Jovan Stosic
i’m trying to install Ubuntu. I don’t know if it is important, but i’m trying to install it on external HDD.
In the end i have external bootable HDD which only displays:
error: file not found grub recovery>From the beginning:
- I’ve downloaded ubuntu-12.04-desktop-i386.iso
- I’ve used LiLi USB Creator (LinuxLive) to create bootable pendrive from that image
- I’ve bootet from it, it works
- I’ve clicked “Try ubuntu”, it works too.
I’ve used GParted to look over drivers (disks)
My primary embedded disk is seen as /dev/sda
My attached external disk as /dev/sdb
My PenDrive as /dev/sdc
- I’ve created partitions on /dev/sdb
- Fist partition for system (over 200GiB)
- Second was there already (it’s xsf, and i don’t want to touch it :P)
- Third is extended partition, with 1 locital partiton (10GiB) for swap
- I’ve started installation
- i’ve choose “somethin else” in … i belive secound screeb
- then is selected /dev/sdb as boot disk
- for first partiton of /dev/sdb i set i want ext3 file system, i’ve check “formattin” checkbox, and mount path set to “/”
- firs logical partiton set as swap partition
After installation finished, i restarted my computer. When i boot from my primary disc it’s work ok, my previous operating system – vista – works ok. When i set my BIOS to boot from my external disc, i only get that message:
error: file not found grub recovery>
- I’ve try to reinstall it, but didn’t help…
In desperation, i’ve try to read a bit about that “grub recovery>” command-line and experiment a bit… I’m not sure if this has had any point, or if it give you some information (notice, that i don’t know what i’m doing 😛 )
when i’ve type command:
insmod (hd1,1)/boot/grub/linux.modi’ve get message:
unknown filesystemthe same with:
insmod (hd1,msdos1)/boot/grub/linux.modthe same with:
insmod ext3but i get no message after command:
insmod ext2…
notice that i really don’t know what this command exactly do, but than i thought that maybe if i reinstall ubuntu with ext2 filesystem, it will work. I’ve done that, but symptoms are the same.
I’ve go back to that Live version of ubuntu, filesystem and basics directories seems to be present on /dev/sdb1 … i’m completely unfamiliar with GRUB. I’m also don’t know which wersion of GRUB it is, i hope there is only one version on ubuntu-12.04-desktop-i386.iso
Any help? Thax
======================= edit 17.06.2012 22:05 =========================
This is RESULTS.txt from bootinfoscript
sda is my in-build HDD
sdb is external HDD (disk-destination for Ubuntu)
sdc is PenDrive with Live Ubuntu
Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012] ============================= Boot Info Summary: =============================== => Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda. => Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks at sector 1 of the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks for (,msdos1)/boot/grub on this drive. => Syslinux MBR (4.04 and higher) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc. sda1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: vfat Boot sector type: Windows 7: FAT32 Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Boot files: /bootmgr /boot/bcd sda2: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Windows Vista Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD /Windows/System32/winload.exe sda3: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: Extended Partition Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: sda5: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ntfs Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sda5 starts at sector 63. Operating System: Boot files: sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: ext2 Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: Operating System: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img sdb3: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: xfs Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: Mounting failed: mount: /dev/sdb3: can't read superblock sdb4: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: Extended Partition Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: sdb5: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: swap Boot sector type: - Boot sector info: sdc1: __________________________________________________________________________ File system: vfat Boot sector type: SYSLINUX 4.04 2011-04-18 Boot sector info: Syslinux looks at sector 3250552 of /dev/sdc1 for its second stage. SYSLINUX is installed in the directory. The integrity check of the ADV area failed. No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block. Operating System: Boot files: /syslinux/syslinux.cfg /ldlinux.sys ============================ Drive/Partition Info: ============================= Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________ Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes 16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 310101 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System /dev/sda1 2,048 20,482,047 20,480,000 1c Hidden W95 FAT32 (LBA) /dev/sda2 * 20,482,048 176,771,071 156,289,024 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS /dev/sda3 176,771,072 312,580,095 135,809,024 f W95 Extended (LBA) /dev/sda5 176,773,120 312,580,095 135,806,976 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________ Disk /dev/sdb: 640.1 GB, 640135028736 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 77825 cylinders, total 1250263728 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System /dev/sdb1 * 2,048 574,773,569 574,771,522 83 Linux /dev/sdb3 574,773,570 1,208,315,584 633,542,015 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS /dev/sdb4 1,208,317,950 1,229,289,471 20,971,522 f W95 Extended (LBA) /dev/sdb5 1,208,317,952 1,229,289,471 20,971,520 82 Linux swap / Solaris Drive: sdc _____________________________________________________________________ Disk /dev/sdc: 1971 MB, 1971322880 bytes 129 heads, 40 sectors/track, 746 cylinders, total 3850240 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System /dev/sdc1 * 40 3,850,239 3,850,200 6 FAT16 "blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________ Device UUID TYPE LABEL /dev/loop0 squashfs /dev/loop1 7aa47a24-93a0-d54f-a03c-495cf2ee0927 ext2 /dev/sda1 3C98-AC5D vfat RECOVERY /dev/sda2 94CA2D3CCA2D1BCC ntfs VistaOS /dev/sda5 A2F09F72F09F4B83 ntfs DATA /dev/sdb1 a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e ext2 /dev/sdb3 973a36d7-5828-4291-b455-db286cd69668 xfs /dev/sdb5 9ce43dea-fd93-4343-969d-1243397724bd swap /dev/sdc1 7232-C522 vfat GOODDRIVE ================================ Mount points: ================================= Device Mount_Point Type Options /dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime) /dev/sdc1 /cdrom vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro) =========================== sdb1/boot/grub/grub.cfg: =========================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # # DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE # # It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates # from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub # ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ### if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then set have_grubenv=true load_env fi set default="0" if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}" save_env saved_entry set prev_saved_entry= save_env prev_saved_entry set boot_once=true fi function savedefault { if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then saved_entry="${chosen}" save_env saved_entry fi } function recordfail { set recordfail=1 if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi } function load_video { insmod vbe insmod vga insmod video_bochs insmod video_cirrus } insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then set gfxmode=auto load_video insmod gfxterm insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale set lang=pl_PL insmod gettext fi terminal_output gfxterm if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then set timeout=-1 else set timeout=10 fi ### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ### set menu_color_normal=white/black set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray if background_color 44,0,30; then clear fi ### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ### function gfxmode { set gfxpayload="$1" if [ "$1" = "keep" ]; then set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7 else set vt_handoff= fi } if [ ${recordfail} != 1 ]; then if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then set linux_gfx_mode=keep else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi else set linux_gfx_mode=keep fi else set linux_gfx_mode=text fi export linux_gfx_mode if [ "$linux_gfx_mode" != "text" ]; then load_video; fi menuentry 'Ubuntu, za pomocą systemu Linux 3.2.0-23-generic-pae' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { recordfail gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode insmod gzio insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic-pae root=/dev/sdb1 ro quiet splash $vt_handoff initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic-pae } menuentry 'Ubuntu, za pomocą systemu Linux 3.2.0-23-generic-pae (tryb ratunkowy)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os { recordfail insmod gzio insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e echo 'Wczytywanie systemu Linux 3.2.0-23-generic-pae...' linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic-pae root=/dev/sdb1 ro recovery nomodeset echo 'Wczytywanie początkowego dysku RAM...' initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic-pae } ### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ### ### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ### menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" { insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin } menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" { insmod part_msdos insmod ext2 set root='(hd1,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8 } ### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ### menuentry "Windows Recovery Environment (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" --class windows --class os { insmod part_msdos insmod fat set root='(hd0,msdos1)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 3C98-AC5D drivemap -s (hd0) ${root} chainloader +1 } menuentry "Windows Vista (loader) (on /dev/sda2)" --class windows --class os { insmod part_msdos insmod ntfs set root='(hd0,msdos2)' search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 94CA2D3CCA2D1BCC chainloader +1 } ### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ### # This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the # menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change # the 'exec tail' line above. ### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ### ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ### if [ -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then source $prefix/custom.cfg; fi ### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ### -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================== sdb1/etc/fstab: ================================ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0 # / was on /dev/sdb1 during installation UUID=a4befd4a-f91f-4f09-9d5f-a44991ed6a2e / ext2 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # swap was on /dev/sdb5 during installation UUID=9ce43dea-fd93-4343-969d-1243397724bd none swap sw 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =================== sdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ==================== GiB - GB File Fragment(s) = boot/grub/core.img 1 = boot/grub/grub.cfg 1 = boot/initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic-pae 6 = boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic-pae 3 = initrd.img 6 = vmlinuz 3 ========================= sdc1/syslinux/syslinux.cfg: ========================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # D-I config version 2.0 include menu.cfg default vesamenu.c32 prompt 0 timeout 50 ui gfxboot bootlogo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================= sdc1: Location of files loaded by Syslinux: ================== GiB - GB File Fragment(s) ?? = ?? ldlinux.sys 1 ?? = ?? syslinux/chain.c32 1 ?? = ?? syslinux/gfxboot.c32 1 ?? = ?? syslinux/syslinux.cfg 1 ?? = ?? syslinux/vesamenu.c32 1 ============== sdc1: Version of COM32(R) files used by Syslinux: =============== syslinux/chain.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx) syslinux/gfxboot.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx) syslinux/vesamenu.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx) =============================== StdErr Messages: =============================== xz: (stdin): Compressed data is corrupt awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in /home/ubuntu/Pobrane/bootinfoscript-061/bootinfoscript: line 1646: [: 2.73495e+09: integer expression expectedI have to say that script print on terminal:
Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012] "gawk" could not be found, using "busybox awk" instead. This may lead to unreliable results. Identifying MBRs... Computing Partition Table of /dev/sda... Computing Partition Table of /dev/sdb... Computing Partition Table of /dev/sdc... Searching sda1 for information... Searching sda2 for information... Searching sda3 for information... Searching sda5 for information... Searching sdb1 for information... Searching sdb3 for information... Searching sdb4 for information... Searching sdb5 for information... Searching sdc1 for information... Finished. The results are in the file "RESULTS.txt" located in "/home/ubuntu/Pobrane/bootinfoscript-061/".============== edit 18.06.2012 18:38 ===============
ok, this is more or less copy of my grub recovery session:
error: file not found grub recovery> set prefix=(hd0,msdos1)/boot/grub root=hd0,msdos1 grub recovery> ls (hd0) (hd0,msdos3) (hd0,msdos1) (hd1) (hd1,msdos5) (hd1,msdos2) (hd1,msdos1) grub recovery> ls $prefix error: file not found grub recovery>then i’ve used ‘ls’ cmd on few path, results are strange (i think):
grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot/grub error: file not found grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/lib grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/bin grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/sys ./ ../ grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/sbin grub recovery> ls (hd0,msdos1)/usr ./ ../ local/ (and some other things)is this normal? i can see /boot/grub and its content when i mount this external HDD by Live Ubuntu
The symptom of being able to see some files but not all on a filesystem with grub usually means that your BIOS is buggy and can’t properly handle large drives ( http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Large-Disk-HOWTO-4.html ). What happens is that the BIOS can’t read blocks past a certain point in the drive, and so if your root filesystem starts before that limit, but ends after that limit, then some files will be accessible at boot through the BIOS and others won’t. The standard way to work around this problem is to create a small /boot/ partition near the beginning of the drive, to ensure that everything that needs to be read through the BIOS, can be.
I would normally expect “out of disk” errors from grub were this the case, and I don’t know why we’re not seeing those. One way to confirm that the problem is a BIOS limit is to go into your BIOS menus and see what size it lists the drive as being, if it lists it as being less that the actual size, you know your BIOS is buggy. Another way, if your BIOS doesn’t list sizes anywhere in its menus, is to run “ls -l” from grub and look at the size listed there. Unfortunately, you can’t run “ls -l” from the rescue shell, so you’d need to boot from a grub CD, or have already fixed the problem with a small /boot/ partition, before you could do the check from within grub.
Change your booting preferences to boot from the external hard disk. The computer is trying to find grub on your in- built HDD but its actually in the external HDD. So you will have to change your booting options to use that external HDD for booting as the first preference and then the in – built HDD the second preference. So if your insert your external HDD then it will automatically boot ubuntu and if you don’t then it will boot up the system that you have installed it in the in – built HDD.
If your still having issues with this try the “GRUB Customizer”
sudo apt-get grub-customizer
PLUG IN YOUR PENDRIVE or external USB
start it from the gui Administrator tools Admin->grub-Customizer or Q!
After it starts it will read your boot script similar to bootinfoscript so wait a few seconds for it to finish then the boot information window will change color from grey to normal.
You can then edit the boot information for each drive as it was found.
to Add a new entry just press edit->Add then select Linux. using the tab button verify that the disk UUID matches the disk you want to boot from.
click finish.
click save button
verify your edits manual view the grub-boot menu to ensure edits were saved. I am assuming your grub boot loader is on hd0 or sda0. cat out
/hd0/boot/grub/grub.cfg # don’t edit this file just view or verify it. or run your bootinfoscript again.
if this doesn’t fix the problem then you could be having issues with the kernel. I had to reinstall my Ubuntu-LTS this way because another Linux 64bit install diddled with the boot loader too much. If your using a 64bit machine then verify that the usb-drive /pendrive is also 64-bit OS. Otherwise the USB driver will fork when it tries to load the USB drive.
It was a good idea that the new OS be kept small about 6-10MB so you don’t hit the upper bound limits on Large GB-HDs. You also need to verify that any external USB drivers are installed before grub runs. To do this press the down-arrow key on the purple screen to see what modules are being installed and which ones fork.
If this didn’t help you try using a rescue disk to pick up the missing kernel/files. I use bootrecovery-CD (sourceforge:boot-repair-diskx64) or Linux-remix-CD (www.ubuntu-rescue-remix.org) when things go wrong with Grub-Customizer.
Source: installation – How to fix ‘grub error file not found’ when installing 12.04? – Ask Ubuntu