Boot up problem, Init cannot find a file

Asked by Sly Cooper

Hello, I'm running Ubuntu 8.10 on my Dell Inspiron (which also has Windows Vista)

For some reason, when I boot up Ubuntu, the boot up stops and displays the following message:

"exec: 7: /etc.init.d/rcS: not found
init: rcS main process (2408) terminated with status 2
/bin/bash: error while loading shared libraries: libncurses.so.5: cannot open shared object file: Error 116
init: rcS-sulogin main process (2414) terminated with status 127"

Please, I need a quick solution!! All my files are on my Ubuntu OS.

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Sly Cooper
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Dawning (dawning) said :
#1

Yuck. I doubt this will help, but I'd first try to boot an older kernel. Failing that (looks likely), I'd see if I can get in to rescue mode to run fsck on your boot partition. Do you mind giving those a try and confirming if that gets you unstuck?

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Sly Cooper (derekschwartz19) said :
#2

Thanks Dawning,
but I'm not really a linux nerd, how would I go about running rescue mode to run fsck.

I tried the other kernals and the recovery modes, but they all had the same problem.

I'm thinking I need to use a live CD and install the /etc.init.d/rcS in the etc folder in my boot partition.
Does anyone think that will work?

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Dawning (dawning) said :
#3

I don't think that kind of approach will help you..

Is there anything stopping you from doing a fresh install of 10.04?

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Sly Cooper (derekschwartz19) said :
#4

I don't think so, will any of my files be lost on the hard drive partition if I install 10.4?

I'm gonna try anyway, I have a liveCD made for 8.10 with me right now.
Now is it possible for someone to e-mail me a copy of their .etc.init.d/rcS file?

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Dawning (dawning) said :
#5

If you install 10.04 from scratch, you'll have to reformat your root/install partition. You could move your files elsewhere, install and move them back. How much longer to you want to stay on 8.10?

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Stephen Day (sd) said :
#6

You are missing core system files. It's possible this is due to file system corruption but it's more likely someone accidentally deleted or moved them.

It's certainly possible to fix this but it's unlikely to be worth the effort. I suggest you boot off a recent livecd, copy your files to a USB disk, and reinstall the system. Be careful not to overwrite vista when you install.

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Sly Cooper (derekschwartz19) said :
#7

Alright, thanks for the help people.
I'm installing the new 10.4 system, I just made the liveCD of it and recovered my files.
Thanks again!

Sly Cooper