18.04 Installed in HD won't BOOT.

[Mike-97470]

I'd like to apologize for not searching to find anything. Actually there were 1000's of search hits, and they were all the fault of Windows.

All I want to do is let VLC play my .ISO movies, and everything should be that simple. I have a 10 year old PC that started out life running Ubuntu so I know it can.
I downloaded 18.04 from the Ubuntu website, and became very scarred when I noticed that the file name is "ubuntu-18.04-desktop-amd64.iso", but finally I decided that whoever named it that must have done it for some other reason.

I burned a DVD, and booted Ubuntu up to it's desktop which worked like it should, and looked as good as ever: better! Ubuntu found my disk /dev/sda1 and thinks it is a Samsung 256GB SSD which is good. Ubuntu then did a normal disk install, and suggested a restart.

a20180621_123020.jpg

So "Cannot find GRLDR" and "BOOTMGR is missing" is shockingly strange since Ubuntu already found the disk, knows all about it, knows there is only one partition, formatted it, and now can't figure out how to write a boot record or find it after it did. And this error has occurred many many times for dual-boot people, all because of Windows of course, but the only windows in the room with this PC are the kinds you look out of.

So if someone please will tell how to fix this, I will be very happy. Although I'm an expert Terminal operator, I know just enough about Linux to not hurt myself.

[oldfred]

Bootmgr is the Windows boot loader. And grldr is usually from grub4dos which now is very old as based on grub legacy where since 2010 Linux has used grub2.

May be best to see details, you can run from your Ubuntu live installer or any working install, use ppa version not older Boot-Repair ISO:
Post the link to the Create BootInfo summary report. Is part of Boot-Repair:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info and:
https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home/Home/

[vob2]

You said you used amd64, could it be your machine is still 32 bit? In that case use i386. (both intel and amd use i386 for 32bit and amd64 for 64-bit, it is a long story.)

Anyway, things with boot can often be fixed with a boot repair image on an usb-stick or dvd. I have experience with screwing up the master boot record, but boot-repairs auto-mode always came through in that regard.

[yancek]

If your hardware is 10 years old, it may still be 32bit and if that is the case, it won't run 64bit software which is what you downloaded. I don't believe the current release of Ubuntu has a 32bit iso so you would have to use 16.04. Depending upon the processor and RAM, you have, the newest Ubuntu probably would not run well even if your hardware is 64bit.

The errors you are reporting mean that you still have windows code in the MBR and that you did not properly install the Ubuntu Grub bootloader. GRLDR and bootmgr are windows files so when you boot, the code in the MBR is looking for those files and since you have overwritten windows, they can't be found. Run boot repair as suggested and post the link here and hopefully, someone can help you.

[Mike-97470]

Sorry, I missed those last 2 messages, my CPU is Conroe Core 2 Duo E6600, and the motherboard is GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express, and both are x86-64. They are made for each other.
I made a list of software that was installed in that PC when I decomissioned (formatted the C:\) it over 1 year ago:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.4 64-bit Adobe 5/17/2013 1.25 GB 4.4.1 All users
Garmin Communicator Plugin x64 Garmin Ltd or its subsidiaries 1/18/2013 30.6 MB 4.0.4 All users
Microsoft Sync Framework 2.0 Core Components (x64) ENU Microsoft Corporation 2/19/2012 2.67 MB 2.0.1578.0 All users
Microsoft Sync Framework 2.0 Provider Services (x64) ENU Microsoft Corporation 2/19/2012 6.40 MB 2.0.1578.0 All users
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) - 12.0.21005 Microsoft Corporation 5/5/2017 20.5 MB 12.0.21005.1 All users (and a barf load of other versions that don't get uninstalled correctly)
SCTDriversV1011x64 SCT Performance LLC 8/26/2014 2.66 MB 11.0.0 All users
SpiderOakONE x64 SpiderOak 3/10/2017 102 MB 6.1.5.10160 All users
SyncToy 2.1 (x64) Microsoft 2/19/2012 1.45 MB 2.1.0
VueScan x64 5/5/2017 All users
The rest of the programs, the ones I haven't listed, don't say if they're x86 or what.

And maybe I'm naive, and maybe I just expect too much, but when I Format a disk I expect every single record to be included, every single one.
I will have to wait until tomorrow when I can catch some time. ( And I will take photos, yesterday I think I tried fixing the loader from a terminal, and it didn't work.)
Thanks everyone for those fast and helpful responses,

Thanks oldfred for the quick reply,
Before I do anything I'd like to understand something:
1. Where did those no loader messages come from if not Ubuntu?
2. Did they come from my PC that hasn't even smelled Windows for over a year?
3. Did they come from the BIOS, that doesn't have a record much less keep one?
4. And when someone download's an official 18.04 isn't it supposed to work? And install itself in a simple system with just one disk?
Sorry to be asking theses questions, and I don't think I'm supposed to have to ask them either!

[oldfred]

If you installed Ubuntu, but used manual install and did not specify drive or auto install and default usually sda, is not default in BIOS, then you may still have the Windows BIOS boot loader in MBR.
If you still have NTFS partition or Linux partition with boot flag, a Windows MBR will try to boot that partition. And if it does not have bootmgr give errors.

What brand/model system?

Report will show us details, so we know answers to your questions.

[Mike-97470]

Thanks oldfred for your accurate info. And of course, you're correct!
I didn't realize that Format usually means partition format.
Gparted from the Live CD indicated partition table: ms-dos, I can't tell you what it says now because gparted is removed during installation. And I don't have wifi yet.
I chose to Boot-Restore from CD, because "it's easier" than the Internet version, but the most accessible version needs the Internet to do anything, if Internet then apt-get so I wonder why it exists, why waste time making a bootable media version?
So instead of looking for a version of Boot-Restore that wouldn't unnecessarily need the Internet, I grabbed an old stack of utility CD.s and the one on the top
was a 2008 version of SuperGrub, And that fixed it, it took a while, I think setting a partition active did it, but it didn't break anything. I think there's an easier way from a terminal that would be a lot easier and more fun.
Again this PC's function is to play .iso movies using VLC, and I hope the wifi card that came today will install without a hitch . . .

Boot-Info-Restore should be integrated into the Installer, to avoid legacy boot issues completely, and make a lot of people happy.

[oldfred]

I had/have a similar dual core system. Now retired waiting for me to put it back together as I used some parts in newer UEFI system.

But in 2011 I added small Microcenter SSD as it was below $100 dollars. I then wanted a new UEFI system, but with SSD, it worked so well it was 2014 before I purchased newer system.