9.10 boot error - Gave up waiting for root device - dev/disk/ does not exist

[AndreLeComte]

After updating from 9.04 to Ubuntu 9.10, an error occurs at boot stating:

"Gave up waiting for root device"
....
"ALERT! /dev/disk/... does not exist"

Older kernels will boot, but not 2.6.31. Please help.

The error message is similar to this:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9374/img0037cf.jpg

[usaar33]

exact error here, but I can't do older ones.

2.6.24 gives /proc/self/mountinfo: No such file or directory
root filesystem isn't mounted

[AndreLeComte]

.

[AndreLeComte]

Here is more information if anybody can help us?:

[williejones]

Do you have a disk to reinstall to 9.04? Is so, I would recommend reinstalling to 9.04.
Then download 9.10 for a clean install instead of an upgrade

Later

[AndreLeComte]

I am using 9.10 with the 2.6.28 kernel. I would rather fix the 2.6.31 issue rather than reinstall Ubuntu.

[usaar33]

I am using 9.10 with the 2.6.28 kernel. I would rather fix the 2.6.31 issue rather than reinstall Ubuntu.

Agreed here. I've spent much time setting up my ubuntu installation and would rather not spend hours fixing it all up.

[AndreLeComte]

Does this look feasible?:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1127779

[sinurge]

I am getting the same error. Thanks for the screenshot.

I have vista as the second OS. I did a WUBI install then rebooted, post which it did not work a few times but doing a acpi workarounds switch did the trick. It finished installation and then said reboot. Post whihc i am getting this error.

also, earlier i tried the Live CD it did not detect my hdd during the install.

[AndreLeComte]

This basically solved the issue for me:

Here (http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/ubuntu-initrd-bug.html)

Replace your nonworking initrd file with a previous version. For you Andre all you need to do is (just in case you are new)

cd /boot
sudo mv initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic backup
sudo cp initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic

[usaar33]

Thanks Andre for the tip, but there seems to be no /boot directory accessible in busybox. I'm not as fortunate as you in that I have no working kernels and due to a defective cd-rom drive, I can't use a live cd.

[jahst]

This error is horrible.
Shut down PC fine yesterday.
Showed up for work this morning and PC wouldnt boot.
I have 90 kids showing up for school in 20 minutes.. what to do.

No idea what is causing it, but this fixed it for me.


press "e" for edit at the boot menu

then navigate down to the root=uuid=#########

change to root=/dev/sda2

sda2 is my hard disk number and partition for my linux install.

Yours might be different.

I'll be rebooting several times tonight.. dont want this surprise ever again.



If using Grub 2
There is an option in /etc/default/grub file that says

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

Would changing this line fix it?

Still dont understand why it started fine yesterday, but not today.

This was a clean install of 9.10

** Edit **

I just remembered, I did an update yesterday which changed my /etc/default/grub file

The only thing it changed was this line

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10 -- to -- > GRUB_TIMEOUT="10"

Notice the ""s

Its the only thing that changed from yesterday to today.

I'll change it back after work and see if it makes a difference.

[SpaceCoder]

I had this error while installing Ubuntu 9.10 on an empty drive.

I fixed this by appending acpi=off at the end of the boot params within GRUB.

I hope this helps.

Bill

[TeflonMaster]

I type in /cd boot and it tells me not found

this is ridiculous yo

[usaar33]

jahst: Your trick worked for me.

The bootup still fails with this error:

http://mcsundae.com/boot_error.jpg

[sinurge]

I type in /cd boot and it tells me not found

this is ridiculous yo
I was getting the same error, i did this.

when you get the grub loader and first line is flashing press e and enter

you get another line. At the end of the 2nd last line add pci=nomsi acpi=off noacpi then hit ctrl+x to boot.

pci=nomsi worked for me but u could try the other switches as well.

if it boots properly use the disk utility post the boot. it showed me some disk errors. that might have been the reason for the boot error i was getting.

[NJC]

Also same error. I have a triple-boot system and Ubuntu 9.10 continues working fine, but both XP and 9.04 are borked on my other disk. The error above I am receiving when trying to boot into 9.04. I don't recall changing anything??

[usaar33]

Well, it seems an incomplete update caused this issue. I was able to use a live installation and an apt-get dist-upgrade got past this problem.

The upgrade has still horribly failed though. My network cards aren't detected. KDE boots up but then the screen gets corrupted.

[usaar33]

Ok another round of apt-get -f update seems to have finally fixed the issues.

Now, I just have a final issue with the wifi card not scanning...

[IanW]

Ok another round of apt-get -f update seems to have finally fixed the issues.

Now, I just have a final issue with the wifi card not scanning...

Try installing "linux-backports-modules-wireless-karmic-generic"

[usaar33]

Try installing "linux-backports-modules-wireless-karmic-generic"

Sadly, that didn't fix the issue. It also happened to disable the blue light my laptop shows when the wifi is on (even after I uninstalled).

It isn't the end of the world; scanning works the moment the radio is switched on. NetworkManager won't work, but I can manually connect via shell commands.

This seems to be a very common bug with the intel 2200bg.

[jahst]

Had a meeting yesterday, so didnt get a chance to change any system settings, yet, this morning came to work and it booted up just fine.

So, Monday, PC had clean start and shutdown.. no problems.. did an update that changed one line in /etc/default/grub by putting "" around 10.

Tuesday, PC did not start, had to change UUID to /dev/sda2 and it started.
Once started I didnt change anything.

----- BUT -------
"sudo blkid" didn't list my partition /dev/sda2
I know it exists, because it's the only one with linux and I was using it to type the command in the first place.


Today, started up just fine, didnt change anything yesterday or today, and now

"sudo blkid" does show my partition which was booted using UUID in the grub menu.


There is another post talking about similar issues, but I think it was on a different release version... might help though.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=981159

[registerkar]

I am a Newbie but this is what happened to me. Dont know if relevant.

I installed Ubuntu 9.10 with USB Drive emulated as a Fixed HDD in BIOS
So while install it took my windows install on first partition as sdb1

On boot it showed:
Ubuntu
Ubuntu Recovery
Memory test
Memory test
Windows XP Professional on dev/sda1
Windows NT/XP/200 on dev/sdb1

Windows would boot by selecting

But on selecting Windows NT/XP/200 on dev/sdb1 it gave a error & same waiting.
I realized that since I had installed Ubuntu from USB it took USD as sda1
& HDD as sdb1
now since USB was not there it took HDD as sda1 but showed a junk entry of Windows NT/XP/200 on dev/sdb1

I researched a lot to get rid of this entry
I did run 'sudo update-grub' from terminal
Wallah!!!... Prob solved
Not only it solved my problem & removed the junk entry it also detected my Windows 7 install on a separate HDD which i had attached later so that i dont mess up with Win 7 Loader.

Now I have a Triple Boot system Thanks to Grub2 which is very advance.
also its safe to use 'sudo update-grub'
It wont messup the system so Try if that works in live environment.
Sorry if i may be wrong as i am just 2 months Linux Baby - But I Love it !!!...

[atoztoa]

Try changing the mapping in /etc/fstab from UUID to /dev/sda... (you will need to mount the partition separately after booting from Live CD).

I came across lots of problems during my install of Karmic... read it fully and you will get some insight...

http://www.atoztoa.com/2009/11/booti...-downfall.html

_ATOzTOA
www.atoztoa.com

[sorceror171]

Just upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10 yesterday, and I'm apparently quite hosed. There are only two kernel entries I can pick; 2.6.31-15-generic gets me the "Gave up waiting for root device" message; on the other hand, booting the 2.6.28-16 image gets me a message on the splash screen saying (near-paraphrase) "One or more of the filesystems in /etc/fstab cannot yet be mounted".

Editing the boot entry in the grub menu to remove the UUID and substitute the correct partition (/dev/sda7, in this case) gets me the same error, except now it says "Alert! /dev/sda7 does not exist!" But, of course, that partition definitely does exist. None of the tricks listed here seem to work.

I have a backup of my 9.04 root partition which I'll be dropping back to. What the hell happened here? Does anyone have a clue why this boot problem is actually happening - the root cause? I haven't seen that discussed anywhere...

I have a lot of partitions, actually - /, /tmp, /usr/local, /opt, and /home. All are identified by UUID in /etc/fstab. If UUIDs don't work, that could be the problem... but I like UUIDs, I've had to move disks before and they made it painless. Do I really have to go into 9.04 (or a boot CD), modify /etc/fstab to remove all UUIDs, and then try booting?

[darkod]

If you updated only the 9.04 to 9.10 but not grub1 to grub2, I'm not sure it is using UUIDs right now. Grub2 upgrade has to be done separately to the 9.04 upgrade. Or if you selected not to do it.

@registerkar
In this situation adding the win7 disk worked but in general that is exactly what's getting people into problems. Why would you want to install any OS with incomplete hardware? Adding drives changes sequence, names, etc. People, get your system together, ALL of it, then install. Don't blame grub or ubuntu if doing otherwise. Why are you so keen to keep windows bootloader when it can boot only windows and is useless for dual booting? (unless you know to make specific advanced changes to it).

[sorceror171]

If you updated only the 9.04 to 9.10 but not grub1 to grub2, I'm not sure it is using UUIDs right now. Grub2 upgrade has to be done separately to the 9.04 upgrade. Or if you selected not to do it.

Well, nothing ever asked me to upgrade from grub1 to grub2. I'd have noticed.

Is that really the problem? Should I copy my 9.04 partition over the broken 9.10 one, then upgrade that 9.04 to grub2, confirm that works, and then finally run an upgrade to 9.10? Does that have some hope of working?

[darkod]

Don't copy anything over, yet. Download the script in my signature, then execute it with:
sudo bash

if on desktop fr example it would be:
sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh

It will create results.txt file. Copy the content here and wrap it with code tags (select all text and click on the # icon above). That will be easier to read.

It will show you your complete boot process, you can notice many things yourself depending how long you have been using ubuntu.

[pdjsyc]

Hi, I have the same problem after regular update ubuntu 9.10 from kernel 2.6.31.14 to 2.6.31.15. Files from /boot and /lib/modules are missing. After copying from other machine with kernel 2.6.31.14 still reports missing some more files.

[darkod]

As in my previous post, can you run the boot info script and post the resulting results.txt wrapped in CODE tags (icon # in the toolbar).

[sorceror171]

It will create results.txt file. Copy the content here and wrap it with code tags (select all text and click on the # icon above). That will be easier to read.

Okay, you asked for it. I said I've got a lot of partitions. sda5 is the old 9.04 root partition, sda7 is the new 9.04 copy upgraded to 9.10 that won't boot. sda6 is /home, sdb4 is /tmp, there's also a /usr/local and an /opt, but I don't recall offhand which partition those are.



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

=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive
in partition #7 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.
=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on the same drive
in partition #12 for /grub/stage2 and /grub/menu.lst.
=> Windows 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: Extended Partition
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sda5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 9.04
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab

sda6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda7: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 9.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab

sda8: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda9: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
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: 123.5 GB, 123522416640 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 15017 cylinders, total 241254720 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf1559606

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 83,891,429 83,891,367 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 83,891,430 232,428,419 148,536,990 f W95 Ext d (LBA)
/dev/sda5 83,891,493 103,442,534 19,551,042 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 103,442,598 162,047,654 58,605,057 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 162,047,718 191,366,279 29,318,562 83 Linux
/dev/sda8 191,366,343 230,452,424 39,086,082 83 Linux
/dev/sda9 230,452,488 232,428,419 1,975,932 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 123.5 GB, 123522416640 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 15017 cylinders, total 241254720 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x04cc04cc

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 63 117,210,239 117,210,177 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 117,210,240 175,815,359 58,605,120 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb3 175,815,360 216,877,499 41,062,140 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 175,815,423 214,901,504 39,086,082 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 214,901,568 216,877,499 1,975,932 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb4 216,877,500 241,248,104 24,370,605 83 Linux


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf475b38b

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 63 1,953,520,064 1,953,520,002 7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/sda1: UUID="0414C99F14C993D8" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: UUID="1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda6: UUID="9228a844-f07a-4cb9-a2a4-3ce39ac29b23" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda7: UUID="4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda8: UUID="3a5969ff-9509-4ff4-9b08-55aa83e48e81" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda9: UUID="2674d911-0ae1-45d8-9514-4b3ce857ea2d" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="EC84A97684A94444" LABEL="Video" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sdb2: UUID="824C1FEE4C1FDBAB" LABEL="Games" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sdb4: UUID="9980d6a2-0919-4c5d-866e-fefa771b25bf" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sdb5: UUID="edda9f07-149c-4594-80fb-0e154f525791" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sdb6: UUID="b14d12b5-6528-4387-ad95-f25612339dbc" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdc1: UUID="0CB8203AB82024A4" LABEL="BigBak" 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/scd1 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)


================================ 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" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn


=========================== sda5/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 2

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 10

## 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

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root

### 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=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,4)

## 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

## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
## indomU=true
## indomU=false
# indomU=detect

## 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 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-16-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-15-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-15-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-14-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-14-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-14-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-14-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-14-generic

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-13-generic
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-13-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-13-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.04, kernel 2.6.28-13-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-13-generic root=UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-13-generic

title Ubuntu 9.04, memtest86+
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

=============================== sda5/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sda5
UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sda6
UUID=9228a844-f07a-4cb9-a2a4-3ce39ac29b23 /home ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda8
UUID=3a5969ff-9509-4ff4-9b08-55aa83e48e81 /opt ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda7 (old tmp)
#UUID=6e3309ad-e908-4b5f-8c7c-e91cf90d5cc1 /tmp ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sdb4 (new tmp)
UUID=9980d6a2-0919-4c5d-866e-fefa771b25bf /tmp ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sdb5
UUID=edda9f07-149c-4594-80fb-0e154f525791 /usr/local ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda9
UUID=2674d911-0ae1-45d8-9514-4b3ce857ea2d none swap sw 0 0
# /dev/sdb6
UUID=b14d12b5-6528-4387-ad95-f25612339dbc none swap sw 0 0
# /dev/sdb1
UUID=EC84A97684A94444 /media/winvid ntfs rw 0 0
# /dev/sdb1
UUID=824C1FEE4C1FDBAB /media/wingames ntfs rw 0 0
# /dev/sdc1
UUID=0CB8203AB82024A4 /media/BigBak ntfs rw,uid=1000 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/scd1 /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sda5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


51.7GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
52.8GB: boot/grub/stage2
51.8GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-13-generic
51.9GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-14-generic
51.9GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
52.8GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic
51.7GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-13-generic
51.7GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-14-generic
45.2GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic
52.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic
52.8GB: initrd.img
51.9GB: initrd.img.old
52.0GB: vmlinuz
45.2GB: vmlinuz.old

=========================== sda7/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 2

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 10

## 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

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root

### 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=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,6)

## 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

## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
## indomU=true
## indomU=false
# indomU=detect

## 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 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-15-generic
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-15-generic root=UUID=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-15-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.31-15-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-15-generic root=UUID=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-15-generic

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.28-16-generic
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic root=UUID=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 9.10, kernel 2.6.28-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic root=UUID=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic

title Ubuntu 9.10, memtest86+
root (hd0,6)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

=============================== sda7/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sda7
UUID=4121e895-0c3a-4d2a-9608-24db6ff2d68c / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sda5 (oldroot)
#UUID=1385326f-1e66-4c74-bb8d-49046465dbbf / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sda6
UUID=9228a844-f07a-4cb9-a2a4-3ce39ac29b23 /home ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda8
UUID=3a5969ff-9509-4ff4-9b08-55aa83e48e81 /opt ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda7 (old tmp)
#UUID=6e3309ad-e908-4b5f-8c7c-e91cf90d5cc1 /tmp ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sdb4 (new tmp)
UUID=9980d6a2-0919-4c5d-866e-fefa771b25bf /tmp ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sdb5
UUID=edda9f07-149c-4594-80fb-0e154f525791 /usr/local ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sda9
UUID=2674d911-0ae1-45d8-9514-4b3ce857ea2d none swap sw 0 0
# /dev/sdb6
UUID=b14d12b5-6528-4387-ad95-f25612339dbc none swap sw 0 0
# /dev/sdb1
UUID=EC84A97684A94444 /media/winvid ntfs rw 0 0
# /dev/sdb1
UUID=824C1FEE4C1FDBAB /media/wingames ntfs rw 0 0
# /dev/sdc1
UUID=0CB8203AB82024A4 /media/BigBak ntfs rw,uid=1000 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/scd1 /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sda7: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


94.8GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
94.8GB: boot/grub/stage2
94.8GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-16-generic
95.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-15-generic
94.8GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-16-generic
90.5GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-15-generic
95.0GB: initrd.img
94.8GB: initrd.img.old
90.5GB: vmlinuz
94.8GB: vmlinuz.old
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown BootLoader on sdb6

00000000 e0 06 4b 1c 58 13 d6 aa 22 5b fa 77 f7 73 99 3f |..K.X..."[.w.s.?|
00000010 82 57 72 1b 95 26 01 05 94 af 18 1f 99 c2 e2 cb |.Wr..&..........|
00000020 0d 7f 55 47 72 16 b0 74 c3 be 8b c1 8c 97 cc 59 |..UGr..t.......Y|
00000030 60 bc df 3f 44 89 eb d2 e7 18 3a 8d 71 7c c0 6e |`..?D.....:.q|.n|
00000040 ea 94 be 06 6d be b3 1c 6b 2b 23 5f 5b ef fb ea |....m...k+#_[...|
00000050 84 87 a9 93 8e 62 23 19 25 42 f9 c5 f1 ff c1 60 |.....b#.%B.....`|
00000060 03 59 0b 22 2b a6 54 69 27 35 45 b6 c9 71 ba 10 |.Y."+.Ti'5E..q..|
00000070 09 18 63 c5 84 68 4e f5 54 12 a2 15 67 a6 75 21 |..c..hN.T...g.u!|
00000080 e3 8e 0c 70 a8 39 e5 47 ee 3f 00 01 4f 68 97 a2 |...p.9.G.?..Oh..|
00000090 90 c1 87 f3 f2 44 dd ec b8 91 67 cc bc c3 d4 8d |.....D....g.....|
000000a0 07 cd d8 c6 c5 60 ea 75 f5 79 30 b0 dc 0e c4 18 |.....`.u.y0.....|
000000b0 1d 55 21 33 36 4e 4c 69 f6 cb 17 a2 59 55 82 58 |.U!36NLi....YU.X|
000000c0 6b ac bc f3 61 94 c0 f9 e2 3c d0 4f 7f e5 f9 72 |k...a....<.O...r|
000000d0 30 6d b0 fc 84 31 61 66 fc 64 e8 df dc a8 59 61 |0m...1af.d....Ya|
000000e0 12 93 9c 7c bf cb 4c 9c 93 98 6b 83 58 6e 31 01 |...|..L...k.Xn1.|
000000f0 98 86 57 41 f5 af 27 89 73 93 20 65 5d 0b 69 03 |..WA..'.s. e].i.|
00000100 4e 15 21 24 8d 26 a8 85 40 58 fc 85 2e 4f bc 75 |N.!$.&..@X...O.u|
00000110 9e 34 e7 23 a7 23 41 39 1e 2e ee 76 7a b9 96 bc |.4.#.#A9...vz...|
00000120 78 05 a5 03 1e 38 7c 4e 9c 78 50 7d 0e d4 3d 45 |x....8|N.xP}..=E|
00000130 42 ed 9e 46 88 00 ab 4d cf 3d fa 4c be 62 3f ea |B..F...M.=.L.b?.|
00000140 1a 8f 98 41 39 e1 bc b2 4c 67 47 ca 9f c9 50 89 |...A9...LgG...P.|
00000150 0b 14 34 63 9e 9c aa 3d aa 33 0a c6 62 ed bc 42 |..4c...=.3..b..B|
00000160 0e fc d2 ae a1 53 8c d2 52 e0 9f b3 73 7a 80 0e |.....S..R...sz..|
00000170 0b 6c 6a 7b 74 da 04 27 c3 6e 7f c3 31 22 aa a6 |.lj{t..'.n..1"..|
00000180 23 bd 9f 5a ff bf 35 d1 1d 1c 40 71 ef d2 b2 6a |#..Z..5...@q...j|
00000190 18 5d 9b a2 b8 74 f1 b1 e7 25 f0 03 3b 47 de 66 |.]...t...%..;G.f|
000001a0 ae 4e 62 89 3d 5a d6 05 31 5c 26 3c 3c 9c 6e 4d |.Nb.=Z..1\&<<.nM|
000001b0 fc 5d ec 34 d6 41 e1 77 7c e6 f8 36 36 e9 e8 d8 |.].4.A.w|..66...|
000001c0 47 39 bc 7e 79 51 1b b6 b2 88 1f 47 a6 1d 4c 3e |G9.~yQ.....G..L>|
000001d0 80 fe 58 8e 2a a5 24 ed 80 96 dd 96 47 64 b6 20 |..X.*.$.....Gd. |
000001e0 49 dd cc 35 95 aa 0d 77 fc 7d c4 fd 14 1c ce fb |I..5...w.}......|
000001f0 a2 aa e0 b6 1a ab a6 7d ce 61 1a 6b b0 9a da a8 |.......}.a.k....|
00000200


=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

sdd sde
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

sed: can't read sdb5/etc/issue: No such file or directory

[darkod]

OK, grub0.97 means grub1 first of all.
The first thing to check is which drive are you booting from. Since you have bootloader on all three drives, but only the grub1 on sda is looking optimistic. It is connected to sda7 for the /boot/grub/menu.lst which is your / by your words.
So first make sure in BIOS the drive marked sda is the first choice boot hdd.

[sorceror171]

OK, grub0.97 means grub1 first of all.
The first thing to check is which drive are you booting from. Since you have bootloader on all three drives, but only the grub1 on sda is looking optimistic. It is connected to sda7 for the /boot/grub/menu.lst which is your / by your words.
So first make sure in BIOS the drive marked sda is the first choice boot hdd.

It is, because sda5 is the old 9.04 partition and it worked before. And it's working again, now... I used a live CD and "grub-install --root-directory etc. etc." to restore it. That's what I'm posting this from.

I suppose I might try to upgrade this 9.04 to grub 2, then copy the whole thing over to sda7 and upgrade that partition, see if it can boot then...

[sorceror171]

I suppose I might try to upgrade this 9.04 to grub 2, then copy the whole thing over to sda7 and upgrade that partition, see if it can boot then...

Got the first part done last night. I upgraded 9.04 to grub2, and it worked... for 9.04. The install found my 9.04 partition, my Windows partition, and the 9.10 partition. I can boot the first two, but the 9.10 partition still won't boot.

I'm going to try the copy-and-dist-upgrade route, hopefully tonight, and see if it gets a working boot for 9.10 going. Unless someone has more suggestions for getting the existing 9.10 working...

[sorceror171]

I'm going to try the copy-and-dist-upgrade route, hopefully tonight, and see if it gets a working boot for 9.10 going. Unless someone has more suggestions for getting the existing 9.10 working...

Okay, this is getting unbelievably frustrating.

I'd upgrade my existing 9.04 install, but the root partition is nearly full.

I copied my root partition over to an empty one, as detailed above, and it almost worked. I could boot into it, and had plenty of space. Updated to grub2, and that worked. So I upgraded it to the latest 9.04 kernel, in prep for the 9.01 upgrade... and then it wouldn't boot into that partition anymore. Now it'll only boot into the old root partition, even if I edit the grub entry.

All right, fine, I decide I'll just do a fresh 9.10 install into the other partition, and mount my old /home, /usr/local, and so forth.

I load up the 9.10 install CD. First, it won't see /dev/sda and /dev/sdb. WTF? I search, and find out I have to "sudo apt-get remove dmraid". Then I get as far as the partitioner, and tell it to go ahead; it fails to format the partition. Not a lot of details on why, either. When I try to do it manually with mkfs.ext4 (or mkfs.ext3), it says it can't find /dev/sda. Even if fdisk can find it, just fine.

Well, darn. So I boot back into 9.04, and format the partition, no problems. Then I boot back into the 9.10 install CD, and run through all the partitioner stuff, choosing 'custom', etc. It warns me that I haven't chosen to format /, I duly acknowledge this, and it tells me...

...that it had to remove OS files from the empty partition, and that failed, so it won't install. What the $&#*????

Seriously, what the hell do I do now?

[sorceror171]

Turns out I've been running into (at least) two bugs; one with 9.04, one with 9.10. On 9.04, the update-grub scripts were apparently confused by two 9.04 installs; they'd find the second one, but in grub.cfg, they'd tell it to boot from the first root partition. I finally had to resort to a custom boot stanza.

Then, I could boot into the larger 9.04 partition and run the upgrade. But it just would not boot after that. I finally had a bright idea - removing the dmraid package from the install 9.10 CD helped some; maybe it'd help now? Many rounds of boot stanzas later, I managed to get my 9.10 install to a recovery console. Removing dmraid allowed the thing to finally boot into 9.10 under its own power.

The 9.10 grub scripts don't seem to confuse the root partitions, thankfully. I can now boot into 9.10 without issues. The only issue left is that, in the rounds of boot attempts, I hacked my fstab to use raw devices instead of UUIDs. I'm not sure what'll happen when I try restoring the old fstab. Wish me luck... apparently I'm going to need a ton of it.

[sorceror171]

The only issue left is that, in the rounds of boot attempts, I hacked my fstab to use raw devices instead of UUIDs. I'm not sure what'll happen when I try restoring the old fstab. Wish me luck... apparently I'm going to need a ton of it.

Apparently dmraid was the sole source of the problem. I restored the old UUID-based fstab and things still booted.

[hunters1094]

Here is my result.txt. hope darkod give me an advice. thanks.

or anyone can help me.


Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

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

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive in
partition #4 for /boot/grub.

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Fat16
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /bootmgr /boot/bcd /COMMAND.COM

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 7
Boot files/dirs: /Windows/System32/winload.exe

sda4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xe0000000

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 224,909 224,847 6 FAT16
/dev/sda2 138,030,480 312,576,704 174,546,225 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 224,912 96,277,544 96,052,633 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 96,277,545 138,030,479 41,752,935 83 Linux


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 07D9-0804 vfat DellUtility
/dev/sda2 768E03328F2B8D5C ntfs Hunters World
/dev/sda3 6ECC67D0CC67915F ntfs
/dev/sda4: ambivalent result (probably more filesystems on the device)

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (rw)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (rw)