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View Full Version : [ubuntu] side by side 11.10 how do I fix one and eliminate the other?



smcrossman
December 26th, 2011, 09:23 PM
I need a little input. My main pc (desktop running 64 bit 11.10 with many Kubuntu features and NVIDIA) started giving me the "out of range" message when I would boot up. No biggie....needed to reset the resolution but I didn't have time to get around to it. Then I started getting errors about inability to mount CD/DVD drive. Well I have been trying to add NFS to my system so had been into fstab and automount, etc....again...I figured I would get to it soon, but....

Well yesterday BEFORE I addressed the above issues I uninstalled PLASMA features. The desktop keeps crashing and without it I can make the layout more similar between my different machines. It would boot but never load a desktop....or if I could get a desktop it was unresponsive. Then it started refusing to boot because of the fatal error with the CD/DVD drive. So like a dunce I went in and took my old fstab orig, cp'd it to fstab....error....thought okay...file exists I'm in recovery lets try removing the fstab file then copying.....WRONG! I can delete but not write.

NOW will not boot because there is no fstab file/directory......DUH....obvious enough to me....

I promptly downloaded and made a live usb to repair the issue. Only when I went to do it I couldn't figure out which option I was supposed to use so I installed 11.10 beside 11.10. I really just want to FIX the first version by replacing the fstab, and then I can use the second install and try out server or some of the other versions. But when I open the partition in File Manager all I get is the lost & found file.

I now have a large hard drive half taken by an install of 11.10 that will not run, 1/4 taken by extension. The remaining 1/4 is 2/3 new install & 1/3 SWAP. None of my customizations, software which required compiling, alterations to accommodate my network storage system, etc, etc. I do have my files and my emails and such which is GREAT, but....

What do I do to access the root drive of the first install so I can repair it and then how do I get IT to boot up not the new one?

I probably can work the second one out....I know I've done a lot of altering and such to the startup menu because of the NVIDIA....I'm just running on 8 hours sleep in 4 days so I've hit my wall.

Just when I start making progress I crash the whole system....UGH!

darkod
December 26th, 2011, 10:26 PM
So, if I understand correctly, you can't see any files on the root partition of the main 11.10?

smcrossman
December 27th, 2011, 02:03 AM
So, if I understand correctly, you can't see any files on the root partition of the main 11.10?


Correct. Seems odd but that''s what I've got.