updated from 9.04 to 9.10 and now cannot boot OS.

I see that no one has replied to you about your problem in six hours so I'll just tell you what I have done when I have had a major problem (not exactly the same as yours, but the results were the same - I couldn't boot into Ubuntu): I did a clean reinstall from the disc. If you have the DBAN disc < http://www.dban.org/download >, so much the better. I use it to 'wipe' my computer clean first (this takes several hours) and then I reinstall Ubuntu. Generally on that re-installation, there are no problems.

It's time consuming, I know, and it is a pain - but, at least for me, it works. Though I myself made a suggestion on the Ubuntu Brainstorm site of including a 'repair' option on the Live CD, this has not yet been done.

Perhaps someone else will be able to tell you something else to try, based on the error message you are receiving.

However, if you have your documents, pictures, music, etc., backed up to an external hard drive (and I sincerely hope you do!), re-installation of Ubuntu, reconfiguring it to your taste, and copying back your files from your external drive to your computer is not that onerous. It takes an afternoon.

I hope this has been of some interest to you.

I think that the alternate CD has a repair function (I'm not sure).

However from several experiences, it seems that a fresh install has better chances to get better results than an upgrade with karmic.

So I would recommend you, like LH Bulk did, to backup your data and then proceed to a fresh install, it would go faster than trying to repair the system. Of course you should ALWAYS use the live CD first to be sure that everything is OK with your hardware before upgrading or installing. You may also wish to install Ubuntu to separate partitions for "/" and for "/home" (besides the swap one), which is more convenient for your personal data whenever you'd be obliged to do a new installation.

Where do I find the alternate CD? I looked for it before because somebody in the forum mentioned it and linked me to a site that calls for it.

I really do not want to do a clean install if I can help it. This is a new computer less than 4 months old that came with Ubuntu on it. I also have a Dell laptop that I upgraded with no problem. In fact, the upgrade process actually was less complicated on the new computer. My problem is this new one is my husband's computer and he has not been good about backing things up. I tried to copy his home folder onto another drive in his computer, but I couldn't because it said I didn't have permission (this was with the boot CD}.

I agree, there really should be a rescue option on the CD or a way to turn the computer back to a stable state.

Dear Ms. "treeclimber,"

Here is the URL for the alternate CD < http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloadmirrors#alternate > but I don't think that this will help you. Take a look here and see if you think it will.

As for backing up your husband's files (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc.), while there may be a problem in copying these to another drive on your machine, there should be no problem whatsoever in copying them to an EXTERNAL hard drive, such as those made by Western Digital, Verbatim, Maxtor, etc. You do not need root permission to do so; you merely copy everything contained in your Home Folder to the drive and, when you are ready, you can copy it back to your computer.

I can certainly understand your reluctance to do a clean install, especially if you have never done one. But please believe me - it is really quite easy and will do absolutely NO harm to your computer.

I recommend that you first download Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") < http://www.dban.org/download > (a SourceForge - therefore quite safe - project); then you burn the resultant .iso file to a CD. Change the boot order in your BIOS to have your computer first boot with its CD drive rather than its hard drive (you'll find this option and its instructions for your particular computer within your BIOS under "Boot"), put the DBAN disc into your CD drive, restart your computer, and have DBAN completely "wipe" it.

The time necessary to "wipe" it depends upon the size of your computer's hard drive. Mine is 160 GB and the process takes about five and a half hours (I generally let it run overnight when I'm asleep).

The results will be a computer with a pristine (clean) hard drive with no operating system installed.

Go back into your BIOS and reset the boot order to start with the hard drive; the easiest way to do this is to click on F9 (generally; your BIOS may be different) which sets up the default BIOS - which is now what you want.

Then place the Ubuntu Live CD into your CD drive and restart the computer. Select "Install Ubuntu" and follow the instructions.

This installation process is quite easy and takes less than an hour.

Of course, following the installation, you'll want to configure the computer to your tastes. This can take a long or a short time, depending upon what you want. (In my case, I like a lot of audio programs and their codecs.)

Then, once all that is done (and it sounds more complicated than it actually is), just restore your husband's Home Folder folders which you have backed up to your external drive.

I repeat - it sounds more complicated than it is. I myself have done this several times (I'm always playing around with Ubuntu and I have often messed up my computer - but every time i do this I learn something and I never make the same mistake twice - and I have always effected a fresh, clean install using the method I describe above.

Don't be afraid - you WILL NOT hurt this new computer in ANY way (if, however, there is something wrong with it, you would then want to contact Dell and have it repaired under warranty).

If you have any specific questions about what I have suggested, please ask them here and I'll be happy to reply (if I can!).

Others may have some solutions for you specific problem and, if so, that will end that! (But do tell your husband to back up his files/folders regularly - or perhaps you could do it for him!)

I wish you the very best of luck.

Lawrence

Well, I spent all day yesterday re-installing Ubuntu. i figured out how to get his Home folder transferred to the other drive in the computer, then wiped his main drive and re-installed it. Then I had to put all his stuff back on there and it was a lot! And all the codecs, Java, etc. But I did it! I'll have to sit down and show him how to back up his stuff. He's not very computer savvy and uses it mainly for the Internet and saving pictures. But it also has all of our stuff from our Windows computer that crashed and burned this summer. Hence, the new computer! Thanks anyhow. Hopefully, somebody will figure out what happened. I know there were several other people in the forums with the same problem.

Dear Ms. "Treeclimber,"

Believe me, I know what a pain re-installation is! But at least now you know how to do it and, should the occasion arise again, it will go more smoothly for you. (I have really lost count as to how many times I have re-installed Ubuntu since I began using it about a year and a half ago - but, now, at least for me, it's a "piece of cake!")

May I still suggest that, at some time in the future, when you see one on sale at a good price (and when you have the loot!), you consider buying an external hard drive as well? Keeping your documents, pictures, etc. in two places is good insurance against loss. I actually back my files and folders to three separate external hard drives (this can be done all at the same time) and I am planning to back everything to a fourth external drive which I got recently (don't ask!). That last one is going to be placed in my safe deposit box at my bank. I'm planning to back everything up to that particular one just once a year. I have read that it is prudent to keep backups off your premises, just in case - and external drives are very inexpensive right now.

By the way, getting my wife to back up her computer is like pulling teeth, so I know what you're going through with your husband!

I would also like to extend my congratulations to you for what you accomplished. It is no mean feat, especially when doing it for the first time.

Lawrence

P.S. Regarding Ubuntu, almost everything I know about it I have learned from these forums. I also read William von Hagen's UBUNTU LINUX BIBLE and it helped give me a feel for what I was getting into, and I regularly read FULL CIRCLE MAGAZINE < http://fullcirclemagazine.org/ > - that's the free online magazine about Ubuntu Linux. I recommend it to you.

This wasn't the first time I wiped Ubuntu and totally re-installed it. I've done it on my computer one or two times. I just really didn't have the time. I work at a health department and all we have been doing recently is preparation for mass H1N1 clinics. I'm burnt out! Thanks for the link to the magazine.