolve Windows issues, boot into Ubuntu and run this and it should then add Windows to grub menu.
sudo udpate-grub

You also show this in sda2.
/boot/bcd /boot/BCD

I think Windows is really using the BCD in sda1, but Windows is not case sensitive to it may have issues with two identical files?

[Krzysiaczek99]

Here is my problem

I installed UBUNTU after windows, option something else, bootloader on entire sda, UBUNTU boots OK, WIN disappeared, WIN partition is visible from UBUNTU as
/media/....,' recovery of Win with win recovery CD fails, system not found', after BOOT-REPAIR there is no windows in boot manager. Please help !!!

the disk is partitioned: from the start of disk 150GB Linux, 5GB swap, rest WIN

/paste.ubuntu.com/6734039

Krzysztof

[oldfred]

@Krzysiaczek99
You have Windows in sda5. Windows does not boot from logical partitions. Did you have another Windows install in sda1? You must have had a primary partition with the Windows boot files. Windows does not put its boot files in its install if not first install. All boot files will be in the NTFS partition with the boot flag.


Pictures here worth 1000+ words
http://www.multibooters.co.uk/multiboot.html

You will need a Windows repair disk to readd bootmgr & BCD into the primary NTFS partition with the boot flag.
You may have two choices as you have only used 2 of the 4 allowed primary partitions. Create a small 100MB NTFS primary partition with the boot flag with gparted. Or you may be able to use fix parts to convert sda5 to a primary partition, you will need to add boot flag also.
But either choice needs a Windows repair to add boot files.


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.p...7#post10367957
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

[Krzysiaczek99]

No, it was just one fresh installation of Windows. I know about this small partition called 'system' made by windows but during installation of UBUNTU it was not shown and propably destroyed. Anyway I will try to fix it and let you know.

Krzysztof