The Linux bug bit in more ways than 1

[14kmtnman]

Admin - Not sure where to put this, so if it needs to be move somewhere else please do so. I know there has to be a vast amount of computer knowledge in this collective, especially based on what we all talk about Tenere wise. I am in need of some advice (actually help). I converted one of my laptops to Linux, I did the download via a usb to Mint. Everything booted fine (I looked at and opened most of the menu items) and then I finished the install and during one of the steps, I erased the MS os and partitions per the option. I did this because I thought all was ok, but then as the install was completing I got this error "unable to install grub in/dev/sda This is a fatal error". I read somewhere that it should have been grub in/dev/sdb, but that was after the fact. I have tried several fixes off the web, but nothing seems to work. I even downloaded Boot-repair. The main issue is the screen comes up with just grub> _. The computer will not reboot off of the usb into either Mint (iso file) or Ubuntu (iso file). Both worked for me before. It doesn't recognize the Boot-repair either. When I type in ls, I get this - (proc) (hd0) (hd0,gpt2) (hd0,gpt1) (cd0) error: failure reading sector 0x0 from "cd0". This seems like it should be a relatively simple fix, but I am at a complete loss as to how to proceed. I guess I didn't read deep enough into the process steps from different sites. How do I get past the grub>? Any words of wisdom or step by step process to follow to get it rebooted into a working condition? Is it possible to start all over from scratch? Rebuild from what I have now? Or would it better/possible to have a phone call or do facetime if need be to walk me thru my mess? Pm's work. Distance beer?

 

[Sierra1]

 

[StefanOnHisS10]

Sorry, not the slightest idea what you’re talking about.

Stefan

 

[Longdog Cymru]

I guess you must have tried a fresh install of whichever Linux flavour you prefer? I have used Mint but I can’t help with the error messages, sorry. You have obviously deleted the MS OS and I can’t see why reinstalling Linux wouldn’t work?

 

[pooh and xtine]

I would download Puppy Linux onto a usb stick and run this (it actually runs on the usb stick via the bios, not on your hard drive) then use gParted, or whatever partition editor in included in Puppy now, to reformat your c:/ hard drive to Ext4 if you’re installing linux. You’ll need another pc to make the bootable usb of course.
http://puppylinux.com/download.html. I’ve used the slackware version in the past.
Then install Mint (I find lubuntu or linux lite faster, though).

 

[Checkswrecks]

Sounds aggravating and I'm glad we have folks like pooh because I sure am not able to help. Good luck!

Computer issues have nothing to do with the bike so this thread's been moved to The Lounge, which is our repository for "everything else."

 

[Longdog Cymru]

I would download Puppy Linux onto a usb stick and run this (it actually runs on the usb stick via the bios, not on your hard drive) then use gParted, or whatever partition editor in included in Puppy now, to reformat your c:/ hard drive to Ext4 if you’re installing linux. You’ll need another pc to make the bootable usb of course.
http://puppylinux.com/download.html. I’ve used the slackware version in the past.
Then install Mint (I find lubuntu or linux lite faster, though).

Excellent advice! I had forgot about Puppy Linux, I have a usb stick with a copy for it myself, it is invaluable for helping to resolve issues and you can also use it to resolve issues in MS Windows too!

 

[14kmtnman]

Longdog Cymru and pooh & xtine - Thanks for the advice. I tried several different ways to get get to the Puppy site - kept getting, forbidden site, 500, 505, 403 errors. Finally found a mirror site. Downloaded Puppyslacko64 to a usb. Plugged the usb into the laptop and it would not boot up into Puppy. No options, nothing but the grub>. I even tried my win10 boot stick. Everytime I turn the computer on it activates the usb but still comes up to grub> prompt. I have UEFI boot support enabled, and even tried with USB S3 Wake-up enabled. Same results I get grub>. I disabled UEFI boot support and the USB S3. Rebooted with the Puppy USB in and just get a flashing - in the upper lh corner, which will not let me type anything on the screen. I have re-tried Mint, Ubuntu, Windows, Puppy and nothing seems to be working to get the computer to reboot into something else. It keeps going back to grub>.

 

[14kmtnman]

I just tried this - GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="$GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX acpi=off"' | sudo tee /etc/default/grub.d/acpi-osi.cfg and now I just get > prompt - It lets me type. But after a reboot, it goes back to the grub> _ prompt.

 

[jeckyll]

First, mint is a great distro.
Second check out the Linux mint forums for help, they are very good.

Changing distributions isn't going to fix your problem, it could be related to the bios for instance.

 

[kaptain_zero]

There should be an Fkey to enter "select boot drive" at which point you select the usb drive to boot to. The bios on your computer likely looking for the UEFI partition you deleted and thus it's confused. . Some computers seem to expect to see an MS operating system and even when you tell it that you want to boot to Linux it suddenly decides that it wants to start Windows instead.

I don't use Mint, but I have used Linux and FreeBSD since the days of Windows 95. The flavor of Linux should not matter. Find out which Fkey you need to hold down during boot (it should be in the manual for your computer) to select the boot drive and I would just use the Mint Install. Once booted up in the Mint installer, just re-install Mint and tell it to wipe the drive and use the whole thing. It should create any partitions you need and then it should be back to working order. Fixing things takes far more time than just doing a fresh install. Once you have it up and running, make a backup with Clonezilla or some such and the next time something blows up, restoring it will be dead easy.

Regards

Christian

 

[pooh and xtine]

Longdog Cymru and pooh & xtine - Thanks for the advice. I tried several different ways to get get to the Puppy site - kept getting, forbidden site, 500, 505, 403 errors. Finally found a mirror site. Downloaded Puppyslacko64 to a usb. Plugged the usb into the laptop and it would not boot up into Puppy. No options, nothing but the grub>. I even tried my win10 boot stick. Everytime I turn the computer on it activates the usb but still comes up to grub> prompt. I have UEFI boot support enabled, and even tried with USB S3 Wake-up enabled. Same results I get grub>. I disabled UEFI boot support and the USB S3. Rebooted with the Puppy USB in and just get a flashing - in the upper lh corner, which will not let me type anything on the screen. I have re-tried Mint, Ubuntu, Windows, Puppy and nothing seems to be working to get the computer to reboot into something else. It keeps going back to grub>.

Have you changed the boot order in the bios so that your Puppylinux usb is first? If you’re getting grub>, the bios is looking for a boot sector on your hard drive. The benefit of Puppy is that if your hard drive is corrupted or compromised by old MS crap, it runs on the usb stick so you can diagnose problems with your c:/ drive (and completely wipe it).
If all else fails, put a new 128Gb ssd in your pc (they’re under £20 here), install Linux then reformat your existing hard drive as an external using a usb:SATA cable!

 

[Mad Earl]

Sounds to me as if mostly your problem is to boot from the right device. Depending on the make/model, usually you can pick that by bringing up the BIOS boot dialog. On most laptops that is either done by hitting the Delete or F12 key right after turning it on, doesn't hurt to alternate and hit them a couple of times until the menu comes up. (Might be a different key for your model.)

Then, in case of a fresh install with no data to save, just do it again and let the installer have the complete hard drive. It will then install the boot loader in the right place.

 

[thughes317]

Went crazy with this after loading linux on an older HP laptop. The fix is to disable acpi. You can enter it as a kernel parameter when booting up (to see if it solves the problem), if this is the correct fix then you need to add it to your grub cfg. See this link: https://askubuntu.com/questions/160036/how-do-i-disable-acpi-when-booting

Note, disable acpi NOT apic! (there is a difference)

 

[14kmtnman]

Thanks for all of the advice. No matter what I tried, I could not get Puppy to work. I decided last night that I have spent more than enough time (hours and hours) trying to figure out the issue. I've tried dozens of combinations with the Bios, nothing seems to work. I'm old enough to know when to stop banging my head against a wall. I am going to take pooh and xtine's advice and get a new ssd and memory and start from scratch. Jumping from a 2011 standard mass produced HD to a new ssd and doubling the ram, along with moving to Linux should make the laptop a speed demon, even with an i3 processor. It might make me get rid of my newer MS surface Pro. Between the new 500gb ssd (only about twice what a 128 costs), 8gb of ram and a new battery I'm looking at less than $120 delivered to my door. Remove 1 tiny screw and they are installed. Once I am up and running, I might consider reformatting the old hd. I'll be back with an update. Thanks again.

 

[14kmtnman]

For an update, I gave up on the install several months a ago, especially since It pretty much bricked the HD's both old and new. I finally just took it to a computer pro today and he couldn't get Linux to load either, even from scratch. He tried both Mint and Ubuntu. He did format am startup disk of both for me. We decided that since he couldn't get Linux installed that he would just install the latest version of Windows 10 with all of the updates for the os and drivers. He is not sure if the hardware on this computer is up to the task of the new Linux os and suggested installing an earlier version to see if that works. Any thoughts?