grub prompt
 

Yesterday the laptop was running like a top (and has been for close to 7 months now since I loaded SuSe. This morning I booted up and it boots into grub and stares at me with a grub prompt ... now what do I do??

I have tried "boot", but I get error 8 kernel must be loaded. I've typed in "kernel", but get error 1, something about an absolute path name ... the only command that I've successfully launched was "reboot" ... which puts me back where I started ... grub>


This is SuSe 9.1 Personal with grub 0.94

Gets even better ... I can't even boot from a livecd??

Not being able to boot from a live CD is probably due to having booting from CD disabled in your bios.

grub commands are here:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...-commands.html

HTH,

Samsara

Nope ... the bios is configured correctly for boot priority. I double checked just to humor this assumption (I regularly boot knoppix, slax, and a few other livecds).

I get the grub boot prompt, but issuing the command "boot" and others yields no results. This is the first problem I've experienced with this laptop.

Is there a way to reload grub? In doing a reload of grub will it detect the orginal install?

This is wacked ... memtest booted. Can anyone give me a sense of direction of what to do once grub loads?


... gonna have to try and load suse again ...

Ok ... I've managed to boot a SuSe 9.1 Pro DVD ... but I seem to be chasing myself with things. I've told it to upgrade, it runs through it's checks, repairs one of the hd partitions, then continues it's scan and reports a root partition can not be found to repair check all options and scan again, a second error after that says /etc/fstab can not be found. I go back one screen select all the scan options and the cycle repeats ... like the energizer bunny, it keeps going and going ... I've went through this process 4 times and don't think I'm making any progress.

I've rebooted the DVD and am attempting the repair option from the boot menu. Anyone know what the repair login and password is?

... well maybe rescue wasn't what I wanted after all. Gotta know what to do once you get to the prompt and I'm lost.

I've tried a new installation with the 9.1 Pro CD, but it wants to format my linux partitions (least they appear in red) and there is an error in red about the software ... I'll post both after I have breakfast.

I don't believe this!

Grub prompt is the best booting tool in the world because it boots every one of the 90+ system in my box.

Type

geometry (hd0)<----to see your partitions

find /boot/grub/menu.lst <----to find which partition has Grub's configuration file.

When Grub reports say it is in (hd0,0) then type

cat (hd0,0)/boot/grub/menu.lst will display the instructions how Grub boots your Suse

just follow the line starting with "root", then the "kernel" statment and finallly the "initrd" statement exactly as you see on the screen. When that is done type

boot

and Suse will fire up.

--------------------

A short cut if you don't want to bother with typing the kernel and initrd statements. On obtaining the partition that holds /boot/grub/menu.lst, say it is (hd0,0) type this at Grub prompt

configfile (hd0,0)/boot/grub/menu.lst

and your Suse will spring into life.

Apart from editing within grub as already posted here, there is a menu driven alternative in SuSE: boot from the install CD/DVD, choose Installation (*not* Rescue), go through all the motions of a new install until you get to the screen with install options. Choose Repair > Expert > Bootloader config > Reset (below to the right), popup with options, take Restore MBR. I have used it successfully quite often, after experimenting with other bootloaders (or when they chose to install in the MBR after I had told them not to :-)).

Hey, you can use the Grub prompt to restore Grub in the MBR!

If your Suse's root is in partition say hda3, which is (hd0,2) to Grub then this two lines at Grub prompt do a fine job.

root (hd0,2)
setup (hd0)

Common guys. Grub prompt is the best thing since slice bread. I boot my 90+ system in the box with it!!!