[Boot-Repair] Graphical tool to repair the PC boot in one click

[fantab]

Remove grub-common: Try again using chroot...

dpkg --purge grub-common
apt-get remove --purge grub-common
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade
mv /boot/grub /boot/grub_backup
mkdir /boot/grub
apt-get install grub-pc grub-common
grub-install /dev/sda
grub-install --recheck /dev/sda

[ipeurtt]

grub-common is no longer installed:

root@ubuntu:/# dpkg --purge grub-common
dpkg: warning: there's no installed package matching grub-common

then I follow all the steps and this is what I get:

-----------------
root@ubuntu:/# mv /boot/grub /boot/grub_backup
mv: cannot move `/boot/grub' to `/boot/grub_backup/grub': Directory not empty
root@ubuntu:/# mkdir /boot/grub
mkdir: cannot create directory `/boot/grub': File exists
root@ubuntu:/# apt-get install grub-pc grub-common
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
grub-common : Depends: liblzma2 (>= 4.999.9beta) but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
root@ubuntu:/#
-----------------

[ipeurtt]

this is like the Seinfeld episode where you can't get delivery because 'you named names' !

[oldfred]

All I can suggest is this and maybe a second time.
# fix Broken packages -f
apt-get -f install
dpkg --configure -a


Beyond that I do not know what is out of sync. And then I would back up /home and any other data you may have and make a list of installed apps if you have added a lot and then re install.

Oldfred's list of stuff to backup May 2011:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1748541

[ipeurtt]

OK, thanks....I'm leaning towards that.

I have a couple of concerns:

1) my /home was encrypted. I have a backup, but I wonder if I will be able to restore it to an unencrypted new /home. Is my backup encrypted as well? I use the backup tool that comes with Ubuntu. Is it safer to unencryp and do the backup again? I tried unencrypting following some threads I found and it didn't work out....

2) If I follow your suggestions on the link above, would I be saving configurations I've made that took a while to figure out: such as how to have my tv card and remote work, etc

Thank you

[oldfred]

If you did some custom configurations that are system wide, then those may be in /etc. I normally try to save a copy of any file in /etc I manually edit in /home and just backup /home. But /etc is not large.

I do not know about encryption. Some links.
Includes chroot:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/En...home_directory
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2028865
http://www.howtogeek.com/116297/how-...ory-on-ubuntu/
chroot & reinstall grub encrypted LVM
http://stephentanner.com/index.php/2...encrypted-lvm/
Encryption:
Restore lost partition that was truecrypt
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1874260
http://worldsmostsecret.blogspot.com...encrypted.html

[sudodus]

OK, thanks....I'm leaning towards that.

I have a couple of concerns:

1) my /home was encrypted. I have a backup, but I wonder if I will be able to restore it to an unencrypted new /home. Is my backup encrypted as well? I use the backup tool that comes with Ubuntu. Is it safer to unencryp and do the backup again? I tried unencrypting following some threads I found and it didn't work out....

2) If I follow your suggestions on the link above, would I be saving configurations I've made that took a while to figure out: such as how to have my tv card and remote work, etc

Thank you

Encryption makes it harder for you as well as for the intruder.

The encrypted home needs a special passphrase, that you were encouraged (once) to save. If you did not save it, I think you are out of luck, unless you have a complete image of the installed system and remember the password to your user account. Because then you can reinstall it.

The backup might and might not save the encrypted files. It depends on how is was created. For example, if you run rsync from a user with read access (your user on your user acccout), the files are not encrypted. If you run Clonezilla, there are only the encrypted versions in the image.

[ipeurtt]

I actually saved that passphrase

When I moved /home to its own partition, I followed this:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Pa...ng/Home/Moving

Now the data in that partition occupies double the amount of space, so I think I have both the unencrypted /home and the encrypted one.

I'd like to unencrypt /home, leave it in that partition, and re-install ubuntu.

Do you know how to do that?

Thanks

[sudodus]

@ipeurtt

I have not done it. If you don't find it browsing the Ubuntu wiki pages, try internet. But let us also ask for help. I think you can start a new thread with a good descriptive title and describe this particular problem. Start it in the security forum, and you have better chances to attract people who can help you.

[ipeurtt]

OK, let me do that. Thanks everybody for the support.