I updated Ubuntu and now it doesn't want to work. When I turn the computer on it shoots straight to a screen that says

0.746601] Kernel panic - not synching: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

So I hit esc as soon as I turn it on it takes me to a screen that says Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode) ect ect.

My problem, is I can't get anywhere from this point. I'm kind of dim with computers but better off than most. Can someone please help me out?

If there was a kernel update, are you able to get to a GRUB menu by hitting <Esc> as soon as the computer gets past the BIOS? From there, you can select an old kernel to boot from.

Could you give more info on the screen what you see?
ie) After you hit Esc.

You can select a previous version of kernel. Normally Ubuntu would have 6-8 entries in that page.

You can select any one from them.

Ignore the following and try other options displayed.
***********(recovery)
*****memtest***

* - Denotes other text or string

Do post back if you can boot into any of them.
If it boots successfully into any, then We can make that as the default boot option to boot into ubuntu.

SEEMS a little Blind at some SPOTS.. HUMPPY...

I've been trying that. It just takes me to the same screen or it says

init: mountall main process (2332) killed by ABRt signal
General error mounting filesystems. Maintenance shell will now be started.
CONTROL-D will terminate this shell and reboot the system.

I hit control d. Brought me to the first screen again. waited and the computer turned off.

Don't press CTRL+D as soon as you see the terminal.
Try logging in..
It is a maintenance console. So Probably there is some answer for you in it..
Is your Hard disk Healthy? Try connecting it to another computer and also check if it is ok. check if its detected properly in BIOS. Also do check your mount points. If GRUB is Loading then Probably your HDD is still alive.

The trick is not to wait until the kernel starts booting. Exactly one millisecond after the BIOS loads, immediately press <Esc>. This will get you to a GRUB boot menu that you can select an old kernel from.

Do always read the first post...
horrormax276 have been trying to load the Old kernel from the GRUB menu... But he couldn't..
He is getting a Mount Error.. Read it..

Was this one of the regular Ubuntu updates? Or did you install a newer kernel from somewhere else?

In any case, you could try to update the ramdisk (initrd) and see if this allows you to boot.
Can you boot to recovery mode from the grub menu? If so then update the ramdisk like this:
Then reboot and see if you can boot to the Ubuntu desktop.
See this for reference: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Up...0the%20Ramdisk
If you can not even boot to recovery mode, then this is not a good sign. But you may be able to update the ramdisk from the live CD.

Friends:

I also updated my laptop Ubuntu op sys from 9.x to 10.04 after I received a notice that it is available. It was entirely from this prompt. I didn't do anything manually.

Now I receive the message a number of other users have:

"The configuration defaults for Gnome Power Manager have not been installed correctly. Please contact your computer administrator."

I have tried ESC and booting to one of the 7 or 8 options. Not successful. If I allow itto boot till it stops I have a non-responsive keyboard, with the above message. I have tried everything that I see on these message boards and nothing works. I cannot get a boot disk to load since it seems to not recognize the CD drive.

Anybody give me some hope?

Moe