Problem during instalation: grub rescue

Hello

Try this: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GrubHowto?highlight=%28%28Grub2%29%29

Hi sorry but the previous one is for grub

This one is for grub2:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2

better reinstall the ubuntu 10.04...as your hdd partition is not recognised at the moment on which Ubuntu was installed...that should resolve the problem.
regards
Rajinder

Thank you for your messages. I would reinstall the ubuntu, but the problem is that I can't get out of this black screen that says grub rescue... Windows vista doesn't start either, is only a black screen. Do you know how can I get out of this screen?

Hi :)

Please can you use the Ubuntu Cd as a boot Cd to get to a "LiveCd session"?
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD

Please let us know!
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

You need to boot with live CD and then reinstall the Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid....
 and if better reformat the partition which is used for Lucid
regards
Rajinder

Hi :)

There is a better way of installing Ubuntu if you had data to protect but Rajinder's suggestion is probably best for the situation we have at the moment

Regards from
Tom :)

Yes, now I've managed to enter a livecd session. I don't know what happened
because I had already installed ubuntu. What do I have to do to avoid the
same error on the installation? Thanks!

2010/5/17 Tom <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Tom proposed the following answer:
> Hi :)
>
> Please can you use the Ubuntu Cd as a boot Cd to get to a "LiveCd session"?
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD
>
> Please let us know!
> Good luck and regards from
> Tom :)
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261/+confirm?answer_id=4
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

You mean reformat the partition from the live session? Because I can't go
back to windows vista...

2010/5/17 Rajinder Sandhu <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Rajinder Sandhu proposed the following answer:
> You need to boot with live CD and then reinstall the Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid....
> and if better reformat the partition which is used for Lucid
> regards
> Rajinder
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261/+confirm?answer_id=5
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Hi :)

I think it is better to avoid reformatting anything! Are you still using the LiveCd session to chat in here? Please can you give us the output of

sudo fdisk -l

where "-l" is a lower-case "-L"
Regards from
Tom :)

Hi :)

Also it would be nice to know the output of

free -m

Regards from
Tom :)

sorry for my lack of knowledge but I don't know what you mean, how can I get
this output? What is it for? Yes I'm using the live cd session and don't
know what do I have to do before reinstalling ubuntu.

2010/5/17 Tom <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Tom proposed the following answer:
> Hi :)
>
> I think it is better to avoid reformatting anything! Are you still using
> the LiveCd session to chat in here? Please can you give us the output of
>
> sudo fdisk -l
>
> where "-l" is a lower-case "-L"
> Regards from
> Tom :)
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261/+confirm?answer_id=9
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Hi :)

Ok, i am curious why your first install of Ubuntu didn't work so i want to check how much Ram your machine thinks you have. Also it would be good to know how much space Ubuntu took up on your hard-drive 1st time. Perhaps we might be able to use that space again.

To get to a command-line this guide might help
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal#Starting%20a%20Terminal
and then try these 2 commands

free -m

sudo fdisk -l

then just use copy&paste (using right-clicks with the mouse) to paste the results of those 2 commands into here.
Regards from
Tom :)

Ok, please see below the results. Some words are in portuguese, please let
me know if you don't understand. Thanks!

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ free -m
             total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 2013 1576 436 0 224 943
-/+ buffers/cache: 409 1604
Swap: 0 0 0

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disco /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
138 heads, 12 sectors/track, 141571 cylinders
Unidades = cilindros de 1656 * 512 = 847872 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Identificador do disco: 0x3b1b6f67

Dispositivo Boot Início Fim Blocos Id Sistema
/dev/sda1 2 6185 5120000 1c FAT32 Win95
Escondida (LBA)
/dev/sda2 * 6185 87416 67259392 7 HPFS ou NTFS
/dev/sda3 87416 141570 44838912 f Win95 (LBA) Partição
Extendida
/dev/sda5 87418 141570 44837888 7 HPFS ou NTFS
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

2010/5/17 Tom <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Tom proposed the following answer:
> Hi :)
>
> Ok, i am curious why your first install of Ubuntu didn't work so i want
> to check how much Ram your machine thinks you have. Also it would be
> good to know how much space Ubuntu took up on your hard-drive 1st time.
> Perhaps we might be able to use that space again.
>
> To get to a command-line this guide might help
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal#Starting%20a%20Terminal
> and then try these 2 commands
>
> free -m
>
> sudo fdisk -l
>
> then just use copy&paste (using right-clicks with the mouse) to paste the
> results of those 2 commands into here.
> Regards from
> Tom :)
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261/+confirm?answer_id=12
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Hi :)

ok, the important thing about the ram is that it is large enough. 2Gb is plenty. There is no swap partition yet but we can sort that later & it is only an added bonus rather than being important on this machine because you have plenty of ram.

Err, the Portugese is not a problem for me, thanks :) I just need to feed the data into my spreadsheet and work out what the numbers mean! :)
Regards from
Tom :)

Thanks for this. So, shall I reinstall ubuntu to see if it works now?

2010/5/17 Tom <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Tom proposed the following answer:
> Hi :)
>
> ok, the important thing about the ram is that it is large enough. 2Gb is
> plenty. There is no swap partition yet but we can sort that later & it
> is only an added bonus rather than being important on this machine
> because you have plenty of ram.
>
> Err, the Portugese is not a problem for me, thanks :) I just need to feed
> the data into my spreadsheet and work out what the numbers mean! :)
> Regards from
> Tom :)
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261/+confirm?answer_id=14
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

I reinstalled ubuntu and now it works, thanks!

hi :)

Congrats. Rajinder's advice was the answer here, we just took a bit longer to get there. If you can give us the output of

sudo fdisk -l

again now we can compare to check that it's all good with the swap being over 2Gb. If you don't use sleep/hibernate type modes then there is no need to worry about that. A proper shutdown is faster and much better than sleep/hibernate anyway.

Are you now able to boot into Windows? Does it look like you are missing anything like a D: 'drive' or anything? It should be fine but i just wanted to check it's ok.

After installing Ubuntu it is good to quickly work through the medibuntu worksheet to get all the multimedia sorted in one easy go
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

Congrats and regards from
Tom :)

Hi, I'm not missing a D drive on windows. But when I turn the computer on,
it gives me like 8 options:

1. Ubuntu linux generic 2.6.32-22
2. Ubuntu linux recovery
3. Ubuntu linux generic 2.6.32-21
4. Ubuntu linux recovery
5. Memory test
6. Memory test
7. Windows vista loader (on/dev/sda1)
8. Windows vista recovery environment (loader) (on/dev/sda2)

To get into windows I have to go to the number 8, Windows vista recovery.
Once there, it gives me again 2 options: Ubuntu or Windows...

Anyway, these are results of sudo fdisk -l:

Disco /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
138 heads, 12 sectors/track, 141571 cylinders
Unidades = cilindros de 1656 * 512 = 847872 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Identificador do disco: 0x3b1b6f67

Dispositivo Boot Início Fim Blocos Id Sistema
/dev/sda1 2 6185 5120000 1c FAT32 Win95
Escondida (LBA)
/dev/sda2 * 6185 87416 67259392 7 HPFS ou NTFS
/dev/sda3 87418 141571 44838913 f Win95 (LBA) Partição
Extendida
/dev/sda5 87418 123166 29599582 7 HPFS ou NTFS
/dev/sda6 123166 140741 14552064 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 140742 141571 686080 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Thanks and best regards.

Danilo.

2010/5/18 Tom <email address hidden>

> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>
> Tom posted a new comment:
> hi :)
>
> Congrats. Rajinder's advice was the answer here, we just took a bit
> longer to get there. If you can give us the output of
>
> sudo fdisk -l
>
> again now we can compare to check that it's all good with the swap being
> over 2Gb. If you don't use sleep/hibernate type modes then there is no
> need to worry about that. A proper shutdown is faster and much better
> than sleep/hibernate anyway.
>
> Are you now able to boot into Windows? Does it look like you are missing
> anything like a D: 'drive' or anything? It should be fine but i just
> wanted to check it's ok.
>
> After installing Ubuntu it is good to quickly work through the medibuntu
> worksheet to get all the multimedia sorted in one easy go
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
>
> Congrats and regards from
> Tom :)
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Do you think is normal having all these partitions?

2010/5/19 Danilo Aguilar <email address hidden>

> Hi, I'm not missing a D drive on windows. But when I turn the computer on,
> it gives me like 8 options:
>
> 1. Ubuntu linux generic 2.6.32-22
> 2. Ubuntu linux recovery
> 3. Ubuntu linux generic 2.6.32-21
> 4. Ubuntu linux recovery
> 5. Memory test
> 6. Memory test
> 7. Windows vista loader (on/dev/sda1)
> 8. Windows vista recovery environment (loader) (on/dev/sda2)
>
>
> To get into windows I have to go to the number 8, Windows vista recovery.
> Once there, it gives me again 2 options: Ubuntu or Windows...
>
> Anyway, these are results of sudo fdisk -l:
>
>
> Disco /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
> 138 heads, 12 sectors/track, 141571 cylinders
> Unidades = cilindros de 1656 * 512 = 847872 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> Identificador do disco: 0x3b1b6f67
>
> Dispositivo Boot Início Fim Blocos Id Sistema
> /dev/sda1 2 6185 5120000 1c FAT32 Win95
> Escondida (LBA)
> /dev/sda2 * 6185 87416 67259392 7 HPFS ou NTFS
> /dev/sda3 87418 141571 44838913 f Win95 (LBA)
> Partição Extendida
> /dev/sda5 87418 123166 29599582 7 HPFS ou NTFS
> /dev/sda6 123166 140741 14552064 83 Linux
> /dev/sda7 140742 141571 686080 82 Linux swap /
> Solaris
>
> Thanks and best regards.
>
> Danilo.
>
>
>
>
> 2010/5/18 Tom <email address hidden>
>
> Your question #111261 on Ubuntu changed:
>> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/111261
>>
>> Tom posted a new comment:
>> hi :)
>>
>> Congrats. Rajinder's advice was the answer here, we just took a bit
>> longer to get there. If you can give us the output of
>>
>> sudo fdisk -l
>>
>> again now we can compare to check that it's all good with the swap being
>> over 2Gb. If you don't use sleep/hibernate type modes then there is no
>> need to worry about that. A proper shutdown is faster and much better
>> than sleep/hibernate anyway.
>>
>> Are you now able to boot into Windows? Does it look like you are missing
>> anything like a D: 'drive' or anything? It should be fine but i just
>> wanted to check it's ok.
>>
>> After installing Ubuntu it is good to quickly work through the medibuntu
>> worksheet to get all the multimedia sorted in one easy go
>> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
>>
>> Congrats and regards from
>> Tom :)
>>
>> --
>> You received this question notification because you are a direct
>> subscriber of the question.
>>
>
>

Hi:)

Yes it is completely normal. Even more is quite normal. The only odd thing is that the boot menu items 7 and 8 seem to be pointing at the wrong places but that is not unusual either. If you would like to arrange it so that Windows is at the top of the list and/or that Windows is the default boot when starting up your machine then it is worth asking how to do that as a new question
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion

sda1 is the tiny real recovery partition to get your machine back to factory settings
sda2 is your Windows "C: 'drive'"
sda3 is an "Extended Partition" to allow your hard-drive to have more than 4 partitions. It contains
 . sda5 is your Windows "D: 'drive'" (or perhaps some other letter)
 . sda6 is Ubuntu OS, programs, data&settings
 . sda7 is a tiny swap space to help your Ram work better

I would arrange things slightly differently but so would any linux user arrange things differently from each other anyway.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Hi :)

This question is marked as Solved. Has a new problem arisen or was the issue never really sorted out properly? I did ask how to get Windows to the top of the boot-menu in grub2 (Ubuntu 10.04 and onwards but also some 9.10s) but i can't remember the thread number. I could try to get an answer tomorrow or sometime? Please let us know if there is still a problem that you are unhappy with.

Many regards from
Tom :)