2015-11-29

(1) Tonight I suddenly saw this dreadful Linux system error message after I was experimenting with Plop Boot Manager on my Linux Mint 17.1 system.

'No boot in signature in partition. Disk Boot Failure. Insert system disk and press ENTER.'

Inserting the LM 17.1 system disk only creates a brand-new installation and does not restore my existing hard drive's contents. I wonder if there is any way I can do so. This an occasion I wish I had something like my old Windows XP restoration disk.

(2) Is there any way one can use any external system hard drive in place of an internal one in order to avoid this kind of system mishap? I realize that this sounds like a naive or dumb question.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Julianloui

(1) Most distros have a rescue mode on their installation DVD. See http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/245.
(2) I dont't know how an external disk prevents you from destroying your grub configuration. Having said that, while the master boot record has to be on the first disk ("first" as far as the BIOS is concerned), all the rest can be on any drive.

bernbausch,

Thanks very much for your response. I admit that my second question may sound illogical but it still seems desirable and convenient to be able to locate a system disk externally.

I am very happy to report that Boot-Repair-Disk-32-bit has saved my night and system. I downloaded it last year. It is extremely easy to use and fixed my problem in seconds.

I highly recommend it and can't thank the creator or creators enough.

Julianloui