matt-- Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I agree - sounds like the boot loader. Just try reinstalling grub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Tried that. Was one of the first things I tried. I may try again though, but chances are I'll just put in an independet OS drive and just go from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 It can't read the OS on the boot menu.I seem not to be able to abstract that, lol. Does that mean Grub is loading to at least some point or not? I once had a problem with Grub couldn't get to stage 1.5 because I switched to XFS and /boot was on an XFS partition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Sorry that happened to you bro. If it makes you feel any better, my computer is on it's last leg too. I mean I took really good care of my system, I upgraded the graphics card to the most that the system could handle, and I have kept up with maintenance and what not. Problem I have is that my windows crash alot, especially the ones in my music folders. My CD burner crapped out months ago, and now I can only burn CDs on my lap top. Basically my computer is a 4 year old dinosaur and just can't hack it anymore. I am sceptical about buying a new one with the new windows system coming out, I don't want a repeat of my experience with Windows ME. Basically I use my compy for e-mail and surfing the web, and that is about it. Now that I am salary, I get a ton of work related e-mails. I am not hourly anymore, so it is definitely a full time job all of the time! I threw in the towell on PC gaming, when Serious Sam II would not run, despite me having all the minimum requirements, the game ran like a slide show at best. I'm going to run this PC until it dies. And then i'll set up my lap top as back up. Priority one for me, is getting a down payment on a new condo. Hopefully by then, all the windows bugs will be worked out, and I can finally buy a new rig. I am definitely ordering all my stuff on the net this time, no more Best Buy/Circuit City crap this time. Hope it all works out for you bra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-- Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Can you mount /boot from a livecd? If not and fsck isn't doing for you, you could try recovering using a tool like testdisk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoxStar Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 So I figured out that the reason for my computer instability was actually a failing power supply . Now its totally shot and I need to buy a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 I agree - sounds like the boot loader. Just try reinstalling grub!Actually, I was referring to the Master Boot Record, which is the first 512 bytes of any hard drive. It lists information on the various partitions on the disk-including whether or not something is bootable, GRUB is listed on this record, which loads the data into memory and executes the OS. I'm not exactly sure how GRUB works, but if it gets the information it needs for it's configuration file from the MBR, it wouldn't be able to get information on the OS's partition. If it is the MBR, a fresh install of both the OS and the bootloader will fix it, as Ubuntu's installer will just write over the partition's corrupted data table entry (the partitions are stored as chunks of data that mark it's properties, such as the "0x80" property that marks it as bootable). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-- Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Yes, I know exactly what a master boot record is, jmac. Typically, grub installs stage 1 of the boot loading mechanism in the MBR. Grub misconfiguration or misuse is the easiest way to cause these symptoms, at least in my experience. To fix it requires no reinstallation - just a livecd - if this is the case. Now, if grub is installed differently in Ubuntu than the default (entirely in one primary partition), then it should just be marked active (bootable). If your partition table is totally messed, try the testdisk tool I recommended above. Btw, what distro's do you all run? I run gentoo stage-1 installs on all my machines here (laptop + amd64 + older x86), although I'm thinking of running freebsd on the x86 when I get a new hard drive for it. Actually, I was referring to the Master Boot Record, which is the first 512 bytes of any hard drive. It lists information on the various partitions on the disk-including whether or not something is bootable, GRUB is listed on this record, which loads the data into memory and executes the OS. I'm not exactly sure how GRUB works, but if it gets the information it needs for it's configuration file from the MBR, it wouldn't be able to get information on the OS's partition. If it is the MBR, a fresh install of both the OS and the bootloader will fix it, as Ubuntu's installer will just write over the partition's corrupted data table entry (the partitions are stored as chunks of data that mark it's properties, such as the "0x80" property that marks it as bootable). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Yes, I know exactly what a master boot record is, jmac.My bad, you said boot loader, so I thought maybe you had misunderstood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSR Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 my first (and last) laptop... most colourful icon on desktop? MS-DOS... aha... laptop= seriously screwed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Btw, what distro's do you all run? Debian Sarge + kernel 2.6.15-ck4 (Con Kolivas' kernel patch). At work I also have a Debian unstable/testing box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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