“ALERT /dev/sda1 does not exist dropping to shell” after Ubuntu 10.10 install reboot

[scott8035]

Hi. I am attempting to install Ubuntu 10.10 desktop on a Dell T7500 with two SAS drives in hardware RAID 0. Running from the CD works fine. The install process works fine. I have configured several different filesystems for /, /usr, /home, etc. The problem is that upon reboot after install, during initrd the system complains "ALERT /dev/sda1 does not exist dropping to shell". From within the initramfs shell I am able to mount all partitions successfully. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong or how to diagnose this?

[drs305]

It could have something to do with RAID and Grub2. I don't use RAID and am woefully uninformed about how it integrates with G2, but someone on here will be.

Please go to the following site and download the boot info script and post the contents of RESULTS.txt
http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net

[scott8035]

Here's the gory detail from the "try" option on the CD. I've also included it as a text file attachment:


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 #1 for (,msdos1)/boot/grub.

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 598.9 GB, 598879502336 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 72809 cylinders, total 1169686528 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 * 2,048 9,764,863 9,762,816 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 9,764,864 87,889,919 78,125,056 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 87,889,920 126,951,423 39,061,504 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 126,953,470 1,169,684,479 1,042,731,010 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 126,953,472 146,483,199 19,529,728 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 146,485,248 1,169,684,479 1,023,199,232 83 Linux


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411 ext2
/dev/sda2 065c82c9-8125-4708-b7a8-a93802f10967 ext2
/dev/sda3 75f83b88-079c-4e46-b697-c92d70108f7d ext2
/dev/sda4: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda5 fdaf92db-4c91-44ef-b764-08d06d9b156e swap
/dev/sda6 586988e4-b385-4592-b876-6a80c6e98350 ext2
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"

============================ "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/sda1 /media ext2 (rw)


=========================== sda1/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ "${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
}

function load_video {
insmod vbe
insmod vga
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 065c82c9-8125-4708-b7a8-a93802f10967
if loadfont /share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
load_video
insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ "${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 2.6.35-22-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-22-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-22-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ "x${timeout}" != "x-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 ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

=============================== sda1/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 nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=2d338824-55a6-45ed-9429-462a0f250411 / ext2 errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/sda3 /home ext2 defaults 0 2
# /usr was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=065c82c9-8125-4708-b7a8-a93802f10967 /usr ext2 defaults 0 2
# /var was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=586988e4-b385-4592-b876-6a80c6e98350 /var ext2 defaults 0 2
/dev/sda5 none swap sw 0 0

=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


.3GB: boot/grub/core.img
.3GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
.3GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
.3GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic
.3GB: initrd.img
.3GB: vmlinuz
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================[/FONT][/SIZE]

Unknown BootLoader on sda2

00000000 e8 1f 4d 00 00 8b d8 85 c0 79 46 48 8d 4c 24 28 |..M......yFH.L$(|
00000010 e8 91 9a 1d 00 4c 8d 1d 74 73 f3 ff 4c 89 5c 24 |.....L..ts..L.\$|
00000020 28 89 5c 24 40 48 83 64 24 48 00 48 83 64 24 50 |(.\$@H.d$H.H.d$P|
00000030 00 f3 0f 6f 05 47 63 f3 ff f3 0f 7f 44 24 58 48 |...o.Gc.....D$XH|
00000040 8d 15 82 5d 25 00 48 8d 4c 24 28 e8 ea 9f 1d 00 |...]%.H.L$(.....|
00000050 cc 48 8b 9c 24 a8 00 00 00 48 89 9c 24 a8 00 00 |.H..$....H..$...|
00000060 00 48 85 db 74 0a 48 8b 03 48 8b cb ff 50 08 90 |.H..t.H..H...P..|
00000070 48 89 1f 48 85 db 74 0a 48 8b 03 48 8b cb ff 50 |H..H..t.H..H...P|
00000080 08 90 48 85 db 74 09 48 8b 03 48 8b cb ff 50 10 |..H..t.H..H...P.|
00000090 48 85 f6 74 0e 48 8d 4b 08 48 8b d6 e8 27 6b fa |H..t.H.K.H...'k.|
000000a0 ff eb 08 48 8b 43 18 66 83 20 00 48 8b c7 48 83 |...H.C.f. .H..H.|
000000b0 c4 70 5f 5e 5b c3 cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc |.p_^[...........|
000000c0 40 55 48 83 ec 20 48 8b ea 8b 85 a0 00 00 00 83 |@UH.. H.........|
000000d0 e0 01 85 c0 74 13 83 a5 a0 00 00 00 fe 48 8b 8d |....t........H..|
000000e0 90 00 00 00 e8 33 e0 f9 ff 48 83 c4 20 5d c3 cc |.....3...H.. ]..|
000000f0 40 55 48 83 ec 20 48 8b ea 48 8d 8d a8 00 00 00 |@UH.. H..H......|
00000100 e8 17 e0 f9 ff 48 83 c4 20 5d c3 cc cc cc cc cc |.....H.. ]......|
00000110 cc cc cc cc 48 8b c4 48 89 48 08 53 56 57 48 83 |....H..H.H.SVWH.|
00000120 ec 70 48 c7 44 24 20 fe ff ff ff 48 8b f2 48 8b |.pH.D$ ....H..H.|
00000130 f9 83 60 18 00 48 83 21 00 c7 40 18 01 00 00 00 |..`..H.!..@.....|
00000140 48 8d 48 20 e8 cf 4f 00 00 8b d8 85 c0 79 46 48 |H.H ..O......yFH|
00000150 8d 4c 24 28 e8 4d 99 1d 00 4c 8d 1d 30 72 f3 ff |.L$(.M...L..0r..|
00000160 4c 89 5c 24 28 89 5c 24 40 48 83 64 24 48 00 48 |L.\$(.\$@H.d$H.H|
00000170 83 64 24 50 00 f3 0f 6f 05 03 62 f3 ff f3 0f 7f |.d$P...o..b.....|
00000180 44 24 58 48 8d 15 3e 5c 25 00 48 8d 4c 24 28 e8 |D$XH..>\%.H.L$(.|
00000190 a6 9e 1d 00 cc 48 8b 9c 24 a8 00 00 00 48 89 9c |.....H..$....H..|
000001a0 24 a8 00 00 00 48 85 db 74 0a 48 8b 03 48 8b cb |$....H..t.H..H..|
000001b0 ff 50 08 90 48 89 1f 48 85 db 74 0a 48 8b 03 48 |.P..H..H..t.H..H|
000001c0 8b cb ff 50 08 90 48 85 db 74 09 48 8b 03 48 8b |...P..H..t.H..H.|
000001d0 cb ff 50 10 48 85 f6 74 0e 48 8d 4b 08 48 8b d6 |..P.H..t.H.K.H..|
000001e0 e8 e3 69 fa ff eb 08 48 8b 43 18 66 83 20 00 48 |..i....H.C.f. .H|
000001f0 8b c7 48 83 c4 70 5f 5e 5b c3 cc cc cc cc cc cc |..H..p_^[.......|
00000200

Unknown BootLoader on sda3

00000000 01 3e da f2 5a 3e e0 bf 11 5a a7 e0 b7 5a c3 bf |.>..Z>...Z...Z..|
00000010 41 fe c4 93 a9 5f d3 3f 3f 4c ed 64 7f 4d cc 3f |A...._.??L.d.M.?|
00000020 0f 71 6f 8c 59 34 c0 3f f5 b3 61 88 e6 b6 ea bf |.qo.Y4.?..a.....|
00000030 4f 7f a6 d3 3d 7b e1 bf 04 c2 dd 1a 7a 6a c3 bf |O...={......zj..|
00000040 e2 86 83 da 70 b5 d3 [/FONT][/SIZE]3f 31 5e d0 1a 00 88 b9 3f |....p..?1^.....?|
00000050 78 99 9c 71 ee 3f b0 bf a1 83 d0 bc 8f 9a e5 bf |x..q.?..........|
00000060 22 72 f9 e2 f1 fe c6 bf 9b bf cc 1a 52 19 81 3f |"r..........R..?|
00000070 8a b8 9a 60 a6 f5 01 40 c2 d0 60 24 13 f4 cc 3f |...`...@..`$...?|
00000080 34 26 6b 74 06 f4 9e bf 90 71 cb 43 40 8a e5 bf |4&kt.....q.C@...|
00000090 50 02 18 9a a1 de 92 3f 61 e3 e4 5f 0e 2d 80 3f |P......?a.._.-.?|
000000a0 5e 7c ee 0f 8c 00 02 40 0a 6d de 48 f6 d2 ba 3f |^|.....@.m.H...?|
000000b0 60 ce b4 82 fd 38 b7 [/FONT][/SIZE]3f 60 db e0 53 62 1b e3 bf |`....8.?`..Sb...|
000000c0 4b 4d 46 ac 18 a1 c8 bf c1 5a 72 ca 76 35 c3 bf |KMF......Zr.v5..|
000000d0 e8 6b 15 38 15 f5 01 40 25 2a 03 5a db e1 cc 3f |.k.8...@%*.Z...?|
000000e0 97 c9 d2 eb ab 3c c0 3f dd 06 84 d3 ce 0d e3 bf |.....<.?........|
000000f0 38 5a 1a 3e 76 d5 75 3f 99 55 16 c9 b2 42 c3 bf |8Z.>v.u?.U...B..|
00000100 b2 53 2f bf c2 ff 01 40 49 f4 28 cd ee ac ba 3f |.S/....@I.(....?|
00000110 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
*
00000150 95 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f 95 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f |...G...?...G...?|
00000160 7a 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f 7a 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f |z..G...?z..G...?|
00000170 89 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f 8a 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f |...G...?...G...?|
00000180 6e 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f 71 14 ae 47 e1 1a e2 3f |n..G...?q..G...?|
00000190 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001a0 ab 48 b2 d5 38 54 b0 be a5 f5 03 7f ef 48 bf 3e |.H..8T.......H.>|
000001b0 1b 8b 25 52 5c 3d a1 3e 87 1c c8 4c ef 1f 98 be |..%R\=.>...L....|
000001c0 b2 c6 19 0e c0 fb a4 be 58 4f 38 11 4b db a2 be |........XO8.K...|
000001d0 bc fe 55 f2 fc 97 ab be d3 7a 3e 52 d1 3b c0 3e |..U......z>R.;.>|
000001e0 5e 4f ca e9 9c fa 88 3e 2b 58 24 ab 1c ad 97 be |^O.....>+X$.....|
000001f0 b2 cd 10 f2 c2 26 a7 be 33 72 25 74 6e 84 b3 be |.....&..3r%tn...|
00000200

Unknown BootLoader on sda4

00000000 b6 2f aa bd 5b 76 aa 3c 18 0f 7f bf 88 20 03 00 |./..[v.<..... ..|
00000010 35 8b 91 be 17 e4 15 40 33 30 c9 3f ad 2e 48 3f |5......@30.?..H?|
00000020 99 e3 1e 3f 25 dc 6b bd 20 17 07 3f 97 27 89 40 |...?%.k. ..?.'.@|
00000030 b8 b6 b2 bf 08 9b 3e be 9e 62 50 c0 a7 5c 1e bf |......>..bP..\..|
00000040 c4 b8 48 3f f2 8e 4f 3d 5b 6d c7 3d e6 6e 20 3d |..H?..O=[m.=.n =|
00000050 81 25 cf 3d 7c e0 9c bd 50 32 83 3b ec 3e 7f bf |.%.=|...P2.;.>..|
00000060 89 20 03 00 3c 54 76 be 0b 96 16 40 55 a9 cd 3f |. ..<Tv....@U..?|
00000070 3d f8 48 3f 4f fa 1d 3f 6d ab 5c bd fb 45 11 3f |=.H?O..?m.\..E.?|
00000080 36 f0 88 40 bc 91 b3 bf 70 3c 40 be f9 44 50 c0 |6..@....p<@..DP.|
00000090 eb 6a 1d bf 7f 6e 49 3f c3 3f 57 3d 7b 96 71 bd |.j...nI?.?W={.q.|
000000a0 b0 3a 08 3d 72 0b 61 bd 34 3b 99 bd f7 24 05 3c |.:.=r.a.4;...$.<|
000000b0 23 46 7f bf 93 20 03 00 bb 88 66 be 1f 60 15 40 |#F... ....f..`.@|
000000c0 ef 0a c2 3f 0f d3 4c 3f e3 fd 18 3f 94 8c 54 bd |...?..L?...?..T.|
000000d0 2f 5b 25 3f d3 15 8a 40 88 fd cf bf 89 72 3e be |/[%?...@.....r>.|
000000e0 7a b6 57 c0 28 71 18 bf c2 3c 4d 3f 42 b3 53 3d |z.W.(q...<M?B.S=|
000000f0 73 a2 b3 bd 77 fd 0e 3d 1d 6c aa bd b4 75 94 bd |s...w..=.l...u..|
00000100 dc 3f 2b 3c fe 4f 7f bf 92 20 03 00 c3 fb 88 be |.?+<.O... ......|
00000110 a5 ae 14 40 6a 92 bd 3f 17 1a 4c 3f 52 df 19 3f |...@j..?..L?R..?|
00000120 9f 3d 63 bd e2 95 1a 3f 73 5e 8a 40 57 0a cf bf |.=c....?s^.@W...|
00000130 08 b6 3c be bb b3 57 c0 03 5a 19 bf b5 96 4c 3f |..<...W..Z....L?|
00000140 0e 1e 4c 3d 4f 87 96 3d 5e e6 27 3d 89 43 9f 3d |..L=O..=^.'=.C.=|
00000150 74 25 98 bd 37 e8 d4 3b 84 49 7f bf 26 c8 27 00 |t%..7..;.I..&.'.|
00000160 00 00 00 00 47 52 49 44 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |....GRID........|
00000170 c0 b0 32 3e 02 73 f3 3f 8a 83 cf 3f 61 68 4b 3f |..2>.s.?...?ahK?|
00000180 42 dc 1a 3f ff 65 56 bd 44 7c 72 3e ec 26 5d 40 |B..?.eV.D|r>.&]@|
00000190 c8 2e 64 bf d7 d1 29 be 08 eb 15 c0 da 20 1a bf |..d...)...... ..|
000001a0 35 cd 4b 3f d3 a0 7a 3d 95 b2 d2 3b e9 e0 a2 3c |5.K?..z=...;...<|
000001b0 3e f6 31 3c 90 25 a1 bd b2 1d 8c 3c 31 2b 00 fe |>.1<.%.....<1+..|
000001c0 ff ff 82 fe ff ff 02 00 00 00 00 00 2a 01 00 fe |............*...|
000001d0 ff ff 05 fe ff ff 02 00 2a 01 00 d0 fc 3c 00 00 |........*....<..|
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

[scott8035]

I think I know what the problem is now...the RAID card needs more time to initialize. On another forum someone said to add "rootdelay=90", but how do I do that the correct way with the new grub?

[Rubi1200]

Hold down Shift as the computer starts to bring up the GRUB menu. When the entry for Ubuntu is highlighted press "e" to edit.

Navigate with the arrow keys and find the line that ends with quiet splash.

Add the parameter after it so it looks like this:


quiet splash rootdelay=90

Then "Ctrl" + "x" to boot.

If this works for you we can make it more permanent. You can also try raising or lowering the delay, say to 60 or 120.

[drs305]

"rootdelay" is a kernel option, and kernel options are placed on the "linux" line of the Grub 2 menuentry.

I don't know if this is your solution, but this is how you can try it.

To add this option, when you see the Grub2 menu, press "e" to enter Grub2's editing mode. If you don't see the G2 menu, hold down the SHIFT key during the early stages of the boot until it appears.

When you enter the edit mode, you will see the menuentry, consisting of several lines.

Use the cursor to go to the end of the line which starts with "linux" and probably ends with "quiet splash". Add rootdelay=X to the end of the line and press CTRL-x to boot. Change X to the delay you wish to use.

This change is non-persistent so it won't be retained on the next boot. If it works, you will want to edit your /etc/default/grub file as root to add this to anything that is already within the quotes.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="rootdelay=X"



gksu gedit /etc/default/grub
sudo update-grub
Run the second command once you have edited/saved /etc/default/grub

Another possibility is that you aren't using RAID but have remnants of old RAID instructions which are still interfering with Grub. There are commands that can remove these remnants but that may concern only old software RAID setups and may not apply in this case. So I'll refrain from posting them for now.

[scott8035]

This worked like a charm, thanks for all your help!

[Rubi1200]

Excellent! Glad you got things sorted out.

Enjoy :)