scporse
December 13th, 2018, 07:09 PM
Greetings fellow Ubuntu people :)
I'm seeing an error on my Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS (Lubuntu) system when upgrading grub.
This is the second time it has happened - having upgraded grub packages once before, where the error first presented itself.
So, the situation is this:
In terminal, I initiate an apt-upgrade of grub (among other pakages), and then suddenly I'm presented with this prompt in the terminal:
[Grub failed to install to the following devices:
/dev/sdb
Do you want to continue anyway? If you do, your computer may not start up properly.
Writing GRUB to boot device failed - continue
<Yes> <No>
I then select Yes and the upgrade finishes - successfully it seems, as command grub-install shows: grub-install (GRUB) 2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20
The first time I got the above prompt I was quite worried that I would be unable to boot up linux afterwards, as per the message it contained.
To my great relief, this was not the case - the system booted up just fine and there seems to have been no further complications.
It might be relevant to state the fact that I first saw the error, not so long after restoring my system to an earlier configuration from a full system backup, having unintentionally broken some media center software beforehand...
A strange thing about the grub upgrade error is that the device it points to (dev/sdb) is not my system disk, and is actually a device with only one large ext4 partion, as seen when running the command parted -l as sudo:
sudo parted -l
Model: ATA OCZ-VERTEX3 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 60.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 2097kB 1049kB bios_grub
2 2097kB 4098MB 4096MB linux-swap(v1)
3 4098MB 29.1GB 25.0GB ext4
4 29.1GB 60.0GB 30.9GB ext4
Model: ATA WDC WD30EFRX-68E (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 3001GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 3001GB 3001GB ext4
Does anyone have an idea what's wrong with my current configuration and how I might be able to correct it, so that I avoid this rather alarming error upon future grub-upgrades?
I thought it could be helpful to include the terminal output from the last grub-upgrade process as well:
The following packages will be upgraded:
grub-common grub-pc grub-pc-bin grub2-common libfreerdp-cache1.1 libfreerdp-client1.1 libfreerdp-codec1.1 libfreerdp-common1.1.0
libfreerdp-core1.1 libfreerdp-crypto1.1 libfreerdp-gdi1.1 libfreerdp-locale1.1 libfreerdp-primitives1.1 libfreerdp-utils1.1
libpoppler-glib8 libpoppler58 libwinpr-crt0.1 libwinpr-dsparse0.1 libwinpr-environment0.1 libwinpr-file0.1 libwinpr-handle0.1
libwinpr-heap0.1 libwinpr-input0.1 libwinpr-interlocked0.1 libwinpr-library0.1 libwinpr-path0.1 libwinpr-pool0.1
libwinpr-registry0.1 libwinpr-rpc0.1 libwinpr-sspi0.1 libwinpr-synch0.1 libwinpr-sysinfo0.1 libwinpr-thread0.1 libwinpr-utils0.1
poppler-utils
35 to upgrade, 0 to newly install, 0 to remove and 0 not to upgrade.
Need to get 0 B/5,126 kB of archives.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
Extract templates from packages: 100%
Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 194961 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../grub-pc_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-pc (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub-pc-bin_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-pc-bin (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub2-common_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub2-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub-common_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-sysinfo0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-sysinfo0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libfreerdp-primitives1.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libfreerdp-primitives1.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-handle0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-handle0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-interlocked0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-interlocked0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-thread0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-thread0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.5-1) ...
Processing triggers for install-info (6.1.0.dfsg.1-5) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (229-4ubuntu21.10) ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead (0.100.0-19) ...
ureadahead will be reprofiled on next reboot
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.23-0ubuntu10) ...
Setting up grub-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported; falling back to defaults
Setting up grub2-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Setting up grub-pc-bin (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Setting up grub-pc (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Installing for i386-pc platform.
grub-install: warning: this GPT partition label contains no BIOS Boot Partition; embedding won't be possible.
grub-install: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for cross-disk install.
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-140-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-140-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-139-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-139-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.elf
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
done
I'm seeing an error on my Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS (Lubuntu) system when upgrading grub.
This is the second time it has happened - having upgraded grub packages once before, where the error first presented itself.
So, the situation is this:
In terminal, I initiate an apt-upgrade of grub (among other pakages), and then suddenly I'm presented with this prompt in the terminal:
[Grub failed to install to the following devices:
/dev/sdb
Do you want to continue anyway? If you do, your computer may not start up properly.
Writing GRUB to boot device failed - continue
<Yes> <No>
I then select Yes and the upgrade finishes - successfully it seems, as command grub-install shows: grub-install (GRUB) 2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20
The first time I got the above prompt I was quite worried that I would be unable to boot up linux afterwards, as per the message it contained.
To my great relief, this was not the case - the system booted up just fine and there seems to have been no further complications.
It might be relevant to state the fact that I first saw the error, not so long after restoring my system to an earlier configuration from a full system backup, having unintentionally broken some media center software beforehand...
A strange thing about the grub upgrade error is that the device it points to (dev/sdb) is not my system disk, and is actually a device with only one large ext4 partion, as seen when running the command parted -l as sudo:
sudo parted -l
Model: ATA OCZ-VERTEX3 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 60.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 2097kB 1049kB bios_grub
2 2097kB 4098MB 4096MB linux-swap(v1)
3 4098MB 29.1GB 25.0GB ext4
4 29.1GB 60.0GB 30.9GB ext4
Model: ATA WDC WD30EFRX-68E (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 3001GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 3001GB 3001GB ext4
Does anyone have an idea what's wrong with my current configuration and how I might be able to correct it, so that I avoid this rather alarming error upon future grub-upgrades?
I thought it could be helpful to include the terminal output from the last grub-upgrade process as well:
The following packages will be upgraded:
grub-common grub-pc grub-pc-bin grub2-common libfreerdp-cache1.1 libfreerdp-client1.1 libfreerdp-codec1.1 libfreerdp-common1.1.0
libfreerdp-core1.1 libfreerdp-crypto1.1 libfreerdp-gdi1.1 libfreerdp-locale1.1 libfreerdp-primitives1.1 libfreerdp-utils1.1
libpoppler-glib8 libpoppler58 libwinpr-crt0.1 libwinpr-dsparse0.1 libwinpr-environment0.1 libwinpr-file0.1 libwinpr-handle0.1
libwinpr-heap0.1 libwinpr-input0.1 libwinpr-interlocked0.1 libwinpr-library0.1 libwinpr-path0.1 libwinpr-pool0.1
libwinpr-registry0.1 libwinpr-rpc0.1 libwinpr-sspi0.1 libwinpr-synch0.1 libwinpr-sysinfo0.1 libwinpr-thread0.1 libwinpr-utils0.1
poppler-utils
35 to upgrade, 0 to newly install, 0 to remove and 0 not to upgrade.
Need to get 0 B/5,126 kB of archives.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
Extract templates from packages: 100%
Preconfiguring packages ...
(Reading database ... 194961 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../grub-pc_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-pc (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub-pc-bin_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-pc-bin (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub2-common_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub2-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../grub-common_2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking grub-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) over (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.19) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-sysinfo0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-sysinfo0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libfreerdp-primitives1.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libfreerdp-primitives1.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-handle0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-handle0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-interlocked0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-interlocked0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
Preparing to unpack .../libwinpr-thread0.1_1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libwinpr-thread0.1:amd64 (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.3) over (1.1.0~git20140921.1.440916e+dfsg1-5ubuntu1.2) ...
...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.5-1) ...
Processing triggers for install-info (6.1.0.dfsg.1-5) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (229-4ubuntu21.10) ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead (0.100.0-19) ...
ureadahead will be reprofiled on next reboot
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.23-0ubuntu10) ...
Setting up grub-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported; falling back to defaults
Setting up grub2-common (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Setting up grub-pc-bin (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Setting up grub-pc (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.20) ...
Installing for i386-pc platform.
grub-install: warning: this GPT partition label contains no BIOS Boot Partition; embedding won't be possible.
grub-install: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for cross-disk install.
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-140-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-140-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-139-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-139-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.elf
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
done