Boot failure after GRUB 2.0 installation

[dorruk]

I have been dual booting Win 7 and Linux for a while. Recently I updated to Win 8 Pro keeping Win 7. As a result, GRUB bootloader was replaced with Windows bootloader. So I couldn't get into Ubuntu.

I found this app it's called BOOTICE. I used it to change my MBR which replaced Windows NT 6.x to GRUB 2.0 hoping to get Ubuntu back working.

Now the PC won't boot. I get the following:

error: file not found
grub rescue>

And I get a command line in which I can move around.

So the only USB drive I have is this 256MB drive. GParted Live is installed on it. I looked up my drive by booting on the GParted Live USB and my files/partitions are still there. Since the drive is 256MB, installing Boot-Repair or Ubuntu Live is no option.

So is there a way to fix the boot sector/MBR and write GRUB on it? GParted Live also has TestDisk but I don't know which type of MBR to choose, when both Windows and Linux are installed.

[darkod]

You don't have your ubuntu cd at hand? It should always be at hand.

Grub is not just the small part of code on the MBR, it has to "know" where to look for the rest of the files, to connect to them. Installing grub2 only on the MBR can rarely help (it can help only if the other files are present correctly and you tell it where they are during the install to the MBR).

If there is REALLY no way to make an ubuntu cd/usb, you can try Sustem Rescue CD. It's smaller than ubuntu but not sure if there is a version that fits on 256MB. I think it's 300+MB.

If you can boot the system rescue you can chroot into your installation and install grub2 properly from within.

Other options that should fit on 256MB and have live mode option could be Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux if I remember correctly.

Once you get any linux that can boot you to command prompt or terminal in live mode, if you are not sure about the chroot procedure ask.

[dorruk]

Is there any way of doing the same from GParted Live's terminal? It's a Linux terminal after all, right?

Thing is, is another distro than GParted Live required? Because I'm not comfortable with installing new live usb operating systems while the one on my USB is already working, I always screw it up . Just that I don't want to lose the one that I have at hand, while trying to install another OS.

[schragge]

You can try to boot from the grub prompt:

grub rescue> search.file /boot/grub/grub.cfg root
grub rescue> set prefix=($root)/boot/grub
grub rescue> configfile /boot/grub/grub.cfg
grub rescue> boot

[srekcahrai]

http://www.ehow.com/how_10030196_use-grub-rescue.html

[dorruk]

http://www.ehow.com/how_10030196_use-grub-rescue.html

How do I identify the boot partition?
This is what I get when I type "ls":

(hd0) (hd0, msdos7) (hd0, msdos6) (hd0, msdos5) (hd0, msdos3) (hd0, msdos2) (hd0, msdos1)

[darkod]

Is there any way of doing the same from GParted Live's terminal? It's a Linux terminal after all, right?

Thing is, is another distro than GParted Live required? Because I'm not comfortable with installing new live usb operating systems while the one on my USB is already working, I always screw it up . Just that I don't want to lose the one that I have at hand, while trying to install another OS.

You might be able to use it, I have never tried using Gparted live. I assume you know which one is your root partition, if you don't you can check with Gparted.
Also, I guess Gparted live will load as root so you don't need to run sudo in front of commands (sudo is for ubuntu anyway).

As stated above, you might be able to boot from the rescue prompt too. There are many options. If the procedure above to boot from the prompt doesn't work, tell me which is your root partition and I can help with the chroot.

[darkod]

How do I identify the boot partition?
This is what I get when I type "ls":

(hd0) (hd0, msdos7) (hd0, msdos6) (hd0, msdos5) (hd0, msdos3) (hd0, msdos2) (hd0, msdos1)

Well, which one is your root partition? You don't know?

[schragge]

Search for some file that you know is on it

grub rescue> help search.file

[dorruk]

Well, which one is your root partition? You don't know?

Well I know it is dev/sda2 but what I get from "ls" is not likely close to it?