V.8.10 Another Grub error 21 Problem...

[killpotts]

Hello All, I have been trying to install Ubuntu 8.10 and I am currently typing this using the live CD. I have Windows XP already installed ( but now I can't boot to it because of, well, this error. )with one internal HD and 2 external USB HD's

Basically, whenever my computer boots up it goes to a black screen that states "loading grub...Error 21" and then freezes. The
only way out is to Ctrl+alt+delete to restart. I cannot boot either Linux or XP. The only way for me to do anything is to boot from the Ubuntu CD, which is what I have done now. I unfortunately do not have an XP boot CD.

I have tried changing the boot order to no avail. Also, my bios does not have an option in it to make any changes to Master/slave relationships.

I have been looking around the internet for ways to fix this and I have found Grub error 21 being fixed by a multitude of ways. All of them either did not work for me, or the solution were far to ridden with linux terms I am not yet familiar enough with to understand.


One thing I did find was a script for providing some info that should help those of you who understand it to help me figure out what I need to do. boot_info_script27.sh

Here are the results:

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

=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on boot drive #3 in
partition #5 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc

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

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Windows XP: Fat32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows XP
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders, total 156301488 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3c9e3c9d

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 12,305,790 156,296,384 143,990,595 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 63 12,305,789 12,305,727 b W95 FAT32


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa4b57300

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 63 976,768,064 976,768,002 7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/sda1: UUID="44BC7723BC770F24" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: UUID="8C13-DAE3" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sdc1: UUID="64148EEC148EC092" LABEL="ALPHA MEH" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"

=============================== "mount" output: ===============================

/proc on /proc type proc (rw)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=620)
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
/dev/scd0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 on /rofs type squashfs (ro,noatime)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/ubuntu/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=ubuntu)
/dev/sdc1 on /media/ALPHA MEH type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)
/dev/sda1 on /media/disk type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)


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

[boot loader]

timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

[killpotts]

Update:

This is a bit odd.

I tried to see what would happen if I re-installed Ubuntu, but at step 4-Prepare partitions, it doesn't detect anything and won't let me progress. If I click "back" it just tries to prepare the partitions again and won't let me go back. If I press "Forward" it tells me no root is defined and won't let me go forward.

[caljohnsmith]

So which drive did you try to install Ubuntu to? The script only showed an 80 GB sda drive and a 500 GB sdc drive, but both of those drives just have NTFS partitions, no linux partitions. If you want to be able to boot your Windows sda drive in the meantime, you can restore a Windows MBR (Master Boot Record) to your sda Windows drive by doing:

sudo apt-get install lilo
sudo lilo -M /dev/sda mbr
And then you should be able to boot into Windows again. Is the drive you want to install Ubuntu to a SATA drive? If so, that could be the issue.

[killpotts]

I am not sure if the Drive is a SATA drive, are you talking about how when I try to install ubuntu now I get stuck at step 4 ?

[caljohnsmith]

I am not sure if the Drive is a SATA drive, are you talking about how when I try to install ubuntu now I get stuck at step 4 ?
Yes, I'm wondering if your drive is SATA, because if it is, sometimes the installer won't see SATA drives until you take special steps. So to ask again, which drive did you try to install Ubuntu to?

[killpotts]

Right now, I'm thinking the install failed. I can't find anything pertaining to Ubuntu anywhere on any drive. I thought that I tried to place it on an external, but I can't find anything.

I do know, however, that the external hard drive I am trying to install it to isn't showing up...

Is there any way to create a new partition on a external HD that is 500GB's without effecting the 200GB's of data already on it ? I am quite sure it is not a SATA drive, however my internal HD may be one ( I am not sure how to check, but it should not matter since I am not trying to use my internal HD )

I ask because that is my main goal here.

Oh, and Windows is fine now.

[caljohnsmith]

You can create additional partitions on the external 500 GB drive using gparted under System > Admin > Partition Editor.