[clug] I feel like a newbie... question

[Scott Ferguson]

For future reference.... *always* before doing a dist-upgrade, do
"apt-get -yd dist-upgrade" before doing apt-get dist-upgrade (download
all packages but don't install them yet).

e.g. apt-get -yd dist-upgrade&&apt-get -y dist-upgrade (download all
packages and *if* successful, do the actual upgrade)

1. Check that GRUB is actually borked by pressing ESC early in the boot
sequence. If it's borked (very unlikely) boot from a live CD or debian
based USB with the same kernel and follow Bob's chroot instructions
(then try downloading the missing packages or --fix-missing).

2. If GRUB is not borked and you get a GRUB rescue console - post here
and someone will walk you through the process of using the rescue
console to boot your previous kernel.


Q. Is this a dual-boot machine? UEFI??



On 21/02/16 08:46, Robert Edwards wrote:
> On 21/02/2016 8:26 am, David C wrote:
>> I agree with Rodney's description, I haven't used supergrub, but it
>> sounds
>> the right tool for the job. Not having a grub prompt suggests this is an
>> easy fix, even though it looks bad.
>>
>> If you don't get your hands on supergrub, you should be able to fix it
>> in a
>> live CD with a root prompt
>> mount $your_root_partition /mnt
>> grub-install --boot-partition=/mnt/boot $your_hard_drive
>>
>> Your hard drive is probably /dev/sda and your root partition is probably
>> /dev/sda1 but you should check before reinstalling grub.
> 
> If it were my install and I wanted to repair it, I would:
>  - try booting a rescue image (Ubuntu or other)
>  - checking and, if necessary, repairing the root partition
>  - mount the root partition
>  - backup anything I really want to keep
>  - chroot into the root partition (need to bind mount /proc, /sys, /dev
>     etc. first)
>  - try an "apt-get -f install" to fix any packages that aren't fully
>     installed

and post the error messages :)

>  - either run grub from the cmdline, or force remove and re-install it
> 
> see how that goes.
> 
> cheers,
> 
> Bob Edwards
> 
>> On 21 Feb 2016 08:05, "Rodney Peters" <rodneyp at iinet.net.au> wrote:
>>
>>> More likely a kernel update has failed to be configured in GRUB and the
>>> rest of
>>> Ubuntu is in good working order.
>>>
>>> You could download Supergrub 2 and put that on USB or CD to boot
>>> from.  You
>>> should then be able to use the menu find and boot the Ubuntu
>>> installation.
>>> Once booted go through the bootloader setup again.
>>>
>>> Parted Magic rescue CD also contains Supergrub 2.
>>>
>>> Rod
>>>
>>> On Saturday 20 Feb 2016 14:57:24 Peter Ellis wrote:
>>>> Thanks, I have a Knoppix 7.4 DVD or the U14.04 stick as a stand-in
>>> system.
>>>> I have a recent download of the 'Precious', but can update that to the
>>>> external drive via Knoppix or the stick.
>>>>
>>>> I can't see GRUB.
>>>>
>>>> The update included a full Linux heart-and-soul update, so something
>>>> has
>>>> gone wrong and its messed up everything.
>>>>
>>>> This feels like a complete reinstall, now. I've done that before, over
>>> the
>>>> years.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, all.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Peter
>>>>
>>>> On 20 February 2016 at 12:22, David C <cottrill.david at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Whilst I agree that a restore from backup is the correct answer, I am
>>>>> reasonably sure you wouldn't be asking this question if you had one.
>>>>> Two answers: take a backup then reinstall and restore your data, or
>>>>> fix
>>>>> the
>>>>> current installation.
>>>>>
>>>>> To get a backup, boot to a live CD and copy all of /home and any
>>> services
>>>>> configurations or data that you hold dear to a separate USB stick. If
>>> your
>>>>> USB drive is big enough, copy everything. Reinstall from scratch and
>>> put
>>>>> your data back afterwards. You may need to stuff around fixing file
>>>>> ownership.
>>>>>
>>>>> To fix the current installation, we/you are going to need more
>>>>> information.
>>>>> Do you get to the grub menu? If so, remove "quiet" from the kernel
>>>>> line


or just press ESC during the boot...

<snipped>


Kind regards

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