how to mount partition where /boot is?

[Vpc]

I am using Ubuntu 11.10 on my usb pen drive. I see a black screen after the BIOS/Intel motherboard screen when I try to access my hard drive with 11.10 installed so I am trying to follow these instructions below so I can access the grub menu to make the necessary changes.

There are a few options to control this behaviour that can be set in the file: /etc/default/grub
If you want the menu to display every time, comment out the GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT setting by putting a '#' in front of it:

# GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0


You should also ensure the GRUB_TIMEOUT setting has a value greater than or equal to 1:

GRUB_TIMEOUT=10


If you make any changes to the file, you must run the command:

sudo update-grub

to ensure changes are picked up.

However, when I run sudo update-grub, I get:
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a device for / (is /dev mounted?).

I get the same error after

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

How can I fix this?

[dino99]

open synaptic, then purge all the related grub installed packages
and reinstall grub-pc then
and finally: sudo update-grub

[Vpc]

open synaptic, then purge all the related grub installed packages
and reinstall grub-pc then
and finally: sudo update-grub

Can you specify how I would find "all the related grub installed packages" in synaptic i.e. do you suggest I really delete all packages with "grub" in their name?

I also noticed another step suggested here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8563870

If you cannot get into GRUB menu, then you need to boot your machine with the LiveCD. Then mount the partition where /boot is, and edit /boot/grub/menu.lst. Change the timeout to some integer.

So would it help to "mount the partition where /boot is" and what would be the command to do that?

[Vpc]

I am using Ubuntu 11.10 on my usb pen drive. I see a black screen after the BIOS/Intel motherboard screen when I try to access my hard drive with 11.10 installed so I am trying to follow these instructions here to access the grub menu:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8563870

If you cannot get into GRUB menu, then you need to boot your machine with the LiveCD. Then mount the partition where /boot is, and edit /boot/grub/menu.lst. Change the timeout to some integer.

How do I "mount the partition where /boot is" i.e. which partition are they referring to and where do I mount it to?

[spiky001]

Hi Did grub load, did you get any errors when you booted the machine, Have you any idea what has made it not startup properly, Has the system been working.

[raja.genupula]

hey what you wanna do ? you wanna set GRUB time ?

for all Grub related operations the best possibility we have with us is Grub Customizer(please eye at signature)

one more link much helpful to you is http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275 .

[Vpc]

Hi Did grub load, did you get any errors when you booted the machine, Have you any idea what has made it not startup properly, Has the system been working.

Because of the problem I described in my first post, I would like to enter the GRUB menu to do the following:

Press and hold down Shift key from Bios screen until see the Grub menu. Highlight the first entry, press “e” to edit it. Navigate to words “quiet splash”, delete them and type “nomodeset” in their place (without quotes). Press Ctrl + X to continue boot.
Once on the desktop, go to System > Administration > Additional Drivers and activate the recommended drivers and the problem should go away for ever.

[spiky001]

Can you post the output of

sudo fdisk -l

From the booted usb drive, this will show what partitions are on the hard drive

[sudodus]

Has your system been working 'live' from the USB drive?

Has your installed system been working before (or is this your first try)?

Maybe you can try boot options according to
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions

[Vpc]

Has your system been working 'live' from the USB drive?

Has your installed system been working before (or is this your first try)?

Maybe you can try boot options according to
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions

Yes it works 'live' from my CD & USB pen drive. I was able to install 10.04.04 on my hard drive but 10.04 was not compatible with my ethernet card or onboard ethernet so installed 11.10 over it using the CD.

Can you post the output of

sudo fdisk -l

From the booted usb drive, this will show what partitions are on the hard drive

The output:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00007d29

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048   968429567   484213760   83  Linux
/dev/sda2       968431614   976771071     4169729    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       968431616   976771071     4169728   82  Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 41.1 GB, 41110142976 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4998 cylinders, total 80293248 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0001cddb

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *          63    77369039    38684488+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb2        77369040    80292869     1461915    5  Extended
/dev/sdb5        77369103    80292869     1461883+  82  Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdc: 8010 MB, 8010194944 bytes
247 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1021 cylinders, total 15644912 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0008f6e6

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1   *          62    15635593     7817766    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)

I've tried:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

But still I get this error I run 'sudo update-grub' after editing /etc/default/grub:
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a device for / (is /dev mounted?)

So which partition should I be mounting and where should I mount it to?