GRUB error 15: How to fix?
 

I'm relatively new to Linux, and I've been messing around with it a lot lately. Well, today I installed Slackware, and it had worked before, but this time it says

GRUB loading, pleae wait...
Error 15

I've looked around online for some help, but I can't seem to find a way to fix it. Can anyone help?

From the GRUB manual:

15 : File not found
This error is returned if the specified file name cannot be found, but everything else (like the disk/partition info) is OK.

So, check that the path to your kernel image is correct.

check '/boot/grub/menu.lst' and make sure everything looks right.

how can i look at this file if i can't get to a command line?

grub has some simple commands build in. try help and more.

"how can i look at this file if i can't get to a command line?"

I suggest that you boot a liveCD such as knoppix, mount your filesystem, and take a look.

So you never see the grub menu ???.
Error 15 would be (very) odd at that stage. Possibly means menu.lst never even got built.
Re-install grub. Should be able to do it from a chroot if the rest of the install is o.k. - ISTR Pat had some instructions for booting the disk install on the CD. Been quite a while since I looked at Slack though.

You should be able to use tab completion in the GRUB shell to find your kernel image.

am i supposed to be able to open 'boot/grub/menu.lst' in a text editor? i can't. i tried with gedit, and i got a message that said 'cannot open display: (null)'. i tried with emacs, and i got the message 'file exists, but cannot read'.

p.s. i am using gentoo livecd

You may need to re-install grub, but first try:

1) Are you sure you are root on the live CD ? Make sure you are root and have permission to access the file.

2) If you can access the file and it says the same thing, get rid of the old one and write another. Here's an example:

3) If that don't work, re-install grub.

Did you mount your disk filesystem? If not, there's no way you're going to be able to edit it.

mount /dev/hda /mnt (or hdb or sda or whatever it is)
gedit /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst

Are you dual booting with another os on this box? If so, which one, and does it boot?

If Slackware is the only os on this box then grub shouldn't even be there unless you added it after the install, or it exists from some previous linux install and you didn't install lilo (the default bootloader) to the mbr.

I'm not really sure what "mounting" means exactly, except that I've never done it or been prompted to do it in any Linux installer. So my guess would be that I haven't mounted my disk filesystem, but maybe it was done automatically.


I'm not dual booting with another OS, but I have switched from Slackware to Gentoo and back, and reinstalled Slackware several times, for whatever reason (possibly my noobness). Slackware installed GRUB automatically, I think. It let me choose if I get to see the penguin on the splash sreen.

I found another file in /boot/grub directory that was named "sample" something or other and it had the exact lines:

# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux on (/dev/hda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 ro vga=normal

in it.

Anyway, the problem came up when I switched from Gentoo back to Slackware, so I figured it would be fine if I just used Gentoo. So Gentoo works, but I still would like to figure out this whole thing. Thanks for all the help.

Slackware does NOT install grub automatically, it installs lilo automatically (if you tell it to). I'm betting you didn't install it to the MBR. You probably should.

Generally, when you're using a liveCD, the / directory, i.e. /root, /boot, /home, etc, are those of the liveCD, and not of that for your filesystem. The liveCD will usually mount your filesystem but as readonly. You need to mount it explicitly. From a terminal window in your liveCD, do the following:
Then you can make any changes you need to the actual menu.lst file. I don't know anything about gentoo or slack, so I'm afraid someone else will probably have to pick it up from here.