I'm quite new to Linux so I thank you in advance for your patience as I'm learning.
I'm running Ubuntu 20.04, and I recently got a grub error at startup -- this one:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/how-to-fix-minimal-bash-like-line-editing-is-supported-grub-error-in-linux/
I followed the directions at the link above to fix it, and was able to get into the OS and everything was working fine. The next time I powered it up, however, I got the same grub error. Now:
grub > ls
gives me (proc) (hd0) (hd0,msdos5) (hd0,msdos2) (hd0,msdos1).
grub > ls (hd0)
gives No known filesystem detected.
grub > ls (hd0,msdosX)
where X is 1, 2, or 5, all say the exact same thing: Filesystem type fat, and they all have the exact same UUID and size.
grub > set
shows root=hd0,msdos1 and prefix=(hd0,msdos1)/boot/grub.
I am not doing a dual-boot; I only ever installed Ubuntu as a single-boot. So I have no idea how I ended up with multiple partitions, no idea why the filesystem of msdos1 changed from ext* to fat, and no idea why they all ended up with the same UUID (which I'm guessing is the cause of, or at least related to, my boot problem).
Edit for clarification: I did look up ways to change the UUID, but the instructions I found required starting from within the OS, not from grub.
At this point I'm thinking I should just reinstall the OS. But my questions are:
- Before reinstalling, is there anything else to try?
- How might I have ended up with all these partitions, if I didn't make them explicitly, and how do I avoid recreating the same problem with the new install?
- Is there any way to rescue my files from here?
Thanks, MJ