Join Log in
Score:1
avatar Ubuntu

Grub Rescue Error and no partition on second Drive (Windows 10 and Ubuntu)

in flag
pion

I am using Windows 10 with legacy BIOS and decided to try to dual boot with Ubuntu 20.04. From what I had read I thought it was best to use a second Harddrive for Ubuntu, so my Windows installation couldnt be damaged. So, I downloaded the iso file and burned it to a disk. I installed the second drive and continued with the installation of Ubuntu. Everything went fine, in the installation menu I picked the right Drive and the installation process went flawlessly. Then it gave me an error message, but I can't remember what it said, I just clicked ignore (That was probably a huge mistake). After that it proceeded with the installation without errors. After restarting my PC, removing the installation disk and using the boot manager to boot into Ubuntu, it entered Grub Rescue Mode.

I tried

ls (fd0,msdos1)

,which is the drive I installed Ubuntu on, but I got an error message saying "Unknown Filesystem" with every possible Drive I checked. Then I used

set

And it put out something like this:

(fd0)/root/grub

As you can see in the brackets, it only told me a Drive, but no partition.

I tried Windows system recovery, but it didn't work.

What can I do to fix this issue? I heard you can do something in Ubuntu live mode, but what exactly?

EDIT: I typed

bootrec /fixmbr

into the command prompt and after a system recovery I was able to boot into Windows. I checked the drive with Ubuntu on it and it said "510MB free of 510MB", which is very weird, because the drive had ~200 GB. Sounds like something is weird with the partition again.

76
0 + 0
oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
I think fd0 is your floppy drive? I doubt you installed there. Probably hd0, hd1 etc. Lets see details, use ppa version with your live installer (2nd option) or any working install, not Boot-Repair ISO: Please copy & paste the pastebin link to the Boot-info summary report ( do not post report), do not run the auto fix till reviewed. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair Microsoft required vendors to install in UEFI boot mode to gpt partitioned drives since 2012, so is this a very old system? What brand/model?
1
Reply
in flag
pion
I didn't use the boot repair on the live disk yet, however, here are the system informations: My CPU is the Intel Core i5 760 and the Mainboard is the ASRock H55M-LE. The BIOS Version is: American Megatrends Inc. P180, 20.10.2010.
0
Reply
in flag
pion
It's a really old system and because of that we unfortunately cannot update the BIOS to a newer Version. I guess the Ubuntu version I installed is only supporting UEFI BIOS?
0
Reply
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
ChanganAuto
No, any Ubuntu works perfectly either in BIOS or UEFI. If UEFI then the mode in which it'll be installed - UEFI or Legacy (CSM/"BIOS") - depends on the firmware settings and how the installer is booted. If you made the installation media with Rufus then, using its default settings you need to choose one mode or the other, MBR/BIOS vs GPT/UEFI. So, the latter won't boot in a BIOS based and the former in a UEFI based system it depends. Software like Balena Etcher (and a few other for Windows) copy the ISO as is and by default it includes both bootloaders.
0
Reply
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
ChanganAuto
Yours is BIOS (c. 2010) and last update released is 1.80: https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/H55M-LE/index.asp#BIOS (Instant Flash doesn't need any OS - https://www.asrock.com/support/BIOSIG.asp?cat=BIOS)
0
Reply
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
ChanganAuto
Please let us see details with Boot Repair as commented above. As long as you have changed the boot in BIOS to the second drive, installed Ubuntu to, and set the bootloader (Grub) installation to the same drive, the system should boot automatically to the Grub menu. If you have accidentally set it to install in the other drive (Windows) it would work the same but the Windows bootloader would be replaced but otherwise work the same. So, at first glance, there may have been a problem with the bootloader installation, was that the error you ignored? If so, Boot Repair can help.
0
Reply
in flag
pion
Here is the link to the Boot Repair log: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/dmHHcpbtWH/
0
Reply
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
ChanganAuto
It looks fine, nothing stands out except a non-Windows bootloader installed in sda, the drive with Windows. Make sure the first boot drive is sdb, reported as ~150GB, in BIOS. It should boot to the Grub menu, allowing to select Ubuntu or Windows.
0
Reply
in flag
pion
I tried to boot from the Ubuntu Drive, but it still entered grub rescue mode. I can still access Windows by booting from the other drive. Is it possible that my Ubuntu Version (20.04) is too new for my BIOS Version?
0
Reply
in flag
pion
Note: I booted Ubuntu from the Boot menu and didnt change the BIOS options, because I didnt want to break things. Would that change anything?
0
Reply
in flag
pion
Note 2: I think I know where the issue is, I didnt create a partition on my drive, but installed ubuntu on the whole drive.
0
Reply
karel avatar
sa flag
karel
@pion If you "didn't create a partition on your drive, but installed Ubuntu on the whole drive" run Boot-Repair and let Boot-Repair create the missing boot partition automatically. It probably won't boot Ubuntu, but at least now you have a workable boot partition. Then reinstall Ubuntu and it will detect and configure the new boot partition automatically and you're done. This method was tested on this computer that I'm working on.
0
Reply
ธงชาติไทย
Elon Musk
I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.