PDA

View Full Version : [SOLVED] Gave up waiting for root device



perfunction
October 17th, 2009, 12:35 AM
I'm attempting to run a triple-boot with Kubuntu 9.1 on a Macbook Pro which was already dual-booting Snow Leopard and Windows 7. My first install worked fine, and I was even able to boot into it the next day at work. But when I got home from work GRUB wouldn't get past the "GRUB _" screen. I eventually gave up and reinstalled Kubuntu which fixed my problem.

I started tweaking my second install with stuff like kcmtouchpad, nvidia drivers, broadcom wifi drivers, vidalia/tor/proxychains, firefox, and dicked around with the opengl desktop animations.

However, after a day of work in Windows 7 I come back home to a Kubuntu install that fails to boot. It gives me the "gave up waiting for root device" error and says it will dump me to a shell but NEVER does. I waited probably 30 minutes once. I've been trying to fix it by googling for two days now but my installation doesn't seem to come anywhere near anything in the forum threads I'm finding. I tried IRC but I'm not even being acknowledged there.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9374/img0037cf.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/img0037cf.jpg/)

Here are my results from the boot script: (sdb is a flash drive I just setup hoping it boots faster than this live-cd)

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

=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda
=> Syslinux is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: BSD4.4: Fat32
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sda1 starts
at sector 0. But according to the info from fdisk,
sda1 starts at sector 40.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: hfsplus
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu karmic (development
branch)
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /grub/core.img
/boot/grub/core.img

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Fat32
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdb1 starts
at sector 0. But according to the info from fdisk,
sdb1 starts at sector 62.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

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

Drive sda: __________________________________________________ ___________________

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa6ff8bb3

Partition Start End Size System
/dev/sda1 40 409,639 409,600 System/Boot Partition
/dev/sda2 409,640 444,850,719 444,441,080 HFS+
/dev/sda3 445,112,864 582,916,112 137,803,249 Linux (usually)
/dev/sda4 582,916,113 625,140,722 42,224,610 Linux (usually)

/dev/sda4 ends after the last cylinder of /dev/sda

Drive sdb: __________________________________________________ ___________________

Disk /dev/sdb: 1037 MB, 1037303808 bytes
32 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1021 cylinders, total 2025984 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000eb52b

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 * 62 2,025,663 2,025,602 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/sda1: LABEL="EFI" UUID="640B-0804" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda2: UUID="17bff7e1-5094-373a-8de9-ec5e37e891fb" LABEL="MacintoshHD" TYPE="hfsplus"
/dev/sda3: UUID="84B89DA4B89D9570" LABEL="BOOTCAMP" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda4: UUID="fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb1: LABEL="" UUID="37B0-26D6" TYPE="vfat"

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

aufs on / type aufs (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
/dev/sr0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (rw)
/dev/loop0 on /rofs type squashfs (rw)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=0620)
none on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
none on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
none on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw)
none on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/37B0-26D6 type vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=devkit,uid=999,gid=999,sh ortname=lower,dmask=0077,utf8=1)
/dev/sda4 on /mnt/sysvol type ext4 (rw)

=========================== sda4/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 ###
load_env
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
save_env saved_entry
prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,4)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59
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
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/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic" {
recordfail=1
save_env recordfail
set quiet=1
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,4)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic (recovery mode)" {
recordfail=1
save_env recordfail
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,4)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-11-generic" {
recordfail=1
save_env recordfail
set quiet=1
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,4)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-11-generic root=UUID=fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-11-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-11-generic (recovery mode)" {
recordfail=1
save_env recordfail
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,4)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-11-generic root=UUID=fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-11-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Mac OS X (on /dev/sda2)" {
insmod hfsplus
set root=(hd0,2)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set e6604c38b8d74507
insmod vbe
do_resume=0
if [ /var/vm/sleepimage -nt10 / ]; then
if xnu_resume /var/vm/sleepimage; then
do_resume=1
fi
fi
if [ $do_resume == 0 ]; then
xnu_uuid e6604c38b8d74507 uuid
if [ -f /Extra/DSDT.aml ]; then
acpi -e /Extra/DSDT.aml
fi
xnu_kernel /mach_kernel boot-uuid=${uuid} rd=*uuid
if [ /System/Library/Extensions.mkext -nt /System/Library/Extensions ]; then
xnu_mkext /System/Library/Extensions.mkext
else
xnu_kextdir /System/Library/Extensions
fi
if [ -f /Extra/Extensions.mkext ]; then
xnu_mkext /Extra/Extensions.mkext
fi
if [ -d /Extra/Extensions ]; then
xnu_kextdir /Extra/Extensions
fi
if [ -f /Extra/devtree.txt ]; then
xnu_devtree /Extra/devtree.txt
fi
if [ -f /Extra/splash.jpg ]; then
insmod jpeg
xnu_splash /Extra/splash.jpg
fi
if [ -f /Extra/splash.png ]; then
insmod png
xnu_splash /Extra/splash.png
fi
if [ -f /Extra/splash.tga ]; then
insmod tga
xnu_splash /Extra/splash.tga
fi
fi
}
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda3)" {
insmod ntfs
set root=(hd0,3)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 84b89da4b89d9570
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 ###

=============================== sda4/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
# / was on /dev/sda4 during installation
UUID=fa1ef365-a19c-4edf-aa8e-f5628880fd59 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sda4: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


298.4GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
298.4GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-11-generic
298.4GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
298.4GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic.bak
298.4GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-11-generic
298.4GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic
298.4GB: initrd.img
298.4GB: initrd.img.old
298.4GB: vmlinuz
298.4GB: vmlinuz.old

=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown MBR on /dev/sda

00000000 eb 63 90 d0 bc 00 7c 8e c0 8e d8 be 00 7c bf 00 |.c....|......|..|
00000010 06 b9 00 02 fc f3 a4 50 68 1c 06 cb fb b9 04 00 |.......Ph.......|
00000020 bd be 07 80 7e 00 00 7c 0b 0f 85 0e 01 83 c5 10 |....~..|........|
00000030 e2 f1 cd 18 88 56 00 55 c6 46 11 05 c6 46 10 00 |.....V.U.F...F..|
00000040 b4 41 bb aa 55 cd 13 5d 72 0f 81 fb 55 aa 75 09 |.A..U..]r...U.u.|
00000050 f7 c1 01 00 74 03 fe 46 10 66 00 80 b9 13 2c 23 |....t..F.f....,#|
00000060 00 00 00 00 ff fa eb 07 f6 c2 80 75 02 b2 80 ea |...........u....|
00000070 74 7c 00 00 31 c0 8e d8 8e d0 bc 00 20 fb a0 64 |t|..1....... ..d|
00000080 7c 3c ff 74 02 88 c2 52 be 88 7d e8 24 01 be 05 ||<.t...R..}.$...|
00000090 7c f6 c2 80 74 48 b4 41 bb aa 55 cd 13 5a 52 72 ||...tH.A..U..ZRr|
000000a0 3d 81 fb 55 aa 75 37 83 e1 01 74 32 31 c0 89 44 |=..U.u7...t21..D|
000000b0 04 40 88 44 ff 89 44 02 c7 04 10 00 66 8b 1e 5c |.@.D..D.....f..\|
000000c0 7c 66 89 5c 08 66 8b 1e 60 7c 66 89 5c 0c c7 44 ||f.\.f..`|f.\..D|
000000d0 06 00 70 b4 42 cd 13 72 05 bb 00 70 eb 73 b4 08 |..p.B..r...p.s..|
000000e0 cd 13 73 0a f6 c2 80 0f 84 d8 00 e9 82 00 66 0f |..s...........f.|
000000f0 b6 c6 88 64 ff 40 66 89 44 04 0f b6 d1 c1 e2 02 |...d.@f.D.......|
00000100 88 e8 88 f4 40 89 44 08 0f b6 c2 c0 e8 02 66 89 |....@.D.......f.|
00000110 04 66 a1 60 7c 66 09 c0 75 4e 66 a1 5c 7c 66 31 |.f.`|f..uNf.\|f1|
00000120 d2 66 f7 34 88 d1 31 d2 66 f7 74 04 3b 44 08 7d |.f.4..1.f.t.;D.}|
00000130 37 fe c1 88 c5 30 c0 c1 e8 02 08 c1 88 d0 5a 88 |7....0........Z.|
00000140 c6 bb 00 70 8e c3 31 db b8 01 02 cd 13 72 29 8c |...p..1......r).|
00000150 c3 60 1e b9 00 01 8e db 31 f6 bf 00 80 8e c6 fc |.`......1.......|
00000160 f3 a5 1f 61 ff 26 5a 7c be 8e 7d e8 44 00 eb 0e |...a.&Z|..}.D...|
00000170 be 93 7d e8 3c 00 eb 06 be 9d 7d e8 34 00 be a2 |..}.<.....}.4...|
00000180 7d e8 2e 00 cd 18 eb fe 47 52 55 42 20 00 47 65 |}.......GRUB .Ge|
00000190 6f 6d 00 48 61 72 64 20 44 69 73 6b 00 52 65 61 |om.Hard Disk.Rea|
000001a0 64 00 20 45 72 72 6f 72 0d 0a 00 bb 01 00 b4 0e |d. Error........|
000001b0 cd 10 ac 3c 00 75 f4 c3 b3 8b ff a6 00 00 00 fe |...<.u..........|
000001c0 ff ff ee fe ff ff 01 00 00 00 27 40 06 00 00 fe |..........'@....|
000001d0 ff ff af fe ff ff 28 40 06 00 f8 a1 7d 1a 80 fe |......(@....}...|
000001e0 ff ff 07 fe ff ff 20 e2 87 1a f1 b5 36 08 80 fe |...... .....6...|
000001f0 ff ff 83 fe ff ff 11 98 be 22 e2 4b 84 02 55 aa |.........".K..U.|
00000200


=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

sed: can't read sda2/etc/issue: No such file or directory


Thanks in advance.

perfunction
October 17th, 2009, 07:11 AM
I was finally able to figure it out on my own thanks to this page:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Grub2

I followed the guide to recover grub2 using my live cd and while editing my defaults file I uncommented this line:
GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

munooka
October 27th, 2009, 01:19 AM
Thanks this worked like a treat. Wonder why it stopped working after yesterdays's updates?

petersphilo
August 22nd, 2010, 01:18 AM
Thank you very much for this info!!

I was in the same situation, sometimes it would boot, and sometimes it would stop with the same exact screen.

I have tried your hint of uncommenting the line:
GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

in the file:
/etc/default/grub

EDIT:
i actually forgot to run 'update-grub' and ran into the same problem again.
So, i basically rebooted (about 8 times) until i got to the login screen, and immediately ran 'update-grub'.
The problem has not occurred since, yay!



So, the short and sweet (in 4 steps) is:

1- While logged into Lucid, in the Terminal application, type the following:
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

2- Uncomment the line that reads:
GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

3- Save

4- run the following command:
sudo update-grub

You're done!!



and it has worked without a problem ever since!

So, again, Thank You!!
Be Well!