USB HDD Installation

[jumpa72]

Hi,
I've an Acer Travelmate 8100 with Windows XP installed on the internal disk. I want install Ubuntu 9.10 to an external USB HDD. I've started the LiveCD and correctly installed Ubuntu to the USB disk. I've made 3 partitions and formatted them to ext4 (boot, root and swap). I've placed the GRUB on the USB disk, and because the Acer's BIOS doesn't support the boot from USB, I've installed PLoP Boot Manager v5.0 (http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#rungrub).
I've corrected the grub.cfg (GRUB2) and device.map to point to the correct disk and device ( (hd0,1) and /dev/sda1). The problem is that the boot process stops and raise this error:
No filesystem could mount root, tried: ext3 ext2 ext4 fuseblk
Kernel panic- not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bloc (8,1) :cry::cry:
Is it possible to see the boot message? I can see only the last screen after the stop...
thanks!!
Jumpa

[darkod]

Why did you change grub.cfg and device.map? Ubuntu should have created them correctly. Your only task was to somehow make the hdd bootloader (Plop) chainload grub2 from the external hdd. Depending what you changed you might have contributed to the error.

[jumpa72]

I've changed because it doesn't boot!
The plop boot manager inverts the disks, making the usb disk to be hd0 and the internal disk to be hd1. The installation has put root (hd1,1), but after the plop boot, the usb disk is the hd0... However I've backuped both of them..

[darkod]

I think that inversion is only at plop level. All you need plop for is to chain you to grub2, regardless what plop calls the internal and external hdd. Then once you reach grub2, it also only matters how grub2 is calling the drives and to be able to boot the ubuntu correctly.
I would try with the original files and if there is problem work from there. Sorry, didn't understand if you tried with original files, I guess you did.

[jumpa72]

Yes, I've tried with the original ones!
Can I ask you how I can chain the plop manager to the grub?
I've installed the plop manager in the internal disk, via windows xp boot.ini file.
thanx!

[darkod]

I thought you already knew how to do that, and that's why you decided to use it. I have no clue about it, you'll have to read on their website.

[jumpa72]

I report here the result of your boot info script:

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

=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda
=> Grub 1.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on the same drive
in partition #1 for /grub.

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

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /grub/grub.cfg /grub/core.img

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 9.10
Boot files/dirs: /etc/fstab

sdb3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 100.0 GB, 100030242816 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 12161 cylinders, total 195371568 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb02db02d

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 73,722,284 73,722,222 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 73,722,285 195,366,464 121,644,180 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 60.0 GB, 60011642880 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7296 cylinders, total 117210240 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf0f2f0f2

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 * 63 160,649 160,587 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 160,650 108,824,309 108,663,660 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 108,824,310 117,210,239 8,385,930 82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/sda1: UUID="AAF49316F492E43B" LABEL="WinXP" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: UUID="385001F05001B622" LABEL="Data" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="516d1ae1-c408-4eaf-8b18-2f6ab59c4d59" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb2: UUID="1e300165-a209-4e49-beb1-443f88f67bda" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb3: UUID="f4694846-ee74-4444-abfe-bb39bce8e1e4" TYPE="swap"

=============================== "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 /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=0620)
none on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
none on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/ubuntu/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=ubuntu)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/516d1ae1-c408-4eaf-8b18-2f6ab59c4d59 type ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=devkit)
/dev/sdb2 on /media/1e300165-a209-4e49-beb1-443f88f67bda type ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=devkit)


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

[boot loader]

timeout=4

default=C:\plop\plpbtldr.bin

[operating systems]

C:\plop\plpbtldr.bin="PLoP Boot Manager"

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


============================= sdb1/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 ###
if [ -s /boot/grub/grubenv ]; then
have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
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=(hd1,2)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 1e300165-a209-4e49-beb1-443f88f67bda
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
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
set root=(hd0,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 516d1ae1-c408-4eaf-8b18-2f6ab59c4d59
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic (recovery mode)" {
recordfail=1
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 516d1ae1-c408-4eaf-8b18-2f6ab59c4d59
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=1e300165-a209-4e49-beb1-443f88f67bda ro single
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

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

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows NT/2000/XP (on /dev/sda1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root=(hd0,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set aaf49316f492e43b
drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
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.
# BOOT DA USB
menuentry "USB Boot" {
set root=(hd0)
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=================== sdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


.0GB: grub/grub.cfg
.0GB: initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
.0GB: vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic

=============================== sdb2/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/sdb2 during installation
UUID=1e300165-a209-4e49-beb1-443f88f67bda / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /boot was on /dev/sdb1 during installation
UUID=516d1ae1-c408-4eaf-8b18-2f6ab59c4d59 /boot ext4 defaults 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=f4694846-ee74-4444-abfe-bb39bce8e1e4 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/sdb /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown MBR on /dev/sda

00000000 fa fc 33 c0 8e c0 8e d8 8e d0 bc 00 7c 8b f4 bf |..3.........|...|
00000010 00 06 b9 00 01 f3 a5 ea 1c 06 00 00 b8 00 20 8e |.............. .|
00000020 c0 fb f6 c2 80 75 02 b2 80 c6 06 43 06 cd c6 06 |.....u.....C....|
00000030 44 06 18 b8 23 02 bb 00 01 b6 00 80 2e 44 06 05 |D...#........D..|
00000040 b9 03 00 90 90 ea 00 01 00 20 be 5d 01 ac 0a c0 |......... .]....|
00000050 74 09 b4 0e bb 27 00 cd 10 eb f2 eb fe 50 4c 6f |t....'.......PLo|
00000060 50 20 42 6f 6f 74 20 4d 61 6e 61 67 65 72 20 2d |P Boot Manager -|
00000070 20 44 69 73 6b 20 72 65 61 64 20 65 72 72 6f 72 | Disk read error|
00000080 21 20 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 68 61 6c 74 65 64 2e |! System halted.|
00000090 2e 2e 00 20 20 20 68 74 74 70 3a 2f 2f 77 77 77 |... http://www|
000000a0 2e 70 6c 6f 70 2e 61 74 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |.plop.at........|
000000b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000c0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000d0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000000f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000100 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000110 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000120 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000130 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000140 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000150 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000160 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000170 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000180 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000190 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001a0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001b0 00 00 00 00 00 2c 44 63 2d b0 2d b0 00 00 80 01 |.....,Dc-.-.....|
000001c0 01 00 07 fe ff ff 3f 00 00 00 6e e9 64 04 00 00 |......?...n.d...|
000001d0 c1 ff 07 fe ff ff ad e9 64 04 94 24 40 07 00 00 |........d..$@...|
000001e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 55 aa |..............U.|
00000200

[darkod]

Is this the grub.cfg you changed? Because you can see where the entries are, both for ubuntu and windows there is root=(hd0,1) while they are on different drives. Otherwise it looks fine. As I said, I'm sure the original grub.cfg would work fine.
You only need to find a way to "jump" from Plop to grub2.

Alternatively, read on google about Easy BCD program. That is windows program that can manage the windows bootloader which is on your internal drive and it can add grub to it. But not sure if it's working with XP and I have never used it so I can't give you more detailed instructions.

[jumpa72]

Yes this is the modified grub.cfg.
I've just restored the orginal files, and I always have the same error msg. There is only one difference from the orginal and the modified:
error from the original:
Kernel panic- not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bloc (0,0)
error from the modified
Kernel panic- not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bloc (8,1)

Tomorrow I'll try Easybcd, it seems to work with XP.
thanks