HOWTO: Boot & Install Ubuntu from the Grub Rescue Prompt

[drs305]

chah,

Thanks for the update. I received the same messages about not having the hardware to support Unity. In my case, it simply meant that I had to install the proprietary drivers for my video card (Nvidia).

I'm running Unity and I can't remember what the panel looked like when I first installed Natty Alpha - so I don't remember what the non-Unity menu looked like. In earlier releases you would get to the Additional Drivers page via System, Administration, Additional Drivers. In my case (with an older Nvidia GS 7600) Natty found it without problem. As soon as I installed and rebooted Unity worked fine.

Best of luck.

[johny why]

hi, noob here, not sure this thread can help me.

i have a linux livecd iso, and a laptop running ubuntu. i want to install this is to the hard drive from inside linux (or at the linux boot prompt,which i gather is possible?)

any suggestions?

thanks!

[Flashyman]

If you are still having problems, try to add the module by using the entire address:

insmod (hd0,2)/boot/grub/linux.mod

For what you have posted, you can try this sequence to boot:

set prefix=(hd0,2)/boot/grub
set root=(hd0,2)
insmod (hd0,2)/boot/grub/linux.mod
linux /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda2 ro
initrd /initrd.img
boot

Thank you so much!
I had ubuntu installed and messed up something and ended up getting grub command (grub>) anytime I booted, I nearly grabbed the live cd to give up and completely reinstall the whole thing.

the other commands weren't working as in I couldn't find any ubuntu .iso file so it was giving errors.

By entering the commands you specified there with some minor adjustments as to what my drives are named, I am now able to boot back into ubuntu!!!! Thank you very much drs305, you are hereby my hero!


(btw, somehow my drives are named like: (hd0,msdos1) and (hd1,msdos1) I would love to get rid of this msdos text if possible, if only for the looks of it, I hate everything MS, so that includes msdos.... but I guess these steps require advanced techniques which would probably make me end up in the same situation again (grub>))

[drs305]

(btw, somehow my drives are named like: (hd0,msdos1) and (hd1,msdos1) I would love to get rid of this msdos text if possible, if only for the looks of it, I hate everything MS, so that includes msdos.... but I guess these steps require advanced techniques which would probably make me end up in the same situation again (grub>))

Yes the partitions are now named 'msdos'... The good news is that if you have problems in the future you may be able to avoid the command line entirely and use the Boot Repair app to fix things. It's been developed within the past year and does a very good job of salvaging Grub 2 problems.

Boot-Repair-Disk

[volinkov]

Ok, I installed 10.04 on an external hard drive, and used grubrescue to boot it. I decided that I didn't want 10.04, so I installed 11.10 on my hard drive. Now, when I try to load the grub modules, grub can't find the files. I know that they are there, because when I boot up with a live cd, I can find them. Any suggestions?

[drs305]

Ok, I installed 10.04 on an external hard drive, and used grubrescue to boot it. I decided that I didn't want 10.04, so I installed 11.10 on my hard drive. Now, when I try to load the grub modules, grub can't find the files. I know that they are there, because when I boot up with a live cd, I can find them. Any suggestions?

volinkov,

Welcome to the Ubuntu Forums. We need more information. Please download and run the boot info script. Copy the contents of the RESULTS.txt it generates and post it here. The file will show us the status of your boot files and help us determine what went wrong.

Boot Info Script

[volinkov]

When I try to run the script, it returns:
boot_info_script version 0.60

"gawk could not be found, using "busybox awk" instead.
This may lead to unreliable results.

[: 326: busybox awk: unexpected operator
boot_info_script.sh: 353: syntax error: "(" unexpected ( expecting "fi")

I tried running the script straight from the downloads directory while booted with a live cd, and then I put the files onto my external drive and tried running them from the home directory there. I got the same error both times.

[drs305]

volinkov,

You can install 'gawk' although the script can run with 'awk'.

You might try installing and running the Boot Repair Tool. It may be able to fix your grub problem by itself, and if not it contains the Boot Info Script files and the script will run from within that app.

Boot Repair Tool

[volinkov]

Sorry if Im asking you too many questions, but do I install gawk and the boot repair while my computer is booted with a live cd? I guess I forgot to mention that I dont have an internal hard drive. My computer has fried two, so Im trying to boot strictly from an external usb drive. Do I somehow install the boot repair to the usb drive? Thanks for your patience!

[drs305]

Sorry if Im asking you too many questions, but do I install gawk and the boot repair while my computer is booted with a live cd? I guess I forgot to mention that I dont have an internal hard drive. My computer has fried two, so Im trying to boot strictly from an external usb drive. Do I somehow install the boot repair to the usb drive? Thanks for your patience!

If you are going to run the script from the LiveCD, you can install 'gawk' there as well. It's installation will only last until you reboot. It's not critical to have gawk, but it will eliminate the messages. The same for the Boot Repair app.

I believe Boot Repair can be installed and run from the LiveCD, but better yet would be to create a Boot Repair CD so you can boot directly from it.

If you install Boot Repair while running the LiveCD you may be able to fix the problem at that point. Again, once you reboot using the LiveCD the Boot Repair app will no longer be available until you reinstall it.