appreciation
 

Many thanks for your excellent guidance (to an octogenarian)!

I will post a question re grub when I have calmed down from this pleasant experience.

Much obliged, ulfscha

How can I delete the grub directory from my W 2000 vintage pc. It prevents me from booting either W2k or Linux 10.10

When I tried the various methods listed on the web via a live cd

sudo fdisk -l

sudo mount /dev/sdxx /mnt

I get invariably no such dir xx for any of the xxx I see a few lines above. with or without the *

I tried at least 20 times! I even tried to re-install grub or put on ubuntu LT on a parallel drive but no success.


Any guidance what could be wrong or more likely my mistake(s)?

Hi,

firstly, welcome to LQ.
Secondly,
There is no Linux 10.10. I suppose you mean Ubuntu 10.10. Anyway, you need to provide more information on what you tried and what the output was. E.g., what is the output of
Also, what is the error message that you get when you try to boot? Do you see the grub menu before the error occurs?

Deleting the grub directory will most probably not solve this problem; on the contrary, it will make it worse.

Thanks Ubuntu 10/10 is correct

I do not get the grub menu

grub 1.5 error

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0004b821

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 14593 117218241 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000ebbe0

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 12256 98446288+ 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 4043 MB, 4043309056 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 491 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000a7574

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 * 1 492 3948512+ b W95 FAT32
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(490, 254, 63) logical=(491, 145, 38)
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$




ubuntu@ubuntu:/dev$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 mnt
fuse: failed to access mountpoint mnt: No such file or directory
ubuntu@ubuntu:/dev$

This does not look right. From the output of 'fdisk -l' your ubuntu resides on /dev/sdb1.
So issue the following commands and post the output:
Notice the slash '/' in front of mnt.

Sorry for my delay as I had no access and sda1 misleader I had tried a, b a1 b c in desperation for all ds but sent you the wrong sample!

With your very helpful advice I got a result that I had not gotten before :


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ cd /
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
mount: /dev/sdb1 already mounted or /mnt busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/sdb1 is already mounted on /mnt
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$ ls -1 /mnt
lost+found (in blue ulfscha)
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$ ls -1 /mnt/
lost+found (in blue ulfscha)
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$ ls -1 /mnt/boot/
ls: cannot access /mnt/boot/: No such file or directory
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$

Many thanks for your patience

ls -l (l is lower case L).

http://karuppuswamy.com/wordpress/20...rescue-prompt/

Many thanks Eddy1!

After many days I thought I had learned the difference between l and 1 it looks alike l and 1 to my old eyes even on this editor

Many thanks for the disk link which I shall try asap today
Have a nice day!

You're welcome

Well, it looks that you do not have Ubuntu installed. /dev/sdb1 is just a formatted partition but there is no OS installed. Did you remove it while trying to fix it?

111111111111111111
llllllllllllllllllllllllll


this is what the difference between l and 1 looks like on my pc screen ones are on top

I was able to print the contents of my grubenv file is : some 14 lines full of ######!!!!

I guess I should stick with shovelling snow!

Definitely plan to buy the rescue cd though.

I noticed that the actual message shows a very clear difference between 'l' and number one '1'

while writing they look very similar

It's just the different fonts people use, the difference is l is square on top, 1 is curved.

It's kind of funny, because as I type l it has appearance as 1, but when I submit to LQ it automatically changes to staright line others submit it appears as 1.

Via the disk utility on my live cd I can mount and see the Linux drive that is being blocked from starting by the grub troubles. I might have deleted the start-up file acc
to one kind advice CRTS )above as I cannot see a star anymore (except on a a back-up disk).

Opening it however is impossible as it sends that I am 'not authorized' (sudo? or my password).


Is there a way that I could make myself sudu or myself in the graphical interface presented by the disk utility 2.30.1 (from Red Had Inc 2007-2009 on my live disk)) ????

Hi,

on my ubuntu I can bring up the disk utility from terminal like this (with root privileges):
Please try this and inspect the drives. You could also make some screenshots of all the drives once you are able to open them with a GUI application (Applications -> Accessories -> Take Screenshot). If there is indeed no more Linux installation then you should consider how you want to proceed. Do still want to use Linux in the future? Or do you want to revert back to windows? If the latter, then it is probably easier to fix windows with the windows installation CD. Afterwards you could reclaim the Linux partition for use with windows. If you want to keep Linux then maybe you should just reinstall Linux. If I am not mistaken then you can just click on the install icon when using the liveCD. The installer should be able to install grub properly. But be careful when choosing the disks you want to install in order to not delete windows by accident.

If you have a rescue or live-CD, boot up from CD, log in as root user (or sudo), open a terminal and try the following:

The line "root (hdX,Y)" would be the drive with grub on it, which would be listed while running the above commands. Likely it would be (hd0,0) or (hd0,1) -- try (hd0,0) first. It may be something else, given that your fdisk printout listed "sda1" and "sdb1". Try whatever it shows you after the "find" command (note, the find command may be "find /grub/stage1" rather than "find /boot/grub/stage1"). Hard drives typically are "hd" and floppies "fd", whereas usb drives often are "sd", but it seems a lot of people get their hard-drives labelled as "sd" for some reason.

If the live-CD allows you to log in as root, then the first line "sudo grub" would simply be "grub".

Note, I'm assuming from your question above that you can't boot in, and get an error from grub instead (IE, "grub 1.5 error 21", or something like that). If you can boot in to the one OS that has grub, but can't boot into the other OS you have -- W2K -- then that's a different matter. In that case, you may be able to edit the menu.lst file, or simply run update-grub or os-prober. Lemme know which is the case.

Much obliged CRTS!

I am 100% intent on using Ubuntu as my main future Tool. The support I experienced alone sufficed for a permanent conversion.
Its just that I have many important and sentimental files on WK2 and on the Ubuntu 10.10 disks.

The original W2K oem instal disk had let me down completely. " it could not even 'see' the 2 WD drives" that the Ubuntu disk utility had shown in all their glory!

I am presently restoring from a .tip archive via Acronis and found out during a 7 hour projected task to restore that I had Ubuntu 8 on the same back-up file!!!!


I shall attempt your screenshots etc method afterwards. I have also downloaded LTS 10.4.2 for this purpose already.

You all have been very helpful but I do not yet dare to push the 'solved' button for fear of losing the thread. My brain tells me it is solved though.
Meanwhile the Acronis restorer has changed his estimate down from 7 hours to 1 hr 47 minutes!

ps I had my grandson -who sees like a hawk- test the difference between 'l' and '1' and had him stymied until I pushed him for more vigilance! It made my day! Thanks!

Hi,

those instructions are valid for GRUB-Legacy. However, the OP uses Ubuntu 10.10 and therefore GRUB2. The device names, e.g., are a bit different. Also, there is no menu.lst.

Actually if the Ubuntu installation was a failure and Op is going to continue using Ubuntu
Reinstall it.
Just make sure you don't erase and write to the windows partition.

Hi CRTS!

sudo palimpsest does not work on my live disk unfortunately. The screenshots utility
had worked beautifully on my original main 10.10 Ubuntu, the object of my main recovery attempts.

According to ACRONIS I had restored W@K successfully after some 7 hrs, including the MBR yet it did not get beyond GRUB 1.2 error 2

Then I very carefully I installed U LT 10.10 on a free ext 4 on disk B space. it reported success;
though the option to load a grub -to which I had become familiar in earlier versions- never came up!
Upon restart attempt without a live cd it got into an endless loop after : " load from ATAPI cd "

I remounted the live cd and got results below where the boot is shown on the stick 4
GB that I use for file transfer as my sole available tool from the comatose drives.



WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.


Disk

/dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xcbb6418d

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 14594 117220823+ ee GPT

Disk

/dev/sdb: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00030ecb

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 18663 149903360 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 18663 19458 6384641 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 18663 19458 6384640 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk


/dev/sdc: 4043 MB, 4043309056 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 491 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000a7574

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 * 1 492 3948512+ b W95 FAT32
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(490, 254, 63) logical=(491, 145, 38)
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$


Should I give up postmaturely?
In my earlier live I was known as a beta tester who could make mistakes nobody else ever anticipated.

Will your linux install boot without live-cd?
Can you mount sda and view files.

To Eddy!

I can see and read some files of my old -wanted- ubuntu 10.10. I cannot open root as it does not let me be sudo;

the actual grub env??? is all ###########################################

When I tried to mount sdc1 that I see under fdisk -l I get "there is no such file or dir.

Since I also got the message that my disk 1 was of a format that is not supported
I am reinstalling W2K from a tib file via Acronis; this time in FAT format that is supported in the linux disk utility
Interestingly this is much faster 1 hour vs 7 that I sweated yesterday.

If I succeed this time with windows I can install wibu.exe which is claimed to
let me boot many parallel OSs.

Perhaps this might also be a lifeline: As advised by one of my guiding helpers:

#!/bin/bash
VERSION=0.55
DATE="February 15th, 2010"
#to use this script:
#
# sudo bash boot_info_script055.sh
#or
# su -
# bash boot_info_script055.sh
#
#
### last-modified
#
#author Ulrich Meierfrankenfeld (aka meierfra.)
# with contributions from caljohnsmith
# (both members of ubuntuforums.org)
# and Gert Hulselmans
#
#hosted at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/bootinfoscript/
#
#The birth of the boot info script:
# http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=837791
#
#Looks at all MBRs and identifies the boot loader.
# For Grub and Supergrub: displays the controlling partition.
# If the MBR is unknown, displays the whole MBR.
#Looks at all partitions:
# Determines their type
# Identifies their boot sectors.
# For grub: displays the controlling partition and the offset
# of the stage2 file as recorded in the boot sector.

sdc is your usb drive that you're using.
You need to take your time and read this link.
sdb is the drive that you want to boot into as it has the linux os that you want to install grub to.
mount sdb1, the way the link tells you to do it.
http://karuppuswamy.com/wordpress/20...rescue-prompt/

"Posted by: EDDY1
On: 02-22-2011 08:47 PM

sdc is your usb drive that you're using.
You need to take your time and read this link.
sdb is the drive that you want to boot into as it has the linux os that you want to install grub to.
mount sdb1, the way the link tells you to do it.
http://karuppuswamy.com/wordpress/2010/06/02/how-to-chroot-to-ubuntu-using-live-cd-to-fix-grub-rescue-prompt/"

Many thanks! Will follow exactly.

Ps This post I only got through the extremely useful daily e-mail update/remainder. It did not come through on this page or is hidden?

Eddy1!

/media/eecb4cab-5220-464e-80ba-8342085e7315 complete mountpath as per


karrupuswamy.com

The saga:



/$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk


Windows disk: The cause of all evil

/dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of

16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size

(minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xea08a326

Device Boot Start

End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 7297 58613121 7

The stick:

HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 4043 MB, 4043309056 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 491 cylinders
Units =

cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size

(minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000a7574

Device Boot Start

End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 492 3948512+ b W95 FAT32
Partition

1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(490, 254, 63) logical=(491, 145, 38)

Disk /dev/sdc:

Desired Linux Disk:


160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 *

512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal):

512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00030ecb

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id

System

/dev/sdc1 1 18663 149903360 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2 18663 19458

6384641 5 Extended
/dev/sdc5 18663 19458 6384640 82 Linux swap / Solaris
ubuntu@ubuntu:/
/$ sudo mount


/$ sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/media/eecb4cab-5220-464e-80ba-8342085e7315
mount: mount point

/mnt/media/eecb4cab-5220-464e-80ba-8342085e7315 does not exist


/$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/media/eecb4cab-5220-464e-80ba-8342085e7315
Mount is denied because the

NTFS volume is already exclusively opened.
The volume may be already mounted, or another software may

use it which
could be identified for example by the help of the 'fuser' command.
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$


It does not let me mount it ON ANY DISK a,b, or c

MY LINUX THAT I SEEK TO START
IS ON THE c 160 GB disk which gave me the path under control L:
media/ eeee...

( At one point it added 'files' in front of /media... which mount did not take either!



Thus I cannot perform
step 5
of this very clear procedure you kindly suggested!

Could it be that the different spacings before the / is
my error or is due to my old keyboard?


I also get a message "cannot unmount the NTFs drive because device is busy"
Could a virus exercising it?

Should I physically disconnect the Windows2k drive? (120 GB)

Following your very helpful instructions I could boot my old w 2k and a new ubuntu10.4 LT.

I can even read all but the root and lost-and-found files on my yet not bootable old ubuntu 10.10


Many thanks to all my helpers!

Now that you're able to boot wins2k and ubuntu 10.04 you should be able to open terminal in ubuntu and issue command
"os-prober" then "update-grub".

Many thanks!

I think it works as I got no blue screen or many lines message back.

It was a real privilege to get that much help and ubuntu exposure

ulfscha

ulflt@ulflt-desktop:~$ cd /
ulflt@ulflt-desktop:/$ os-prober
unshare failed: Operation not permitted
rm: cannot remove `/var/lib/os-prober/labels': Permission denied
ulflt@ulflt-desktop:/$ sudo os-prober
[sudo] password for ulflt:
/dev/sda1:Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional:Windows:chain
/dev/sdb1:Ubuntu 10.10 (10.10):Ubuntu:linux
ulflt@ulflt-desktop:/$ sudo update-grub
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
Found Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional on /dev/sda1
Found Ubuntu 10.10 (10.10) on /dev/sdb1
done
ulflt@ulflt-desktop:/$