Just installed Suse 10.0 - Grub error mesage.
 

Hi,
I have just installed Suse 10.0 from a DVD, onto my external hard drive, for a dual boot with Windows XP. After the installation, Suse rebooted, and I selected 'boot from hard disk' from the Suse menu. I recieved this error message:

Grub Loading Stage 1.5
Grub loading, please wait...

Error 16


Now I can't boot into either Suse or Windows. I am new to Linux, and I'm not sure what to do now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Stephen

Well let me ask you first, where did you install Grub while going thru the Suse install? It does at least tell you where its going to write it.. and what I'm thinking is its on a partition on your external drive (which might be the problem).

If your computer bios doesnt mount to your USB external drive at boot, chances are, it cant read it yet. Basically, I'm thinking your computer is booting up and looking for something not accessible.

You have 3 options (depends on what paritioning software and bios you have).

1.) If you have Partition Magic on XP, boot with your XP disc, repair your MBR and it'll boot right back to XP with all your stuff.

2.) Use the Suse install all over again and this time partition your booting drive (probably internal) to have like a 50 mb partition for your grub, and just use your external for swap and root. The setting up of the partitions to use your external may be different because of when the external drive gets mounted. Which may cause you to have to use option 3 first.

3.) Get more information about mounting to an external harddrive and when it occurs. I'm not too familiar with booting from externals, so I would do a bit of research on what your computer supports, then possibly fix your bios and boot up. If you get it right, you wont have to use option 1 or 2.

Hope this helps :cool:

I boot SuSE from a USB hard drive. For information see the following which
can be found with a google search. It is located in forums.devarticles postings.

linux-install-suse-on-an-external-usb-drive

This is a very good description of what to do. Please note that it is important that your computer be able to boot from a USB drive. Also be sure to put your bootloader(grub) on the USB drive not your main drive.

With SuSE 10 you will only have to add the following to the INITRD_MODULES=""
line of /etc/sysconfig/kernel file:

ehci-hcd
usb-storage
scsi_mod
sd_mod

then run mkinitrd command.

Also note that grub used with SuSE 10 should map the drives as follows:

hd0 (sda)
hd1 (hda)

If necessary change the map file and grub to reflect these changes or it might not boot.

In order for Windows to boot change grub to the following:

title Windows
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
rootnoverify (hd1,x)
chainloader +1

x in rootnoverify line will be that for your windows partition, usually 0
but on my computer 1 as Windows is in the second partition.

If you want to work with many distros on USB life will be easier if you get a
livecd linux distro to work with when editing the initrd and grub files.

Jim

Grub error 21 and frustrated
 

I have encountered a near identical problem with SUSE 10 but I get a GRUB error 21 message.

I loaded SUSE onto an USB external Maxtor One Touch drive. When I try to boot Linux from the blue Linux screen I get a final message that "cannot locate dev/sdb (that is the external drive) exiting to bin/sh" or something like that. I need to manually power down the computer to reboot from that sequence.

If I select boot Windows XP when the blue Linux screen comes up, everything works well.

That is with the exception that....

if I turn off the Maxtor (or disconnect the USB) I get the GRUB error 21 which freezes everything and I need to power down again. I can't boot Windows.

I bought and installed a second SATA hard drive thinking the problem must be in the USB. If I go to the BIOS and activate the drive, I get the GRUB 21 error message even if the Maxtor is turned on. If I deactivate the new drive, everything works fine (i.e., I can boot Windows from the blue Linux screen). The new internal drive is blank right now - haven't done anything to it since I can't use it.

If I am in Windows, the Device Manager tells me the Maxtor is connected but My Computer doesn't see it.

If I do a reinstall of Linux it clearly sees the Maxtor drive at reinstall because that is the suggested partition. It just doesn't see it if I try to boot Linux after the re-install.

The swap partition is on the Windows internal hard drive.

I got to admit, I'm baffled. I've confirmed that all the device drivers are current and working.

I've tried to follow the directions from the linux screen for I/O devices under the "MORE" suggestion but I can't find the proposed additional image files on the DVD boot file.

I am beginning to not like Linux already.

GRUB Loading stage1.5...........error 5
 

NEWBIE so be gentle...
I loaded SUSE 10.0 OSS from a dvd disc. Installation went OK but when I reboot from hard drive I get the following error message

GRUB Loading stage1.5

GRUB loading, please wait...
Error 5

Any ideas ....

Try to insert the dvd..and pick instalation > choose update current instal> reinstal the bootloader..this helped me when i had this issue