Errors abound

[ooolongT]

A couple of weeks ago, I was using the Windows on a dual boot machine. I have two hard drives. The bigger one is for my Windows XP install, and the smaller one is for Ubuntu. I had finished working in Windows and shut down the computer- or so I thought. The next morning I came into my study only to find that during shutdown, the computer had frozen and was hanging there. "Stupid Windows" I thought. So I just powered it down manually, and restarted the computer, and that is when the problems started. Before GRUB came up I got Error 15.

Here is what I get when I run fdisk -l


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x13f84d83

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 14592 117210208+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/hdb: 17.0 GB, 17016717312 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2068 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb59db59d

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdb1 * 1 1976 15872188+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdb2 1977 2068 738990 5 Extended
/dev/hdb5 1977 2068 738958+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x36ace502

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 14593 117218241 7 HPFS/NTFS



It is only showing one hard disk, and not the one that Ubuntu is on.

So then I downloaded and ran boot_info_script032.sh and got this:


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

=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/hda and looks on boot drive #2 in
partition #1 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/hdb
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/hdc
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda

hda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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 /NTBOOTDD.SYS

hdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 7.10
Boot files/dirs: /etc/fstab

hdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

hdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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: hda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x13f84d83

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/hda1 * 63 234,420,479 234,420,417 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: hdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/hdb: 17.0 GB, 17016717312 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2068 cylinders, total 33235776 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb59db59d

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/hdb1 * 63 31,744,439 31,744,377 83 Linux
/dev/hdb2 31,744,440 33,222,419 1,477,980 5 Extended
/dev/hdb5 31,744,503 33,222,419 1,477,917 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Drive: hdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___
Note: sector size is 2048 (not 512)

Disk /dev/hdc: 729 MB, 729608192 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 22 cylinders, total 356254 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found


Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x36ace502

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 234,436,544 234,436,482 7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/hda1: UUID="B458C5A458C565A8" LABEL="Local Disk" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/hdb1: UUID="f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/hdb5: TYPE="swap" UUID="64e70d65-513d-420f-9671-c95758795571"
/dev/sda1: UUID="523469C53469AD23" LABEL="Misfortune" TYPE="ntfs"

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

proc on /proc type proc (rw)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
devshm on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/sda1 on /media/Misfortune type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,allow_other,blksize=4096)
/dev/hdb1 on /media/disk type ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/hda1 on /media/Local Disk type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,allow_other,blksize=4096)


================================ hda1/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" /fastdetect /noexecute=optin


=============================== hdb1/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/hdb1
UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/hdb5
UUID=64e70d65-513d-420f-9671-c95758795571 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec 0 0

=================== hdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


5.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak
5.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic
5.0GB: vmlinuz
=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

hdd

Ah! There is my Ubuntu drive!

So then I tried to follow the steps described at the bottom of the first post in this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=224351 And I did fairly well with that, but when I got to the part where it says



grub> find /boot/grub/stage1

I get:


Error 15: File not found

What is going on here? Any suggestions?

[sahabcse]

Hi Follow below url for fixing the grub

http://sahabm.blogspot.com/2009/01/grub-fix-ubuntu.html

[ooolongT]

Sahabcse, thank you for the link. Those are some of the same instructions that I followed before. My problem is that I can get no further than this:



grub> find /grub/stage1

Error 15: File not found

grub> find /grub/boot/stage1

Error 15: File not found


I am not sure how to create/move the proper file into that directory.

[caljohnsmith]

The Boot Info Script was not able to find Grub's boot files in your hdb1 Ubuntu 7.10 partition. How about posting the output of the following so we can see what you have in your Ubuntu boot directory:

sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt && ls -lR /mnt/boot

John

[ooolongT]

Here is what I got:



ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt && ls -lR /mnt/boot
/mnt/boot:
total 10120
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 424317 2007-10-15 01:39 abi-2.6.22-14-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 75311 2007-10-15 01:39 config-2.6.22-14-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7124250 2007-10-15 23:26 initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 103204 2007-09-28 10:06 memtest86+.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 823535 2007-10-15 01:39 System.map-2.6.22-14-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1764280 2007-10-15 01:39 vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic

[caljohnsmith]

Well that certainly explains your Grub error 15 then--your /boot/grub directory no longer exists. Or did you have a boot partition somewhere that had Grub in it? It doesn't look like it, so do you have any idea how you might have unintentionally deleted the /boot/grub directory in your Ubuntu 7.10 partition? In other words, having to do a hard shutdown after being booted into Windows would not have caused your /boot/grub directory to disappear, so I'm wondering how you might have lost your Grub directory.

But anyway, to reinstall Grub, how about doing the following from your Live CD:

sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt --recheck /dev/hda
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo chroot /mnt /bin/bash
update-grub [note: say "y" when it asks if you want to create a new menu.lst]
cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
exit
And please post the output of all the above commands; we can work from there.

John

[ooolongT]

Ok, it looks like that worked. Here is everything I got:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
mount: /dev/hdb1 already mounted or /mnt busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hdb1 is already mounted on /mnt
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt --recheck /dev/hda
Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
Due to a bug in xfs_freeze, the following command might produce a segmentation
fault when /mnt/boot/grub is not in an XFS filesystem. This error is harmless and
can be ignored.
xfs_freeze: specified file ["/mnt/boot/grub"] is not on an XFS filesystem
Installation finished. No error reported.
This is the contents of the device map /mnt/boot/grub/device.map.
Check if this is correct or not. If any of the lines is incorrect,
fix it and re-run the script `grub-install'.

(fd0) /dev/fd0
(hd0) /dev/hda
(hd1) /dev/hdb
(hd2) /dev/sda
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ do mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `do'
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo chroot /mnt /bin/bash
root@ubuntu:/# update-grub
Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Searching for default file ... found: /boot/grub/default
Testing for an existing GRUB menu.lst file ...

Could not find /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Would you like /boot/grub/menu.lst generated for you? (y/N) y
Searching for splash image ... none found, skipping ...
Found kernel: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic
Found kernel: /boot/memtest86+.bin
Updating /boot/grub/menu.lst ... done

root@ubuntu:/# cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd1,0)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro quiet splash
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro single

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST


To answer your question, no, I do not know what could have caused the directory to disappear. I think, however that that drive was filling up so that might have something to do with it.

[caljohnsmith]

OK, while you still have hdb1 mounted on /mnt, how about doing the following:

gksudo gedit /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst
And add the following entry at the bottom of the menu.lst file:

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

Also, comment-out the "hiddenmenu" line near the top of the menu.lst:

#hiddenmenu
Save the menu.lst file and quit gedit, and lastly please post:

df -h
After that, reboot, and let me know if you get the Grub menu OK on start up, and if so, if you can boot your OSes. We can work from there.

John

[ooolongT]

Here are the results:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
tmpfs 474M 16M 459M 4% /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile
tmpfs 474M 16M 459M 4% /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile
varrun 474M 92K 474M 1% /var/run
varlock 474M 0 474M 0% /var/lock
udev 474M 92K 474M 1% /dev
devshm 474M 0 474M 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 474M 12K 474M 1% /tmp
/dev/sda1 112G 76G 36G 68% /media/Misfortune
/dev/hdb1 15G 1.7G 13G 12% /mnt


(Misfortune is a USB drive)

[ooolongT]

I restarted the computer and where it usually says "Error 15" it now says (retyped):

Boot from CD:
Boot from CD:
Error Loading Operating System

and then it is frozen again.

I think it might have something to do with the windows boot because I replaced the ntldr and ntdetect.com files. It may be that I need to edit Windows boot.ini file? Anyway, shouldn't I still get the Grub loader so I can boot into Ubuntu?

[unutbu]

caljohnsmith doesn't appear to be online right now, so I will take a stab at this one.

According to boot_info_script,
GRUB has been install on your 120 GB drive, /dev/hda.
The Windows bootloader is installed on the 17 GB drive, /dev/hdb.
(Kind of ironic, since hda holds Windows and hdb holds Ubuntu. This is not a problem, by the way, as long as we get GRUB on hda to control the boot process, and not the Windows bootloader on hdb.)
The Windows bootloader is also installed on the 120 GB USB drive, /dev/sda.

I don't recognize the boot error you are getting, but it suggests that GRUB is not handling the boot process. So the BIOS is probably not booting hda. Maybe it is booting hdb or sda.

Try booting again and press whatever magic key is required to enter your BIOS menu. (possibly some function key like F2 or F10?) Try changing the boot order so that the 120 GB drive, hda comes before hdb and sda.

If this does not work, please run and post the output of boot_info_script again, so we can see the current state of your boot setup.

[caljohnsmith]

I agree with Ubutbu, if you are getting an "Error Loading Operating System" on start up, your hda drive does not seem to be set to boot first on start up. First see if you can change your BIOS boot order so that your hda drive is first, and let us know if you get the Grub menu or at least a Grub error. And actually if you can change your BIOS boot order, it might be worth it to just install Grub to the MBR of the Ubuntu hdb drive, so that way your drives will be independent of each other as far as booting is concerned. My directions had you reinstall Grub to the MBR of the hda drive because I noticed from the Boot Info Script that hda is where Grub was installed before, so I thought I would just leave it as is. Anyway, let us know what happens if you set the hda drive first in your BIOS boot order, and we can work from there.

John

[ooolongT]

First of all, I can not thank you guys enough for all the help you have provided me. This is awesome!

So, I read what unutbu wrote, and if I understand correctly, GRUB is on the Windows disk (120 GB drive), and the Windows boot loader is on the Ubuntu disk (17 GB drive) as well as the 120 GB drive. Do I need two Windows boot loaders? If not, I would like to remove one, this seems like its jsut more things to break.

I followed unutbu's instructions and made sure that the 120 GB drive was both the second boot device and the priority hard drive and... I got the GRUB loader! Woo hoo!! So then I tried to go into Ubuntu and got an error. Booooo...

I re-typed this:


[24.448907] Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (0,0)


and it hangs there and needs to be manually restarted.


So then I booted into safe mode and got this (again typed my me):

[24.771342] VFS: can not open root device "UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9" or unknown-block (0,0)
[24.771408] Please append a correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions: nothing else on this line
[24.771473] Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (0,0)



John,

For some reason I am having trouble running the boot info script:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ sudo boot_info_script032.sh
sudo: boot_info_script032.sh: command not foun

I just downloaded a new copy of it too, checked the permissions, and even did:

sudo ./boot*.sh

to no avail. Not sure why it is not working.

[unutbu]

ooolongT, I believe the problem is due to GRUB not being able to find the proper initrd file. Notice in the output of boot_info_script that you have


5.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak

but no


5.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic

Fortunately, from post #5 it appears the initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak is not empty:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt && ls -lR /mnt/boot
/mnt/boot:
total 10120
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7124250 2007-10-15 23:26 initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak


So how about try this:

Boot from the LiveCD.
Open a terminal (Applications>Accessories>Terminal), and type


sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
cd /mnt/boot/
sudo cp initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic{.bak,}

Just in case this doesn't solve the problem, it would still be helpful to see the output of boot_info_script. Perhaps it is located in ~/Desktop? In that case, try


cd ~/Desktop
sudo bash ./boot_info_script*.sh

[ooolongT]

Ah, that did it. Here is the info from the boot info script:


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

=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/hda and looks on boot drive #2 in
partition #1 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/hdb
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/hdc
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/hdd
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda

hda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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 /NTBOOTDD.SYS

hdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 7.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab

hdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

hdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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: hda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x13f84d83

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/hda1 * 63 234,420,479 234,420,417 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: hdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/hdb: 17.0 GB, 17016717312 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2068 cylinders, total 33235776 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb59db59d

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/hdb1 * 63 31,744,439 31,744,377 83 Linux
/dev/hdb2 31,744,440 33,222,419 1,477,980 5 Extended
/dev/hdb5 31,744,503 33,222,419 1,477,917 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Drive: hdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___
Note: sector size is 2048 (not 512)

Disk /dev/hdc: 729 MB, 729608192 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 22 cylinders, total 356254 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found


Drive: hdd ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___
Note: sector size is 2048 (not 512)

Disk /dev/hdd: 551 MB, 551448576 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 16 cylinders, total 269262 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found


Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x36ace502

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 234,436,544 234,436,482 7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/hda1: UUID="B458C5A458C565A8" LABEL="Local Disk" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/hdb1: UUID="f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/hdb5: TYPE="swap" UUID="64e70d65-513d-420f-9671-c95758795571"
/dev/sda1: UUID="523469C53469AD23" LABEL="Misfortune" TYPE="ntfs"

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

proc on /proc type proc (rw)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
devshm on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/sda1 on /media/Misfortune type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,allow_other,blksize=4096)
/dev/hdd on /media/XP2_PER_ENG type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,uid=999,utf8)
/dev/hdb1 on /mnt type ext3 (rw)


================================ hda1/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" /fastdetect /noexecute=optin


=========================== hdb1/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd1,0)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro quiet splash
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro single

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1


=============================== hdb1/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/hdb1
UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/hdb5
UUID=64e70d65-513d-420f-9671-c95758795571 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec 0 0

=================== hdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


5.0GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
5.0GB: boot/grub/stage2
4.9GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
5.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic.bak
5.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic
4.9GB: initrd.img
5.0GB: vmlinuz

I followed your instructions, and am going to reboot now and see if it is fixed, back in a few minutes.

[ooolongT]

Sadly, I got the same error when I restarted:


[24.448XXX] Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (0,0)

(the X's are there because I didn't write down the number this time)

[caljohnsmith]

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro quiet splash
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro single

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet


It looks like Unutbu and I overlooked the fact that your current menu.lst doesn't have any "initrd" lines for the Ubuntu entries; that makes sense since you ran "grub-install" before you copied the backup initrd image file back to its original name as per Unutbu's instructions. So to fix your menu.lst, how about doing the following from the Live CD:

sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
gksudu gedit /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst
Then add the following initrd lines to your Ubuntu entries:

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=f825681e-335f-4724-95a3-50947642f5b9 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
Reboot, and hopefully you'll be able to boot into Ubuntu this time; if not, let us know exactly what happens.

John

[ooolongT]

So close!!

I got to where it says "Starting up..." and goes to another screen and starts checking things - this is much further than I have gotten before. Then a blue screen came up that said:


Server Authorization Directory (daemon/ServerAuthDir) is set to /var/libGDM but this does not exist. Please correct the GDM configuration and restart GDM.


I hit ok, and then it took me to a screen that looked like:

Starting up...
Loading please wait...
usplash: No usable theme found for 640x180
screen init failed
Ubuntu 7.10 terranova tty1
terranova login:ubuntu
password:passwd

I also tried my login and password for this machine and that did not work either. Because I was not able ot login, I was stuck, so I restarted.

[caljohnsmith]

It seems to me like your Ubuntu installation has a lot more that needs to be fixed than just the missing Grub directory and boot files that we all ready reinstalled. According to the Boot Info Script, your Ubuntu installation is version 7.10; is there a particular reason why you have stayed with 7.10 all this time and decided not to upgrade to the latest 9.04 release? I think now would be a good time to consider saving all your important documents in Ubuntu, and then installing the latest 9.04 release. Since there seems to be a lot more wrong with your Ubuntu install than just a simple problem with Grub, I don't think it is worth trying to fix at this point, but it is up to you if you want to keep trying. If Unutbu wants to continue trying to help you troubleshoot the problems, that's great, I will respectfully step back and let him continue. But otherwise I think it is time to install a newer version of Ubuntu.

John

[ooolongT]

John,

I appreciate all of the help you and Unutbu have gien me. This is one of the strange things about the info we have been getting. My latest install was not 7.10, it was 8.04. I am using a 7.10 live disk right now however, and that is probably what I upgraded from. Not sure why everything is saying 7.10 though.

There are two main reasons why I have not upgraded yet:

1. I have had to do some fairly extensive reworking of the system to make it work with my computer, and I am afraid that my note taking was not great while I did it. Therefore, I am not looking forward to figuring it all out again.

2. I usually like to wait a while before after a release comes out so that when run into the inevitable problems/questions, someone has already asked that question and I can try working through it myself for a while before I ask for help.

However, I will do what I can to back up the important files, and try a fresh install. I think I will give Kubuntu a try this time, and maybe I will not have to do so much reconfiguring [-o<

A last question though: I would love to avoid a problem like this in the future, do you have any idea what happened here? Unutbu?

[ooolongT]

I also can't seem to get into my old Desktop Directory? Shouldn't


sudo cd /media/disk/home

get me in there? Sorry if this sounds clueless. When I use the File Browser, it looks like the home folder on that drive is completely empty.

[unutbu]

Edit: It depends on where hdb1 is mounted. To find that out, type


mount
or

df /dev/hdb1
The commands we've been posting, have been mounting hdb1 at /mnt,
so perhaps try
cd /mnt/home

(Also, sudo never works with "cd" because cd is a shell command and not an executable).
------------------------------------------------------------
I think caljohnsmith is right -- you would probably be best off using the LiveCD to mount hdb1 and copy all your personal data, then reinstall.

I am far from sure that your system is fully recoverable.
Pieces are missing -- /boot/grub/menu.lst, the initrd file, and now /var/lib/gdm.
Whatever caused this is a mystery to me.

Nevertheless, here's one more thing you could try:

I googled "daemon/ServerAuthDir) is set to /var/libGDM but this does not exist"
and came up with this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7152989.

So maybe we can get to a GDM login window by doing this:

Boot from the LiveCD.


sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
sudo mkdir /mnt/var/lib/gdm
sudo chmod 01770 /mnt/var/lib/gdm

Then reboot.

[ooolongT]

Unutbu, I followed your instructions and here is what I got:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mkdir /mnt/var/lib/gdm
mkdir: cannot create directory `/mnt/var/lib/gdm': No such file or directory


Which I thought was weird. So then I used the file browser and went to that location on the disk, and the /var/ directory only has four folders in it.


ubuntu@ubuntu:/mnt/var$ ls
crash lock log run


So I made both directories.

I am wondering what else may be missing from there though. Should I copy the files that are on the live CD filesystem into those directories?

I am going to restart now. Wish me luck!

[ooolongT]

As Lewis Carroll would say, curiouser and curiouser. I am now at the Ubuntu login screen but my name and password do not work. However, in the bottom righthand corner it says terranova // (date and time). That is weird, no?

[unutbu]

ooolongT, you are missing a lot of files. /mnt/var should have had all these directories


drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-05 08:58 backups
drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 2009-04-10 21:16 cache
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-24 01:57 crash
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:45 games
drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 2009-04-22 08:18 lib
drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 2008-10-20 08:27 local
drwxrwxrwt 4 root root 100 2009-05-08 13:24 lock
drwxr-xr-x 16 root root 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 log
drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 2009-05-08 14:10 mail
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:21 opt
drwxr-xr-x 18 root root 700 2009-05-08 13:24 run
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 2009-04-13 18:29 spool
drwxrwxrwt 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 13:25 tmp
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 16:43 www

/mnt/var/lib should have contained all these directories


total used in directory 248 available 14167128
drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 2009-04-22 08:18 .
drwxr-xr-x 16 root root 4096 2009-04-10 16:43 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 08:56 acpi-support
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 09:22 alsa
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-21 14:50 apparmor
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 2009-05-07 12:48 apt
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-02 08:50 aptitude
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-05-08 07:44 apt-xapian-index
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:34 aspell
drwxr-xr-x 2 avahi-autoipd avahi-autoipd 4096 2009-04-10 07:41 avahi-autoipd
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 16:34 belocs
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 22:46 binfmts
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 08:56 dbus
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root 4096 2009-04-20 21:27 defoma
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:21 dhcp3
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:47 dictionaries-common
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 17:29 dkms
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:34 doc-base
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 2009-05-04 11:49 dpkg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 09:54 emacsen-common
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 09:54 emacs-snapshot
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 exim4
drwx------ 2 fetchmail nogroup 4096 2009-04-17 19:39 fetchmail
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 21:09 flashplugin-nonfree
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:32 gconf
drwxrwx--T 3 root gdm 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 gdm
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-26 04:56 hal
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 17:23 initramfs-tools
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-14 09:02 initscripts
drwxrwsr-x 2 libuuid libuuid 4096 2009-04-10 07:21 libuuid
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:34 libxml-sax-perl
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:21 locales
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-11 08:25 logrotate
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:32 misc
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 07:42 mlocate
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 22:45 msttcorefonts
drwxr-xr-x 2 mysql mysql 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 mysql
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-19 09:23 mysql-cluster
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-20 23:17 NetworkManager
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-22 08:19 os-prober
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 16:33 pam
drwx-wx-wt 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 09:39 php5
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 16:46 phpmyadmin
drwxrwx--- 2 root polkituser 4096 2009-04-10 07:42 PolicyKit
drwxr-xr-x 2 polkituser root 4096 2008-10-08 03:03 PolicyKit-public
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-13 22:13 python-support
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-10 10:12 samba
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:32 sgml-base
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-22 14:37 snmp
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-21 14:13 synaptic
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-04-10 14:59 tex-common
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2009-04-10 15:00 texmf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:47 thunderbird
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-17 23:47 ucf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:40 ufw
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-24 18:02 update-manager
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:46 update-notifier
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 urandom
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:21 vim
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:28 x11
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-05-08 13:24 xkb
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-10 07:38 xml-core

Since your name and password do not work, you are probably missing files in /etc too.

Trying to restore all these directories manually would be very tough and slow. The fixes that you had to make to your system may be among the files that you are missing, so you would have to redo that anyway.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure backing up and reinstalling is your best option at this point. :(

[ooolongT]

:shock: 8-[ It seems that my home directory is now empty. Must have been among the files that were lost.



ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ cd /mnt/
ubuntu@ubuntu:/mnt$ ls
bin cdrom etc initrd lib media opt root srv tmp var
boot dev home initrd.img lost+found mnt proc sbin sys usr vmlinuz
ubuntu@ubuntu:/mnt$ cd home
ubuntu@ubuntu:/mnt/home$ ls
ubuntu@ubuntu:/mnt/home$


I checked the lost+found too, nothing there either.

So much for all my files.

I will wait a while and see if anyone has any idea how to get back the things that were in my Home folder, and especially on my Desktop, but I am going to install Kubuntu EOD unless I hear otherwise.

Once again, I REALLY appreciate all the help you guys! Even if I lost my files, I have learned a ton in the process (not least about BACKING UP REGULARLY!!!) "...and knowing is half the battle."