Hi all, I was trying to install Ubuntu 14.04 to my machine, which ran Ubuntu 14.10 and Windows 7 before. After choosing 'Delete Ubuntu 14.10' in the installation guide, three new partions with strange names appeared. Now it cannot boot, but shows 'grub emergence' something.

'sudo fdisk -l' inside the live-os gives the following:
[update] #8 is a screenshot of the Gparted information.

[begin]
Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 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: 0xf8000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 160649 80293+ de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 161792 1697791 768000 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3 1697792 2721791 512000 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 2732030 625137344 311202657+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 2732032 42652574 19960271+ 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda6 42659840 215544104 86442132+ 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda7 215545856 379377663 81915904 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda8 621040833 625137344 2048256 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda9 379379712 621039615 120829952 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

Disk /dev/sdb: 4002 MB, 4002910208 bytes
32 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3878 cylinders, total 7818184 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: 0x65063692

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 63 7818047 3908992+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Disk /dev/sdc: 500.1 GB, 500074283008 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60797 cylinders, total 976707584 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: 0x00038a56

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 2048 976707583 488352768 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-swap: 3170 MB, 3170893824 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 385 cylinders, total 6193152 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: 0x00000000


Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-home: 66.9 GB, 66869788672 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 8129 cylinders, total 130605056 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: 0x00000000


Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-root: 53.7 GB, 53687091200 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 6527 cylinders, total 104857600 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: 0x00000000
[end]

The three "/dev/mapper" are the said new partions.
Any suggestions? I have no idea what is happening here, and what to do next. Thanks!

You have a lot of partitions!
Are you trying to install to sdc (your third disk)?

The reference to /mapper/ means that you are using LVM - possibly as encrypted partitions???
If you don't want this, just delete those partitions from sdc before installing Ubuntu.

I'd suggest that you tell the installer to put use the MBR on your boot disk - which is likely to be sda.

Take full backups of all data everywhere.

I'd suggest you spell out carefully what you are trying to do, first.

1 members found this post helpful.

Oh, sorry, that sdc is a removable disk (a WestData Passport). After unmounting it, the fdisk output is essentially the same.

Also, I should have mentioned that fdisk also printed three error messages to the screen:
[begin]
Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-swap doesn't contain a valid partition table
Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-home doesn't contain a valid partition table
Disk /dev/mapper/fedora-root doesn't contain a valid partition table
[end]

I am pretty sure that /dev/sda9 is the physical disk that the 'fedora-' ones point to, because its size equal to the summation of the three 'fedora-' disks' size. I really have no idea why 'fedora' appears (a revenge for my replacing it with Ubuntu 14.10 a month ago?). I tried to free /dev/sda9 and install Ubuntu on it but failed.

All I want to do is to install Ubuntu along with Windows 7... Those with 'ntfs' format are surely my windows' disk; it won't matter to free all other disks. But 'fedora-' disks couldn't be freed -- there's no such option. So the key problem for me may be how to get rid of these 'fedora-' thing.

Hi:

Ubuntu 10.04 End Of Life (no longer supported) was in May of 2013.
http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2013/05/10/...on-may-9-2013/

The current version of Ubuntu is 14.04 (Trusty)
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

***It's best to run a distribution that is supported.***

You have so many partitions that it might be a good idea to use g-parted and repartition what you do have.
I'm pretty good with partitioning but this is out of my reach.

-:-I think your going to need one of our members with advanced skills in multiple partitioning tasks.-:-

Boot Info Script is a bash script which searches all hard drives attached to the computer for information related to booting. Its primary use is for troubleshooting booting problems.

I suggest you download it so the member that helps you with your partitions can help you.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/bootinfoscript/

1 members found this post helpful.

The following link doesn't work. Pls check #8 below for the screenshot.

I installed gparted, and could see the partition table with:
/dev/sda1 fat16
/dev/sda2 ntfs
/dev/sda3 ext4
/dev/sda4 extended

Under /dev/sda4 there are several logical partitions, including
/dev/sda5 ntfs
/dev/sda6 ntfs
/dev/sda7 ntfs
/dev/sda9 lvm2 pv
/dev/sda8 linux-swap

I am now trying to release /dev/sda9 and see what happens next.

http://xiangce.baidu.com/picture/det...d2e519df867a00

That link doesn't work for me.
I just get a blank page that say "403 Forbidden"

You could open g-parted and take a screenshot and post it on photobucket and just supply the link for us to see.
http://photobucket.com/
Or you could click on 'Manage Attachments' under the post that you make.
It's under the submit reply button and preview post button in "Additional Options"

1 members found this post helpful.

My fault... I meant 14.04/10. Corrected now. Trying downloading the bootinfoscript now. Thanks! Also, the Gparted infomation is given above.

Hi, now it should be visible.

Attached Thumbnails

 

"fat16" windows95 also on this machine ?

Hi John, could you see the screenshot in #8? It's more clear. Don't know what fat16 is doing here. Supposely some small but important chunk of data stored there?

I can see the screenshot so our Guru should be able to as well.

Sorry about 10.04 my eyes play tricks on me sometimes.(looking at screen for a long time)

1 members found this post helpful.

Solved now! I deleted the fedora disk from Gparted. And then the fedora-xxx things disappear and the installation this time finished with no problem.

Many thanks!

To Ztcoracat: I did make that mistake... I editted the post and corrected them Thanks!

1 members found this post helpful.

Your Welcome!-

Was that a Windows 95 partition?

-:-Don't forget to mark your thread SOLVED-:-