Grub loader does not work

[scmeis1]

Hi, this is my first post into Ubuntu. I have always been a Redhat user, and ESXi User. I decided to try ubuntu because of it's strong recommendations as a file server. I have tried several fixes listed in the forums with no luck. I tried the live CD and I have no issues there. I tried gparted, and it sees all my drives. Seeing that most ask for the boot info script to be run, i was proactive. I know its a boot issue with were grub is pointing too. However, that is where I get stuck. I am not an expert at using grub. In a Nut shell, I had no issues installing. I choose the Jmicron 150G Raid 1 drive. Used full drive space with LVM. When it came to reboot I did, and it just sits after it does the boot from cdrom. Any help is appreciated. I hate to go back to windows 7 for a file server/web server. Oh Windows was installed at one point, I think that is where the script sees the GPT partitions. Thank you in advance!



Machine details:
AMD 1055T
8G Gskill
4850 ATI card
Intel Pro 10/100/1000 PT
LSI MegaRaid 84016E
20T drive space on Raid 5
3T on another Raid 5
150G on 2x JMircon Raid 1
4 x 1T Drives (not set up yet)
1T on Backup external Esata drive
GA-890FXA-UD5 MOBO



Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

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

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 184432 of
the same hard drive for core.img, but core.img can not be found at this
location.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdd
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdg
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdb2 has
1558278143 sectors, but according to the info from
fdisk, it has 2632019967 sectors.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdd1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdg1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Vista: Fat 32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

jmicron_OS1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /grub/grub.cfg /grub/core.img

jmicron_OS2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

jmicron_OS5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: LVM2_member
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 19990.0 GB, 19989989949440 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2420817 cylinders, total 39042949120 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 1 4,294,967,295 4,294,967,295 ee GPT


GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition Start End Size System
/dev/sda1 34 2,081 2,048 -
/dev/sda2 2,082 262,177 260,096 Microsoft Windows
/dev/sda3 262,17810,051,919,83810,051,657,661 -

Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 2997.0 GB, 2996997980160 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 362940 cylinders, total 5853511680 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 1 4,294,967,295 4,294,967,295 ee GPT


GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition Start End Size System
/dev/sdb1 34 262,177 262,144 Microsoft Windows
/dev/sdb2 264,192 2,632,284,159 2,632,019,968 Linux or Data

Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121126 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 1 4,294,967,295 4,294,967,295 ee GPT

/dev/sdc1 ends after the last sector of /dev/sdc

Drive: sdd ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdd: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdd1 * 2,048 1,953,521,663 1,953,519,616 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdg ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdg: 8086 MB, 8086617600 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 983 cylinders, total 15794175 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdg1 2,048 15,792,127 15,790,080 b W95 FAT32


Drive: jmicron_OS ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS: 150.0 GB, 150021865472 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18239 cylinders, total 293011456 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS1 2,048 499,711 497,664 83 Linux
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS2 501,758 293,011,455 292,509,698 5 Extended
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS5 501,760 293,011,455 292,509,696 8e Linux LVM


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS1 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3 ext2
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS5 ilvCI7-dyir-cvlf-JJjc-TTxC-mmaV-FKK1wF LVM2_member
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sdb2 106A79B86A799AE4 ntfs Storage
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sdc promise_fasttrack_raid_member
/dev/sdd1 FEAEB551AEB502E7 ntfs
/dev/sdd promise_fasttrack_raid_member
/dev/sde promise_fasttrack_raid_member
/dev/sdf promise_fasttrack_raid_member
/dev/sdg1 744F-257B vfat NEW VOLUME
/dev/sdg: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdh promise_fasttrack_raid_member
/dev/sdi promise_fasttrack_raid_member
error: and: No such file or directory
error: /dev/mapper//dev/sdh:: No such file or directory
error: /dev/mapper//dev/sdi:: No such file or directory
error: /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS2: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdc1: No such file or directory
error: discovered: No such file or directory
error: formats: No such file or directory
error: "jmicron": No such file or directory
error: jmicron)!: No such file or directory
error: "pdc": No such file or directory
error: (using: No such file or directory

=============================== "ls -R /dev/mapper/" output: ===============================
/dev/mapper:
control
jmicron_OS
jmicron_OS1
jmicron_OS5

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sdg1 /media/NEW VOLUME vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks,uid=999,gid=999,sh ortname=mixed,dmask=0077,utf8=1,flush)


========================== jmicron_OS1/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 $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
saved_entry=${chosen}
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod lvm
insmod ext2
set root='(mcse001-root)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set c62ec665-0134-4f4d-b948-4e487de90791
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
insmod gfxterm
insmod vbe
if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
# For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
# understand terminal_output
terminal gfxterm
fi
fi
insmod ext2
set root='(hd8,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3
set locale_dir=($root)/grub/locale
set lang=C.UTF-8
insmod gettext
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/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-24-server' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd8,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-server root=/dev/mapper/mcse001-root ro quiet
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-24-server
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-24-server (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd8,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-24-server ...'
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-server root=/dev/mapper/mcse001-root ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-24-server
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd8,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3
linux16 /memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd8,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3
linux16 /memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ ${timeout} != -1 ]; then
if keystatus; then
if keystatus --shift; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=0
fi
else
if sleep --interruptible 3 ; then
set timeout=0
fi
fi
fi
### 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 ###

================ jmicron_OS1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ================


.0GB: grub/core.img
.0GB: grub/grub.cfg
.0GB: initrd.img-2.6.32-24-server
.0GB: vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-server
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown GPT Partiton Type
aac808588f7ee04285d2e1e90434cfb3
Unknown GPT Partiton Type
a0609baf3114624fbc683311714a69ad
Unknown BootLoader on sda3

00000000 eb da c6 2f 0e b3 17 cf f2 12 47 e0 44 a2 8a 66 |.../......G.D..f|
00000010 ba 2b 56 f7 64 0d dc 25 0a 97 3f 24 1c 3a d3 ef |.+V.d..%..?$.:..|
00000020 19 7e 07 42 50 1d e2 5e 7b f1 b7 a7 4d 18 4b f3 |.~.BP..^{...M.K.|
00000030 b7 d9 8f a3 f8 36 6f 35 8c e7 88 6a 5b 33 c7 b5 |.....6o5...j[3..|
00000040 f8 87 fa d8 42 eb e0 54 2a 21 57 ff a1 9e c3 2f |....B..T*!W..../|
00000050 a4 50 31 1e c2 fe d1 14 8e 69 f5 4a d7 88 2f 6c |.P1......i.J../l|
00000060 93 c0 c1 d0 2a 69 91 41 8f 3d 37 ad 61 23 e8 ce |....*i.A.=7.a#..|
00000070 95 b8 56 ca 36 b7 ea 50 fc eb 91 af 37 15 c2 d7 |..V.6..P....7...|
00000080 47 1f c2 5d 15 0b 9a 2d 07 07 b3 61 3d ea 53 ba |G..]...-...a=.S.|
00000090 ce 45 d1 90 9b 75 19 ca 42 61 f9 9c 3d 86 59 5c |.E...u..Ba..=.Y\|
000000a0 70 c7 c9 ed 2d c1 b3 32 1b 95 74 2d 6b 59 80 c5 |p...-..2..t-kY..|
000000b0 0d 4b 96 45 73 86 d1 35 47 11 9c 7b 07 c9 0f 2d |.K.Es..5G..{...-|
000000c0 2c 89 cd 5a 88 33 d3 5a 0f a3 55 ca 70 ed 84 d7 |,..Z.3.Z..U.p...|
000000d0 5d 91 99 87 b0 0d 14 f6 75 83 82 2f 39 7f 9d ed |].......u../9...|
000000e0 8d 20 77 65 01 a2 aa 87 49 b0 5f e9 0b 1d 10 b5 |. we....I._.....|
000000f0 3e 29 0b 24 a1 d7 76 c1 31 6e 35 13 fb f5 e9 ea |>).$..v.1n5.....|
00000100 1b 3c 10 d3 67 57 a3 fd 46 46 65 ff 2a 1a f1 61 |.<..gW..FFe.*..a|
00000110 7f ef 50 88 cd 57 10 0f 91 a6 0e 67 9f 56 8c d4 |..P..W.....g.V..|
00000120 9b 98 db 53 ba d2 ea f5 22 ec 6c d6 75 aa ee f7 |...S....".l.u...|
00000130 4b 86 28 a5 33 c7 6a 3d 82 c8 1c 11 5b 6d a9 58 |K.(.3.j=....[m.X|
00000140 64 02 af 1d b3 89 e5 06 83 f8 38 b1 e7 f7 65 d3 |d.........8...e.|
00000150 6d 7f dd 79 fb 49 99 37 35 30 4f fc 5e 7b ac 6f |m..y.I.750O.^{.o|
00000160 61 62 95 32 52 4a 89 f3 d0 d4 89 93 ab a7 30 14 |ab.2RJ........0.|
00000170 f1 07 08 4a 27 6d e6 9d b9 2e ea 88 e9 b7 39 af |...J'm........9.|
00000180 30 38 fc ef 42 3d 30 c8 2f 00 d7 35 b3 53 1b 93 |08..B=0./..5.S..|
00000190 cf 28 18 77 21 53 7f 6c 66 81 e7 e3 ad cb fa b8 |.(.w!S.lf.......|
000001a0 e2 a2 33 3f 94 7b 79 a5 b8 c8 84 56 e9 3b f5 75 |..3?.{y....V.;.u|
000001b0 1d 42 53 b4 9d f6 b7 4a 5c 93 38 68 83 8f bf a5 |.BS....J\.8h....|
000001c0 68 ee d3 63 ec 86 b2 ad 94 68 b8 b4 0c 56 7a 6a |h..c.....h...Vzj|
000001d0 95 ab e1 7b 6e 19 a7 0d 73 24 0e 4a 43 96 78 ec |...{n...s$.JC.x.|
000001e0 18 b3 bd 8f b5 b0 d9 47 9e d3 3b 61 94 ae f4 d4 |.......G..;a....|
000001f0 59 21 84 30 ad e9 c6 96 f0 9f 05 d0 d7 ae ff 7d |Y!.0...........}|
00000200

Unknown BootLoader on sdc1


Unknown BootLoader on jmicron_OS2



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

sdi: "pdc" and "jmicron" formats discovered (using jmicron)! sdh: "pdc" and "jmicron" formats discovered (using jmicron)!
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdc
ERROR: jmicron: wrong # of devices in RAID set "jmicron_OS" [1/2] on /dev/sdi
ERROR: jmicron: wrong # of devices in RAID set "jmicron_OS" [1/2] on /dev/sdh
ERROR: only one argument allowed for this option
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdc
hexdump: /dev/sdc1: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc1: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS2: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS2: No such file or directory
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdf
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sde
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdd
ERROR: pdc: zero sectors on /dev/sdc
ERROR: pdc: setting up RAID device /dev/sdc
ERROR: jmicron: wrong # of devices in RAID set "jmicron_OS" [1/2] on /dev/sdi
ERROR: jmicron: wrong # of devices in RAID set "jmicron_OS" [1/2] on /dev/sdh
ERROR: only one argument allowed for this option

[23dornot23d]

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 184432 of
the same hard drive for core.img, but core.img can not be found at this
location.

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS1 70482ded-c843-4969-a9b1-01078f13b0e3 ext2
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS5 ilvCI7-dyir-cvlf-JJjc-TTxC-mmaV-FKK1wF LVM2_member
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sdb2 106A79B86A799AE4 ntfs Storage
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="gpt"

I have a feeling it is something to do with GPT ..... but I know little about it ..... other than it caused one other user some problems a while back (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1577965) ........

I have left a message with this user (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=1032238) as they might be able to help you with GPT ........ more than I can ......

One other user that knows all about Grub2 is here LINK (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=223945)-drs305

I hope that they can help you ....

[srs5694]

I know its a boot issue with were grub is pointing too. However, that is where I get stuck. I am not an expert at using grub. In a Nut shell, I had no issues installing. I choose the Jmicron 150G Raid 1 drive. Used full drive space with LVM. When it came to reboot I did, and it just sits after it does the boot from cdrom. Any help is appreciated. I hate to go back to windows 7 for a file server/web server. Oh Windows was installed at one point, I think that is where the script sees the GPT partitions. Thank you in advance!

Windows can't boot from GPT on BIOS-based computers; however, you've got some huge drives in RAID arrays, so Windows may have created GPT layouts to use those drives as data drives. Any other OS would have to do the same thing (or use only part of the drive space). Also, if your computer uses an EFI for firmware, Windows would have to boot from GPT.


=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 184432 of
the same hard drive for core.img, but core.img can not be found at this
location.

This is at least part of the issue. See more below....


jmicron_OS1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /grub/grub.cfg /grub/core.img

Here's another part of the puzzle. It looks to me as if you've got GRUB's stage0 boot loader code installed in the MBR of /dev/sda, but you've got GRUB's stage1 and configuration file tucked away inside an LVM logical volume or RAID device on a different physical disk. Theoretically, GRUB 2 should be able to handle this, but you've got so many different disks on this computer that it's not surprising that GRUB is getting confused. (It's easy to confuse GRUB with such setups, in my experience.)

Another issue that could crop up, although I don't think it's the cause of your immediate problems, is that some people have reported problems with GRUB 2 on systems that have a mixture of MBR and GPT disks. There's a simple configuration file fix for this, but I don't recall what it is. A user here called "oldfred" has posted this fix information, IIRC; you might try searching his old posts.


Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 19990.0 GB, 19989989949440 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2420817 cylinders, total 39042949120 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 1 4,294,967,295 4,294,967,295 ee GPT


GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition Start End Size System
/dev/sda1 34 2,081 2,048 -
/dev/sda2 2,082 262,177 260,096 Microsoft Windows
/dev/sda3 262,17810,051,919,83810,051,657,661 -

What I recommend is this: Shrink one of the partitions on /dev/sda by about 200MB and create two new partition:



A small (~1MB) BIOS Boot Partition, (http://grub.enbug.org/BIOS_Boot_Partition) which GRUB 2 uses to hold its stage1 code on GPT-based systems. If you don't have a BIOS Boot Partition (and you don't), reliability will suffer, as described on the page to which I linked.
A larger (~200MB) partition to serve as a Linux /boot partition. Having this partition on the same drive as the BIOS Boot Partition and the stage0 boot loader code can only improve reliability. The same is true of keeping this partition out of the LVM.



You can then re-install Ubuntu. With any luck, it will then work, although it's possible you'll run into the mixed MBR/GPT issues I mentioned earlier. Those can at least be overcome with a small configuration file tweak.

Note that if Windows boots from the partition on /dev/sda, you should use Windows tools to resize the Windows partition. Such a resizing operation is always a risk, so performing a backup is wise, if it's at all practical. If not, you might consider performing similar actions on some other drive and then using the BIOS's options to boot from that other drive rather than from /dev/sda.


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121126 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 1 4,294,967,295 4,294,967,295 ee GPT

/dev/sdc1 ends after the last sector of /dev/sdc

This doesn't seem to be related to your boot problem, but it appears that the protective partition in the MBR of /dev/sdc is malformed; it should end at the end of the disk, not at sector 4,294,967,295. I don't know offhand how various OSes and utilities will react to this. I recommend you fix it by using my GPT fdisk (gdisk) (http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/) program: Launch it on the disk, type "p" to view the partition table so you know you're working on the correct disk, type "x" to enter the experts' menu, type "n" to create a fresh protective MBR, and type "w" to save your changes.



Drive: jmicron_OS ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS: 150.0 GB, 150021865472 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 18239 cylinders, total 293011456 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS1 2,048 499,711 497,664 83 Linux
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS2 501,758 293,011,455 292,509,698 5 Extended
/dev/mapper/jmicron_OS5 501,760 293,011,455 292,509,696 8e Linux LVM

Is the /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS file a software RAID configuration? If so, this makes sense; but if /dev/mapper/jmicron_OS is an LVM device, it makes little sense to carve an LVM up into another LVM.

[psusi]

Unless you have to dual boot with windows, you should not use the fake hardware raid. Go into the bios, delete all of the raid arrays, and reinstall. This time set up software raid.

[oldfred]

I think this is/was the fix that srs5694 mentioned. It has been fixed in the newest grub with Maverick but I do not know if any of the older versions have been updated. It resolved an issue of booting a gpt disk but then booting into another system on a MBR disk.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1405650
Grub 2 malfunctions with a mixture of GPT and MS_DOS partition tables. But there is an easy fix, add to /etc/default/grub:
GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES="part_msdos" posted by meierfra.
or:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/604743
I added insmod part_msdos to 40_custom & both windows on sda1 and Ubuntu
on sdc5 booted without any issues.

[psusi]

No, those are definitely unrelated to this issue since grub is not loading at all. It isn't loading at all because it doesn't appear to have been installed correctly.

[scmeis1]

I actually considered loading up the live CD again, reformatting the drives to get rid of the GPT.

I DO NOT use windows on this, I tried windows to get what I needed done, which did not do what I wanted.

I do not have any software raids. I have 1x 20T array, (actually 22T) when the RMA is finished.

I had another 3T Raid 5 array, however, Ubuntu only saw the individual drives, not the RAID (SB850 - Raid). The boot partition I wanted on my RAID 1 (150G) drives. They are 10k Raptor drives, hence the reason for putting the boot and system partitions on it.

I have a single Terabyte external drive for backups on the main box. This is just for strictly backups of other boxes.

I am also considering just pulling the Raid card and letting the server build. I will try every suggestion in here.

I will first format the drives and divide up the primary boot drives.

Considering how good I am with veritas file systems and Solaris, this makes me feel very out of place not being able to get this to work.


Thank you all!!! I will report back results.

[psusi]

The problem is that the jmicron controller is a fake hardware raid. That is why the individual drives attached to it show up. Don't use the fake raid support and you will be better off. Go into the bios and blow away the array and when you install, the individual drives will show up and you can use them to form a software raid.

[oldfred]

I do not know RAID, but saved these links.

Raid install of Lucid:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1458699
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1469169

Hardware Raid boot
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1564502

[srs5694]

With a 20 TiB hardware RAID array, you need GPT; MBR tops out at 2 TiB, assuming the standard 512-byte sector size. (In theory, MBR could handle up to 20 TiB with a large enough sector size. You'd probably need an 8192-byte sector size to do the job. I have no idea if your RAID controller could do this or how Linux would react, though.)

If the JMicron board is doing software RAID (which would explain the device filenames), then I concur with psusi; controller-based software RAID seems to cause a lot of problems. Disable it and, if you want RAID on those drives, use Linux's variety of software RAID instead. Note that many motherboards and some plug-in disk controllers advertise themselves as having RAID support when in fact they've just got a few "hooks" for special software RAID drivers. This is very different from real hardware RAID; with the latter, Linux "sees" a single drive (/dev/sda, /dev/sdb, or whatever). With software RAID, even if it's on a "RAID-capable" controller, Linux "sees" the individual drives and then builds its own separate RAID device (/dev/md# or something in /dev/mapper).

[Skaperen]

MBR "practically" tops out at 2 TiB (minus 1 sector). However, it can be stretched to 4 TiB (minus 2 sectors) if you have a cooperative partitioning tool. The 2 TiB limit applies to the starting sector and the size. So a partition beginning at sector 4294967295 and having a size of 4294967295 sectors could be done. It's just not very flexible. But you might want to note this for your "bag of tricks" just in case it can be used somewhere.

[srs5694]

MBR "practically" tops out at 2 TiB (minus 1 sector). However, it can be stretched to 4 TiB (minus 2 sectors) if you have a cooperative partitioning tool. The 2 TiB limit applies to the starting sector and the size. So a partition beginning at sector 4294967295 and having a size of 4294967295 sectors could be done. It's just not very flexible. But you might want to note this for your "bag of tricks" just in case it can be used somewhere.

This is basically true; however, to the best of my knowledge, every OS that handles such configurations correctly can also handle GPT. See this page, (http://nessus.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/workarounds.html) where I provide details. (Older MBR-only OSes tend to flake out with such configurations, perhaps because of 32-bit sector pointers in the OS code itself.) One caveat: I haven't tested Windows Vista or 7 in this way. If they could handle such setups, it's conceivable that this trick would be useful with them on a boot disk, since they can't boot from GPT on BIOS-based systems. (They can handle GPT on non-boot disks, though.)