Won't boot becase of SSID problems

[jk4y]

Ok, well my computer won't boot anymore (Due to me messing around with partitions and mbr's ). I was pretty much having the same problem as the guy in this article.

http://encodable.com/tech/blog/2006/..._Drive_Upgrade

I figured that menu.lst and /etc/fstab had the wrong ssid and could not boot because of that. I tried to find the ssid of my root partition (dev/sda2). I used "vol_id /dev/sda2" and the ssid field was empty and I also saw "ID_FS_VERSION=FAT12" I thought this was weird since it was an ext3 partition. The guy in that article got his ssid from /dev/disk/by-uuid/. In that folder I found an ssid that matched my swap partition.

So my main questions here is

-How can I get the ssid on my menu.lst to match up with my hard drive (which doesn't seem to have one)?
-Why does my partition say it is a Fat12 when it is an ext3?
-Why was my did the ssid in /dev/disk/by-uuid/ match my swap partition instead of my root partition?

I will post back and let you know the error I get which will probably be really helpful.

[Qqmike]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

In general, it should be fixable.

> You will have to fix this using a live CD (e.g., Kubuntu CD).

> You just need to make all your UUIDs consistent, and there are two to check:
/boot/grub/menu.lst
/etc/fstab
Both those files must be edited as root.

> You can open Dolhphin/Konqueror as root using
In 8.04 or before:
kdesu dolphin
kdesu konqueror
In 8.10:
kdesudo dolphin
kdesudo konqueror

> Editing menu.lst, Reply #1 here:
How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0
--- HOW To: Change the Default Operating System (Also: Changing the timeout, boot menu, and other tips) Reply #1

> Get your UUIDs using one of these commands (at Konsole or a terminal):
ls /dev/disk/by-uuid/ -alh
blkid

> There are ways to edit swap partitions -- someone may chime in here if necessary.
Swap is listed in your fstab.

> If you post your fstab, someone can check it, help you change it right.

> If you can post the error, it would help.
Sometimes, during booting, if it stops with messages, read them and see if
Control+D
will get your past them and booting (often the case if you've done partition editing).




-How can I get the ssid on my menu.lst to match up with my hard drive (which doesn't seem to have one)?
=> Using a live Kubuntu CD to edit men.lst (and also to edit fstab) to make all UUIDs correct.

-Why does my partition say it is a Fat12 when it is an ext3?
=> I don't know. You mean FAT32? I still don't know.

-Why was my did the ssid in /dev/disk/by-uuid/ match my swap partition instead of my root partition?
=> I don't know. Maybe editing fstab using the correct UUID will fix it.

[jk4y]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

Ok, well it seems I mixed up the uuid for the swap and the Ext3 (my bad ) I put the ssid back to what blkid says it should be and I get this error.

Starting up...
Loading, please wait...
Check root= boot arg cat /proc/cmdline
or missing modules, devices: cat /proc/modules ls /dev
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx does not exist.
Dropping to a shell!

BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-2ubuntu3) Built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs)

Here is a screenshot of my fstab, my menu.lst, the command that showed me fat12, blkid, and ls /dev/disk/by-uuid/ -alh.

http://la.gg/upl/snapshot2_8.png

Thanks for the replies.

[Qqmike]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

Whew ... I've studied this until I can't see straight.
I did google the string:
Check root= boot arg cat /proc/cmdline
and got the same issue you are reporting here.

This guy found an answer for *him*:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...&postcount=322
(see Laserbastu here, the last post in the thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1018403&page=2 )

First, you might also try typing
exit
at the initramfs prompt to see if that makes it boot.
Sure seems to be a problem coming up a lot in Debian distros.

Maybe a fresh sets of eyes will look in here and catch something we are not seeing.
Try that link I just gave you, for the heck of it.

[Qqmike]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

btw, I take it that the UUID here (the xxxx's):
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx does not exist.
was the same as you got by blkid.

One more off-the-wall thing, in situations like this ... you might try carefully re-typing *by hand* the lines
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/etc etc
initrd /boot/initrd.img etc etc

(Don't delete the old lines until you are done typing new ones; or prefix each old line with a comment sign
#
on the very left of each line so it will be kept but ignored.)

[doctordruidphd]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

I might throw in just one suggestion, sacrilegious as it might be. You might consider dumping the UUID stuff altogether, until you can get it booting properly. Since I am booting with an archaic version of grub4dos, I pretty much have to use the /dev/sda# notation anyway, and it works flawlessly. If you are using grub2, that may or may not be a different ballgame. Change the lines in /etc/fstab as well, and see if that gets the system up and running.
Yeah, it's supposed to work; fstab is 'supposed' to work using LABEL= too, but it doesn't, at least not for me.
I have had this problem happen on my Debian system. It happened when I moved my system to a different disk, and the partitioning was set up differently. Even though I changed the partitions in menu.lst, I didn't update the initrd file, and it freaked when it couldn't find things where it expected them. You might try an update-initramfs and make sure the new file gets copied to wherever it is you boot from, if it's elsewhere than /boot.
I couldn't read the image of your fstab file in the link, so sorry if you've already covered this stuff.

[jk4y]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

First off in the link that I posted with my screen shot in it you have to click on the thumbnail to see it full screen and legible.

Here is what I tried.

-Add "all_generic_ide" option in grub (Gave me the same error)
-Try typing "exit" in busybox (Displays error and opens busybox again)
-Retype menu.lst by hand (Gave me same error)
-Try pressing ctrl+d at busybox (Displays error and opens busybox again)
-Use LABEL instead of UUID (Gave me same error with "/dev/disk/by-label/..." instead of "/dev/disk/by-uuid/...")
-Use NAME instead of UUID (Stopped at loading bar and keyboard flashed caps lock and scroll lock)

btw, I take it that the UUID here (the xxxx's):
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx does not exist.
was the same as you got by blkid.

Yes it was

You might try an update-initramfs and make sure the new file gets copied to wherever it is you boot from, if it's elsewhere than /boot.

Can you explain this in a little more detail?

[Qqmike]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

I snipped this from another of my how-to's:

Suppose, as an example, that the broken Kubuntu is in partition sda2.

From the Live CD, chroot into the sda2 partition (see how-to note below).
Issue the following command:
sudo update-initramfs -u -v
and let it run and put things together & right for your initrd.

Chroot -- How-to ("change root")
To chroot into sda2 from the Live Kubuntu CD at Konsole:
sudo mkdir /media/fixthings
sudo mount /dev/sda2 /media/fixthings
sudo chroot /media/fixthings
(Now you are “in” sda2 as root and can work from there as if you were actually booted into it.)

When you are done chrooting, always do clean exits (by typing, well, "exit") and unmount anything that was mounted; e.g.,
sudo umount /media/fixthings

(Obviously, be very careful when chrooting.)


Disclaimer: I'm no expert on fixing initramfs (as above); I just do it now and then; I've also encountered a case or two where it made things worse. So, as usual, proceed with appropriate caution and measured confidence.

[doctordruidphd]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

OK, I got a look at your image.
Since you moved partitions around, I'd bet it's a problem with the initrdfs somewhere.
Back up everything in /boot, then proceed as explained above to rebuild initrd.
While you're chrooted into your system, you might want to reconfigure the kernel as well. Nothing to lose, you have everything backed up. I'm thinking a driver might have been corrupted somewhere.

dkpg-reconfigure linux-image-2.6.24-23-generic

Now this could totally hose your system if something inside it is corrupted, so be sure (nag, nag) that you have backed up /boot.

In menu.lst, (temporarily) get rid of the splash quiet and quiet. You need to see all the stuff scrolling by -- there might be a hint in there somewhere. Also (again temporarily) change the root option from root=UUID=### to root=/dev/sda2

Also while chroot'ed, make a backup of your /etc/fstab and change the line for /dev/sda2 to this:

/dev/sda2 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1

And for /sda1:

/dev/sda1 none swap sw 0 0

The object here is to get it to run at all. Once it's flying, you can add the other options back in one at a time.

As an absolute last resort, if you have a complete backup of your system, you can wipe out the whole thing, reinstall into the partitions the way you want it from the live cd, then copy the backup of your system over the new install (except for /boot and /etc/fstab). That will work, but it's an admission of defeat...

[jk4y]

Re: Won't boot becase of SSID problems

Well I was going to make a backup today anyways and probably admit defeat tonight (I really want the learning experience though ). Now I have something else to try though. I will let you know how it goes.