SOLVED - Need a little help to fix broken grub2 - error 15

[Oceanwatcher]

I have been holding off for a while, but finally decided to jump. So I upgraded to Karmic. So far, all was well. But I just had to try to install grub2 and did a fatal mistake.

There is one place where you apparently is supposed to make a choice by pressing the spacebar and then hit ok. It was not very obvoius, so I hit ok. No warnings about missing input on this. When I rebooted, I am getting error 15 before any OS list shows.

I have been looking at several threads on the net, and it seems that it should be possible to recover. But I need a little help sorting things out. My head is spinning after several days of very little sleep and a lot of work.

The pc has dual boot Windows XP and Kubuntu. The Kubuntu root partition is on /dev/sda3.

I booted the pc on a live cd and ran a script I found in http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1022594  (it is in the third post from the top):

============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

 => Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive
    in partition #3 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.

sda1: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows XP
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  Windows XP
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM

sda2: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows Vista
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  
    Boot files/dirs:  

sda3: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext3
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  
    Operating System:  Ubuntu karmic (development
                       branch)
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab
                       /boot/grub/core.img

sda4: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       Extended Partition
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  

sda5: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext3
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  
    Operating System:  
    Boot files/dirs:  

sda6: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       swap
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:  

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive sda: _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000852c9

Partition  Boot         Start           End          Size  Id System

/dev/sda1    *             63    61,432,559    61,432,497   7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2          61,432,560   545,262,164   483,829,605   7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3         545,262,165   575,962,379    30,700,215  83 Linux
/dev/sda4         575,978,445   625,137,344    49,158,900   5 Extended
/dev/sda5         575,978,508   616,944,194    40,965,687  83 Linux
/dev/sda6         616,944,258   625,137,344     8,193,087  82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: ____________________________________________________________

/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/sda1: UUID="05DFC32D1F7BF3BC" LABEL="System" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: UUID="6E911BD27E216783" LABEL="Data" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Kubuntu" UUID="9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda5: LABEL="Home" UUID="acc6a892-3854-4c5a-b169-bbea0f96eda6" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda6: UUID="ba08605b-aa6e-47a0-abb4-3541ea60ddf6" TYPE="swap"

=============================== "mount" output: ===============================

proc on /proc type proc (rw)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.28-11-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/modules/2.6.28-11-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=620)
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
/dev/sr0 on /cdrom type iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 on /rofs type squashfs (ro,noatime)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/sda3 on /media/Kubuntu type ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal)
/dev/sda5 on /media/Home type ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal)

================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

=========================== sda3/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

# menu.lst - See: grub(, info grub, update-grub(
#            grub-install(, grub-floppy(,
#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default         0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout      10

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title      Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root      (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader   +1
#
# title      Linux
# root      (hd0,1)
# kernel   /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
##      alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
##      lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
##      lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
##      altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
##      howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
##      memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title      Chainload into GRUB 2
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/grub/core.img

title      ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
root
      
title      When you have verified GRUB 2 works, you can use this command to
root

title      complete the upgrade:  upgrade-from-grub-legacy
root

title      ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
root

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.31-12-generic
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
quiet

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.31-12-generic (recovery mode)
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.28-15-generic
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
quiet

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.28-15-generic (recovery mode)
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), memtest86+
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title      Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title      Microsoft Windows XP Professional
rootnoverify   (hd0,0)
savedefault
chainloader   +1


=========================== sda3/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
load_env
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,3)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-12-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   set quiet=1
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro   quiet splash
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-12-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.28-15-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   set quiet=1
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro   quiet splash
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.28-15-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
   insmod ntfs
   set root=(hd0,1)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 05dfc32d1f7bf3bc
   drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
   chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sda3/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
LABEL=Kubuntu   /               ext3    relatime,errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /home was on /dev/sda5 during installation
LABEL=Home      /home           ext3    relatime        0       2
# none was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=ba08605b-aa6e-47a0-abb4-3541ea60ddf6 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/scd0       /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0       0
/dev/sda1 /media/System ntfs defaults
/dev/sda2 /media/Data ntfs defaults
=================== sda3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


 280.0GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
 280.0GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
 280.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
 280.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
 282.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic
 280.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic
 280.0GB: initrd.img
 280.0GB: initrd.img.old
 280.0GB: vmlinuz
 282.0GB: vmlinuz.old

I have been reading a lot and feel that I am close to a solution, but I am really tired and need some sleep. I will check back here in some hours. Sorry for not beeing able to hang around here right now.

I think I understand how to chroot to a partition using the live cd. Just need to figure out exactly what to do there....

[Oceanwatcher]

A few hours of sleep tend to help. And A LOT more searching on the internet.

I was finally able to solve my problem. Here is what fixed it for me.

I downloaded SuperGrub rescue CD, burnt it to a CD on a different PC (running Windows ironically enough... :-) ) and then used it to boot. Using this CD, I was able to boot into Kubuntu again and use apt-get to purge and reinstall grub2.

Booting then worked ok for Kubuntu, rescue and the Memory test. But WindowsXP would not boot. I got "invalid signature". After a lot more searching, I found this webpage:

http://blogs.koolwal.net/2008/12/28/windows-xpvista-dual-boot-does-not-boot-from-grub2-or-grub-pc/

The first commenter there mention a tool called os-prober. It turned out I already had it installed, so I entered this in a terminal:

Code:

update-grub2

This probed my system and updated the configuration.

Windows XP is now booting again. Will come back here with info if anything else out of the ordinary comes up.

[Qqmike]

Nice job Oceanwatcher, and nice write up.

If you have time, could you access your grub.cfg in Kubuntu on sda3 and copy to here the menuenty for XP.  Before you ran os-prober (nice tool, huh?), it was this:

menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
   insmod ntfs
   set root=(hd0,1)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 05dfc32d1f7bf3bc
   drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
   chainloader +1
}

I'm curious to see what it is now.  (Strange use of drive map, switching (hd0,1) with (hd0).)  Where is the official GRUB 2 manual! (I'll bet you wonder about that, too!)



***** EDIT:  Actually, it would be nice to see the entire new grub.cfg, after running os-probe.

[Oceanwatcher]

I thought "Why not run the script again?", so I did :-)

============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

 => No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda

sda1: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows XP
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  Windows XP
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM

sda2: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows Vista
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System: 
    Boot files/dirs:   

sda3: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext3
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System:  Ubuntu karmic (development
                       branch)
    Boot files/dirs:   /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab
                       /boot/grub/core.img

sda4: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       Extended Partition
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 

sda5: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext3
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System: 
    Boot files/dirs:   

sda6: _________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       swap
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive sda: _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000852c9

Partition  Boot         Start           End          Size  Id System

/dev/sda1    *             63    61,432,559    61,432,497   7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2          61,432,560   545,262,164   483,829,605   7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3         545,262,165   575,962,379    30,700,215  83 Linux
/dev/sda4         575,978,445   625,137,344    49,158,900   5 Extended
/dev/sda5         575,978,508   616,944,194    40,965,687  83 Linux
/dev/sda6         616,944,258   625,137,344     8,193,087  82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: ____________________________________________________________

/dev/sda1: UUID="05DFC32D1F7BF3BC" LABEL="System" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: UUID="6E911BD27E216783" LABEL="Data" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Kubuntu" UUID="9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda5: LABEL="Home" UUID="acc6a892-3854-4c5a-b169-bbea0f96eda6" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sda6: UUID="ba08605b-aa6e-47a0-abb4-3541ea60ddf6" TYPE="swap"

=============================== "mount" output: ===============================

/dev/sda3 on / type ext3 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro)
none on /proc type proc (rw)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=0620)
none on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
none on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
/dev/sda5 on /home type ext3 (rw,relatime)
/dev/sda1 on /media/System type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)
/dev/sda2 on /media/Data type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)
nfsd on /proc/fs/nfsd type nfsd (rw)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)

================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

=========================== sda3/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

# menu.lst - See: grub(, info grub, update-grub(
#            grub-install(, grub-floppy(,
#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default         0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout      10

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title      Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root      (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader   +1
#
# title      Linux
# root      (hd0,1)
# kernel   /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
##      alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
##      lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
##      lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
##      altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
##      howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
##      memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title      Chainload into GRUB 2
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/grub/core.img

title      ���������������������������������������������������������������������
root
      
title      When you have verified GRUB 2 works, you can use this command to
root

title      complete the upgrade:  upgrade-from-grub-legacy
root

title      ���������������������������������������������������������������������
root

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.31-12-generic
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
quiet

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.31-12-generic (recovery mode)
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.28-15-generic
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
quiet

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), kernel 2.6.28-15-generic (recovery mode)
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic

title      Ubuntu karmic (development branch), memtest86+
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title      Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title      Microsoft Windows XP Professional
rootnoverify   (hd0,0)
savedefault
chainloader   +1


=========================== sda3/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
load_env
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,3)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-12-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   set quiet=1
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro   quiet splash
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-12-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.28-15-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   set quiet=1
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro   quiet splash
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.28-15-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        save_env recordfail
   insmod ext2
   set root=(hd0,3)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic root=UUID=9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6 ro single
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
   insmod ntfs
   set root=(hd0,1)
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 05dfc32d1f7bf3bc
   drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
   chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sda3/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
LABEL=Kubuntu   /               ext3    relatime,errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /home was on /dev/sda5 during installation
LABEL=Home      /home           ext3    relatime        0       2
# none was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=ba08605b-aa6e-47a0-abb4-3541ea60ddf6 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/scd0       /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0       0
/dev/sda1 /media/System ntfs defaults
/dev/sda2 /media/Data ntfs defaults
=================== sda3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


 279.1GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
 279.1GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
 279.1GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic
 279.1GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-12-generic
 279.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic
 279.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-12-generic
 279.1GB: initrd.img
 279.1GB: initrd.img.old
 279.1GB: vmlinuz
 279.1GB: vmlinuz.old

=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown MBR on /dev/sda

00000000  eb 63 90 d0 bc 00 7c fb  50 07 50 1f fc be 1b 7c  |.c....|.P.P....||
00000010  bf 1b 06 50 57 b9 e5 01  f3 a4 cb bd be 07 b1 04  |...PW...........|
00000020  38 6e 00 7c 09 75 13 83  c5 10 e2 f4 cd 18 8b f5  |8n.|.u..........|
00000030  83 c6 10 49 74 19 38 2c  74 f6 a0 b5 07 b4 03 02  |...It.8,t.......|
00000040  ff 00 00 20 01 00 00 00  00 02 fa 90 90 f6 c2 80  |... ............|
00000050  75 02 b2 80 ea 59 7c 00  00 31 00 80 01 00 00 00  |u....Y|..1......|
00000060  00 00 00 00 ff fa eb 07  f6 c2 80 75 02 b2 80 ea  |...........u....|
00000070  74 7c 00 00 31 c0 8e d8  8e d0 bc 00 20 fb a0 64  |t|..1....... ..d|
00000080  7c 3c ff 74 02 88 c2 52  be 88 7d e8 24 01 be 05  ||<.t...R..}.$...|
00000090  7c f6 c2 80 74 48 b4 41  bb aa 55 cd 13 5a 52 72  ||...tH.A..U..ZRr|
000000a0  3d 81 fb 55 aa 75 37 83  e1 01 74 32 31 c0 89 44  |=..U.u7...t21..D|
000000b0  04 40 88 44 ff 89 44 02  c7 04 10 00 66 8b 1e 5c  |.@.D..D.....f..\|
000000c0  7c 66 89 5c 08 66 8b 1e  60 7c 66 89 5c 0c c7 44  ||f.\.f..`|f.\..D|
000000d0  06 00 70 b4 42 cd 13 72  05 bb 00 70 eb 73 b4 08  |..p.B..r...p.s..|
000000e0  cd 13 73 0a f6 c2 80 0f  84 d8 00 e9 82 00 66 0f  |..s...........f.|
000000f0  b6 c6 88 64 ff 40 66 89  44 04 0f b6 d1 c1 e2 02  |...d.@f.D.......|
00000100  88 e8 88 f4 40 89 44 08  0f b6 c2 c0 e8 02 66 89  |....@.D.......f.|
00000110  04 66 a1 60 7c 66 09 c0  75 4e 66 a1 5c 7c 66 31  |.f.`|f..uNf.\|f1|
00000120  d2 66 f7 34 88 d1 31 d2  66 f7 74 04 3b 44 08 7d  |.f.4..1.f.t..}|
00000130  37 fe c1 88 c5 30 c0 c1  e8 02 08 c1 88 d0 5a 88  |7....0........Z.|
00000140  c6 bb 00 70 8e c3 31 db  b8 01 02 cd 13 72 29 8c  |...p..1......r).|
00000150  c3 60 1e b9 00 01 8e db  31 f6 bf 00 80 8e c6 fc  |.`......1.......|
00000160  f3 a5 1f 61 ff 26 5a 7c  be 8e 7d e8 44 00 eb 0e  |...a.&Z|..}.D...|
00000170  be 93 7d e8 3c 00 eb 06  be 9d 7d e8 34 00 be a2  |..}.<.....}.4...|
00000180  7d e8 2e 00 cd 18 eb fe  47 52 55 42 20 00 47 65  |}.......GRUB .Ge|
00000190  6f 6d 00 48 61 72 64 20  44 69 73 6b 00 52 65 61  |om.Hard Disk.Rea|
000001a0  64 00 20 45 72 72 6f 72  0d 0a 00 bb 01 00 b4 0e  |d. Error........|
000001b0  cd 10 ac 3c 00 75 f4 c3  c9 52 08 00 00 00 80 01  |...<.u...R......|
000001c0  01 00 07 fe ff ff 3f 00  00 00 b1 62 a9 03 00 00  |......?....b....|
000001d0  c1 ff 07 fe ff ff f0 62  a9 03 65 a7 d6 1c 00 00  |.......b..e.....|
000001e0  c1 ff 83 fe ff ff 55 0a  80 20 b7 72 d4 01 00 fe  |......U.. .r....|
000001f0  ff ff 05 fe ff ff cd bb  54 22 f4 1a ee 02 55 aa  |........T"....U.|
00000200

As you can see here at the end, some additional stuff has been added. I tried a few other things before doing what I wrote in this thread, and this may very well have added the above stuff. Would maybe be nice to find a way to remove it, but as long as it does not hurt me having it there, I am ok.

BTW - the script I am talking about is in the third post from the top in the link I gave. I will edit the post so it is clear. Nice script. Stuff like that should be listed in a special post here in the forum. It is perfect for support.

[Oceanwatcher]

The guide I followed to do the upgrade was this:

https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Grub2

I have now added a warning here at the point where I failed. During my search to find a solution, I found A LOT of others that has done the same...

[Oceanwatcher]

I'm curious to see what it is now.  (Strange use of drive map, switching (hd0,1) with (hd0).)  Where is the official GRUB 2 manual! (I'll bet you wonder about that, too!)

I tell you, both before and after I got some good hours of sleep I really wondered about a lot of things :-) My number one thought was: Who on earth did the usability testing on this?

There is a difference in how legacy grub and grub2 names drives. Legacy grub starts on 0 while grub2 starts on 1. This gives all kinds of potential for problems...

[dibl]

There is a difference in how legacy grub and grub2 names drives. Legacy grub starts on 0 while grub2 starts on 1. This gives all kinds of potential for problems...

No, it's actually worse than that ...   

Grub2 names drives the same, but partitions differently, from legacy grub.  So, the partition /dev/sda2 is seen by legacy grub as (hd0,1) but Grub2 sees it as (hd0,2).  How's that for confusing?  I dunno about you, but my mind struggles to imagine what the developer was thinking, to justify that sort of "change for the sake of making it different".

[kevinc]

I've heard good things about Supergrub rescue CD and others, but I have found that the standard Kubuntu CD which includes rescue a broken system works very well.  When GRUB and GRUB2 (especially) has messed up my MBR or caused error 15 or whatever problem that can't be resolved otherwise,

boot from the Kubuntu CD, choose rescue, this asks you which partition to mount and also asks for the passphrases to mount any partitions encrypted by passphrase,

run grub-install if needed, or update-grub, then reboot and everything is fixed

If your /boot is on a separate partition, you will need to mount it before running either grub-install or update-grub.

[Oceanwatcher]

No, it's actually worse than that ...   

Grub2 names drives the same, but partitions differently, from legacy grub.  So, the partition /dev/sda2 is seen by legacy grub as (hd0,1) but Grub2 sees it as (hd0,2).  How's that for confusing?  I dunno about you, but my mind struggles to imagine what the developer was thinking, to justify that sort of "change for the sake of making it different".

Sorry, you are of course absolutely right :-) Got a good bit of sleep, but apparently not enough!

This kind of change can unfortunately contribute to the reputation Linux has as a difficult OS to develop for in terms of consistency, predictability and backward compatible upgrades. NB! I do NOT claim that others OS'es are perfect, easier to develop on etc. It is just another thing to try to explain to developers coming from other platforms.

[Oceanwatcher]

boot from the Kubuntu CD, choose rescue, this asks you which partition to mount and also asks for the passphrases to mount any partitions encrypted by passphrase,

I tried the "Boot from first harddisk" option and got the error 15. I could of course boot on the live CD, mount the partitions etc. I also tried chroot, but could not get things to work. So eventually I did what I described above and got my system up again. If there ever is a next time, I will try your approach. But let us hope it never comes to that. This is the first time since I switched to Kubuntu (starting with Jaunty alpha 6) that my system has been broken. And I have done all upgrades including dist-upgrades...

[dibl]

When I installed 9.10 Alpha 6, Grub2 failed to find my second OS.  I edited the applicable file and re-ran config but it would not put up a boot menu with my other OS shown in it.  So I reinstalled legacy grub, and use it still.  I may just leave it as-is until 10.04 -- maybe I'll build a new computer in the Spring and that will be a good time to do new installations of stuff.

[Qqmike]

Oceanwatcher:

Thanks for the new post.  When I have time, I'll compare the two grub.cfg's to see why you got File Not Found (Error 15).

You second output:
The MBR on sda1 shows that a GRUB is installed to that MBR.  It could be GRUB Legacy or GRUB 2.  If your PC is set to boot first from that drive (Windows), I would keep that MBR the way it is for now.

Just an fyi, in case you missed it ... I've been putting together a GRUB 2 Guide (which under SECTION 3 probably would have led you to grub-mkconfig (update-grub) and/or grub-install.

GRUB 2  A Guide for Users
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=3106368.0
Reply #1:
-- Some new GRUB 2 commands
-- GPT:  GUID Partition Table
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=3106368.0


Again, very nice job.  I'll return to study your posts again soon.  Thanks.

[Qqmike]

Well, not sure about the post mortem.

You say you got Error 15 BEFORE seeing any boot menu?

Yet, there is no "hiddenmenu" in the first menu.lst or in the next grub.cfg menu.
If there were a hidden menu.lst, then maybe after 10 seconds it defaulted (default = 0) to
title      Chainload into GRUB 2
uuid      9bf6e2ab-7135-4557-ac2c-26a8035c04c6
kernel      /boot/grub/core.img

and then since (maybe) GRUB 2 was not set up right, it couldn't find the file core.img, thus Error 15.  Even if it did get down to the GRUB 2 boot menu, grub.cfg, the menu was NOT hidden in GRUB 2 grub.cfg, so you would have seen something there, also.

I checked the UUIDs also--looks OK before and after.

So, then what?  Who knows.  But I'd say for sure that since GRUB 2 didn't seem to be installed or installed right (since you had to reinstall it), then anything is possible.  Just note that Error 15 is a GRUB error, so somehow, some GRUB (not BIOS or anything else) could not find a file, and since you didn't touch or see anything before Error 15, that points at the default menu choice(s).  Re-installing GRUB 2 certainly would fix up both boot.img (in the MBR) and the file core.img.  (Perhaps #hiddenmenu malfunctioned?)

If I think of anything else, I'll post back, but I said I'd follow up, and after 20 minutes of looking at it,  this is all I could think of.

[Oceanwatcher]

Thank you for the nice words :-) I am just happy that I was able to get back up and wanted to share it here so others could benefit from my mistakes.

As for the real point where it failed - Yes, grub had started, but it failed before the menu. this is all that showed on screen if my memory serves me right:

Code:

GRUB Loading stage1.5.

GRUB loading, please wait...
Error 15

I tried this code that I found on another site:

Code:

sudo grub
grub> find /boot/grub/stage1

But it did not find anything.

Regarding the dual boot: I used a little time to figure out the right partitioning for my harddisk with the dual boot in mind. Eventually, I have to find out what is where and get it all cleaned up.

Here is a peculiar thing...

If I open the file /boot/grub/grub.cfg with kate, I get absolutely nothing. It seems empty. Is this correct??

The boot menu is definitely grub2, now without any timeout.

[Qqmike]

"If I open the file /boot/grub/grub.cfg with kate, I get absolutely nothing. It seems empty. Is this correct??"

For some reason, so far, with GRUB 2 you need to have root privileges.

kdesudo konqueror
then navigate to /boot/grub/grub.cfg, click on it, and it will open.

or
kdesudo kate /boot/grub/grub.cfg