PDA

View Full Version : [ubuntu] Post-Installation Problems



Sinuse
February 28th, 2010, 04:00 AM
So, I ordered the Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition in the mail. I got it, and tried to install it side-by-side with Windows XP. There wasn't enough space, so I decided to erase everything on a hard drive that I barely ever used and install it on there. When that was finished, I restarted my computer...And instead of giving me an option to dual-boot, it just went straight to Windows. I can't access the hard drive anymore. I'm new to Linux, so I just don't know what to do at this point to be able to use Ubuntu :redface: I put the disc back in and tried to re-install it, but it just freezes up. Help much appreciated!

presence1960
February 28th, 2010, 04:14 AM
Let's get a better look at your setup & boot process. Boot the Ubuntu Live CD/USB. Choose "try ubuntu without any changes", when the desktop loads come back here and do the following:

1. Download the boot info script. There is a link in my signature.
2. Once downloaded move the boot info script to the desktop.
3. Open a terminal and run the command
sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh

This will create a RESULTS.txt file on the desktop. Paste the entire contents of that file back here. Once pasted highlight all text and click the # sign on the toolbar to place code tags around the text.

See here (http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/) for more info on the boot info script.

Above link is to meierfra's Sourceforge web page.

Sinuse
February 28th, 2010, 05:17 AM
Let's get a better look at your setup & boot process. Boot the Ubuntu Live CD/USB. Choose "try ubuntu without any changes", when the desktop loads come back here and do the following:

1. Download the boot info script. There is a link in my signature.
2. Once downloaded move the boot info script to the desktop.
3. Open a terminal and run the command
sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh This will create a RESULTS.txt file on the desktop. Paste the entire contents of that file back here. Once pasted highlight all text and click the # sign on the toolbar to place code tags around the text.

See here (http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/) for more info on the boot info script.

Above link is to meierfra's Sourceforge web page.

Thanks for being interested in my problem!
I attempted to try ubuntu without any changes, but when it was loading, the screen just went into a blinking underscore at the top left.

presence1960
February 28th, 2010, 01:40 PM
Thanks for being interested in my problem!
I attempted to try ubuntu without any changes, but when it was loading, the screen just went into a blinking underscore at the top left.

At the window where you choose "try ubuntu without any changes" hit F4 before selecting that and choose safe graphics mode. Then choose "try ubuntu..."

See here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions) for more info on this and other boot options from the Live CD

Sinuse
March 2nd, 2010, 11:29 PM
At the window where you choose "try ubuntu without any changes" hit F4 before selecting that and choose safe graphics mode. Then choose "try ubuntu..."

See here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions) for more info on this and other boot options from the Live CD

It still wouldn't work :/ Is there any way to get the harddrive that I installed it on to appear again instead? This is kind of a lot of trouble.

darkod
March 3rd, 2010, 12:33 AM
It still wouldn't work :/ Is there any way to get the harddrive that I installed it on to appear again instead? This is kind of a lot of trouble.

If the hard disk is working properly, it didn't go anywhere. Windows doesn't recognize linux partitions so you won't be able to see them in My Computer.
But if you open Disk Management, your hdd is still there, at least it should be.

But if you installed ubuntu on another hdd, you need to get that working. Go into BIOS and set it to boot from your other disk. It seems you are still booting from the XP disk as first option so it just loads XP directly. Windows bootloader can't boot linux.

Switch the hdd boot order to get grub2 from the other hdd.

Sinuse
March 3rd, 2010, 01:30 AM
If the hard disk is working properly, it didn't go anywhere. Windows doesn't recognize linux partitions so you won't be able to see them in My Computer.
But if you open Disk Management, your hdd is still there, at least it should be.

But if you installed ubuntu on another hdd, you need to get that working. Go into BIOS and set it to boot from your other disk. It seems you are still booting from the XP disk as first option so it just loads XP directly. Windows bootloader can't boot linux.

Switch the hdd boot order to get grub2 from the other hdd.

Thank you for explaining that to me :) I feel much more at ease.

I did as you instructed, switched the other hdd to first priority and rebooted my computer. It was loading fine, and then that dang blinking underscore appeared ):

darkod
March 3rd, 2010, 01:38 AM
Thank you for explaining that to me :) I feel much more at ease.

I did as you instructed, switched the other hdd to first priority and rebooted my computer. It was loading fine, and then that dang blinking underscore appeared ):

What model of video card do you have?

Sinuse
March 3rd, 2010, 01:44 AM
What model of video card do you have?

NVIDIA Geforce 6800 XT.

(By the way, I had got it to boot in the demo version by going into safe graphics mode before installation.)

darkod
March 3rd, 2010, 01:52 AM
When you boot your computer, you get a grub boot menu, right? Don't boot the default ubuntu normal mode entry, boot the recovery mode. In the next menu select something like "netroot with networking". That will load command prompt.

Write this down, because you will have only text command prompt.

If that loads successfully, install the EnvyNG package with:

sudo apt-get install envyng-core envyng-qt

Run it in text mode with:

envyng -t

Select to install nvidia driver. If there are more options, select 190 or 190.53, that one covers 6800 XT. Lets hope it's in the list.

Just follow the messages. After it's installed, it will ask to reboot. Try the normal mode entry and see if it helped.

Sinuse
March 3rd, 2010, 02:00 AM
When you boot your computer, you get a grub boot menu, right? Don't boot the default ubuntu normal mode entry, boot the recovery mode. In the next menu select something like "netroot with networking". That will load command prompt.

Write this down, because you will have only text command prompt.

If that loads successfully, install the EnvyNG package with:

sudo apt-get install envyng-core envyng-qt

Run it in text mode with:

envyng -t

Select to install nvidia driver. If there are more options, select 190 or 190.53, that one covers 6800 XT. Lets hope it's in the list.

Just follow the messages. After it's installed, it will ask to reboot. Try the normal mode entry and see if it helped.

If you're talking about booting with the hard drive that ubuntu is installed on, then no. I don't get a menu. Just underscore. But when I use the disk, I get a menu. Do I use that?

darkod
March 3rd, 2010, 02:05 AM
If you're talking about booting with the hard drive that ubuntu is installed on, then no. I don't get a menu. Just underscore. But when I use the disk, I get a menu. Do I use that?

You should get a menu with the hdd too because you also have windows on the computer right? If you have two OSs then you should get a menu.
Something is not right. I was trying to avoid it, but if you can use the cd and boot into live desktop (at least in safe graphics mode), run the script that presence suggested earlier and post the results as per the instructions. It will show more info.
It's quite late over here and I really gotta go to bed, but maybe presence can continue after seeing your results. Run the script.

Ozymandias_117
March 3rd, 2010, 02:08 AM
To get to the grub menu, you have to hold shift while your computer boots, it no longer displays by default.

Sinuse
March 3rd, 2010, 02:19 AM
I finally got in! I went to the menu and clicked the down button and all of a sudden it started to load.

Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

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

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks for
(UUID=debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9)/boot/grub.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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
/ubuntu/winboot/wubildr.mbr /ubuntu/winboot/wubildr

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 9.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sdc2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 20.0 GB, 20020396032 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2434 cylinders, total 39102336 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf929f929

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 39,086,144 39,086,082 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
240 heads, 63 sectors/track, 32301 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xf5c15ac3

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 * 63 488,375,999 488,375,937 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000ca9dd

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 63 482,383,754 482,383,692 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2 482,383,755 488,392,064 6,008,310 5 Extended
/dev/sdc5 482,383,818 488,392,064 6,008,247 82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/sda1 B0E47FA9E47F7088 ntfs
/dev/sdb1 3AC4439BC44357F1 ntfs
/dev/sdc1 debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9 ext4
/dev/sdc5 26680ede-7a18-4c41-9547-0c9ab5d9e222 swap

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

/dev/sdc1 / ext4 (rw,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sr0 /media/cdrom0 iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,utf8,user=candice)


================================ 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 Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

================================ sdb1/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 Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

=========================== sdc1/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 ###
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=(hd2,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9
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 quiet=1
insmod ext2
set root=(hd2,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/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=(hd2,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-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 "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (on /dev/sdb1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root=(hd1,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3ac4439bc44357f1
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.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sdc1/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/sdc1 during installation
UUID=debd320b-9177-4b68-8fa8-2dc3dbcd31c9 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sdc5 during installation
UUID=26680ede-7a18-4c41-9547-0c9ab5d9e222 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sdc1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


40.7GB: boot/grub/core.img
40.7GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
.5GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
.5GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic
.5GB: initrd.img
.5GB: vmlinuz

cnntdygrhm
March 3rd, 2010, 02:21 AM
Please help ive tried three post now and no luck here is my problem I'm having a similar problem. I'm trying to upgrade my netbook (sylvania meso g) from ubuntu 8.04 to ubuntu 9.10 i downloaded the ISO downloaded the usb creator so that i could put it on my thumb drive, create the ISO and reboot with my freshely made ISO thumbdrive. When i reboot i get to the install screen select install and my netbook reboots and starts the process all over again without 9.10 ever being installed. When i select help i get the install screen but if at the very tipy top of my screen you see a 1/2in section that i cant read because it so small for help screen.