Error 15

[réjean]

Hi all!Yesterday I formatted my sda8 partition where I had PCLinuxOS 2007 because I intend to install ArchLinux there.I thought that my MBR was on my sdb6 partition where my PCLinuxOS 2009 is. My PCLinuxOS /home partition that both 2007 and 2009 shared is on sda7.When I rebooted the machine this morning I got a

Grub loading stage 1.5Grub loading, please wait.Error 15

I started my smaller machine ( which I am using now and did a search for Error 15. It looks like my MBR or my menu.lst is corrupted. I tried using SuperGrub to fix it but it didn't work. I"ll try again. I also tried a System Rescue CD and I am right now at a terminal as root.I don't mind which Grub I have to use, it could be Mandriva (sda6), SuperOS (ubuntu)(sda2), OpenSuSE (sdb1) or PCLinuxOS 2010 (sdb6) as long as I can boot the machine I can fix the menu.lst.What do you suggest?

Edited January 25, 2010 by réjean

[réjean]

Ok!I booted my PCLinuxOS 2009.2 CD and I am right now using it in Safe boot ( or mode ) as root. Does anyone remember the command line for fixing the MBR?I tried Bruno's trick but got the following;

[root@localhost root]# grub-install /dev/hdaYou must set the root directory by the option --root-directory, because/boot/grub does not exist in the root device Could not find device for /boot.[root@localhost root]#

Edited January 25, 2010 by réjean

[securitybreach]

Well to reinstall grub, as root,

# grub-install /dev/sda

if you want the mbr install on sda. Also, here is more info on error 15: http://stringofthoughts.wordpress.com/2009...5-debianubuntu/ It seems that since you formatted a partition, grub thinks it is missing somethingHope that helps

[réjean]

Thanks Josh!But it's a no go;

[root@localhost root]# grub-install /dev/sda/dev/sda: Not found or not a block device.[root@localhost root]#

I'll read what you suggested in the meantime.And I did;

[root@localhost root]# fdisk -l | grep -i linux/dev/hda2			4865		7296	19535040   83  Linux/dev/hda5			7297		7357	  489951   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/hda6			7358		9905	20466778+  83  Linux/dev/hda7			9906	   12481	20691688+  83  Linux/dev/hda8		   12482	   13697	 9767488+  83  Linux/dev/hda9		   13698	   14913	 9767488+  83  Linux/dev/hda10		  14914	   17462	20474811   83  Linux/dev/hdb1			   1		2517	20217771   83  Linux/dev/hdb5			3779		3905	 1020096   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/hdb6			3906		4998	 8779491   83  Linux/dev/hdb7			2518

and here is my PCLinuxOS 2009.2 menu.lst

timeout 10color black/cyan yellow/cyangfxmenu (hd1,5)/boot/gfxmenudefault 0title linuxkernel (hd1,5)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=6631b7e6-1e38-48b7-b9af-76abf7201b93  acpi=on splash=silent vga=788initrd (hd1,5)/boot/initrd.imgtitle linux-nonfbkernel (hd1,5)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=6631b7e6-1e38-48b7-b9af-76abf7201b93  acpi=oninitrd (hd1,5)/boot/initrd.imgtitle failsafekernel (hd1,5)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=6631b7e6-1e38-48b7-b9af-76abf7201b93  failsafe acpi=oninitrd (hd1,5)/boot/initrd.imgtitle windowsroot (hd0,0)makeactivechainloader +1title Mandriva Linux release 2009.0 (Official)root (hd0,1)configfile /boot/grub/menu.lsttitle PCLinuxOS release 2007 (PCLinuxOS)root (hd0,7)#configfile /boot/grub/menu.lstchainloader +1title Ubuntu 8.10 root (hd0,9)#configfile /boot/grub/menu.lstchainloader +1title openSUSE 11.1 (i586)VERSION = 11.1root (hd1,6)configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

and my /etc/fstab is;

# Entry for /dev/hdb6 :UUID=6631b7e6-1e38-48b7-b9af-76abf7201b93 / ext3 defaults 1 1# Entry for /dev/hda7 :UUID=57600f4c-54b1-4160-8802-c91fd3a0ac6f /home ext3 defaults 1 2none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hda5 :UUID=811287af-bf38-4283-a98c-f9ee0b50156e swap swap defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hdb5 :UUID=8cf9d8cc-3028-4fbd-ac07-d0ea6314a358 swap swap defaults 0 0none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0

so hdb6 is my PCLinuxOS /root hda7 is my /homeand I have 2 swaps;hda5 and hdb5.

Edited January 25, 2010 by réjean

[securitybreach]

That is odd considering that you have partitions on sda and sdb?It seems to me that your /boot/grub/menu.lst may be corrupted. I am not for sure how to repopulate menu.lst but one of the resident grub experts may know how to.

[réjean]

If I have to I can always reinstall PCLinuxOS 2010 on /hdb6 without formatting my /home partition or go ahead and install ArchLinux and give it the MBR.I have tried Super Grub again with no luck more or less following Zeek's topic. Will give it another try later.

[lewmur]

If I have to I can always reinstall PCLinuxOS 2010 on /hdb6 without formatting my /home partition or go ahead and install ArchLinux and give it the MBR.I have tried Super Grub again with no luck more or less following Zeek's topic. Will give it another try later.

First of all, the MBR is not the problem. The problem is that you formatted the partition where grub files were located. Just go ahead and install Arch and it will reinstall grub on its partition.

[securitybreach]

Well, I would of suggested that but I figured with so many distros in the menu.lst, letting Arch install Grub would only cause more problems. The reason being is Archlinux does not auto-generate grub entries. That would go against Arch's KISS philosophy. So you may want to backup your menu.lst first.

[réjean]

I sure hope you are right lewmur because I have been playing with Super Grub for a good hour and managed to set Grub from PCLinuxOS 2010 ( sb6) and I am told that I succeeded and upon being asked if I want to reboot and doing so all I get is a black screen. I tried choosing other partitions and I get an Error 17 so I don't know.

[zeek]

1) Not corrected for spelling/formatting:2) I wrote this as I had time in bits and pieces so some the info hasalready been suggested/tried.réjeanFirst, stop and hold your horses.Second, don't install any new distro, at least not yet (SB is correct)Third. let's see what we have (don't know if its MBR, menu.lst orcorrupted install of /boot/grub files)Forth. I may ask questions that you have already answered. Forgive me,sometimes it helps me when things are re-phrased. Tried SGD, it didn't work. What did you try? Which specificoption] did you try? If possible could you try SGD again. I know, but just give it a try. ButB4 you do, shutdown/turn-off computer for a few mnts. Get a short break. Then, Reboot SGD, and make sure you to use the option:......GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (>=2) MANUALIit will list all the available partitions that have a menu.lst and grubfiles in them. Since booting PCLos 2010 - select that partition again.See what happens.Just a side question: When you installed PCLos 2010, did you ask it to install into the MBR orinto the root partition? If you don't remember, it is OK.If the above doesn't work, we will have to do this manually. In the meantime, read link #1, section entitled: GRUBsolution (Linux shell) near bottom of page for the procedure.Link #1: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/w/index.php5/Howto_Fix_Grub Link #2: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/grub-error-guide.xmlWill get back to you to see how what happened, asap - meetings, it'sMonday.=======================Background Info=======================MBR holds the Grub stage1 file (this should be in (0,0)Formatting wipped out Grub stage 2 and menu.lst. Now, when trying to boot: BIOS --> MBR of (sda) --> Grub in now looking for Grub stage 2 and amenu.lst to get info from, but can't find it. ========================Background stuff for me========================Table below helps me think (hda,6) or (hd0,5) when meaning Mandriva2 Naming Conventions (ref: SGD help menu)1st hard disk-------------Partition Number...Linux.......Grub......Misc---------------------------------------------2 (hdb,5) (hd1,4) Ubuntu6 (hda,6) (hd0,5) Mandriva 7 (hda,7) (hd0,6) /home partition8 (hda,8) (hd0,7) PCLos 2007 Formatted2st hard disk--------------Partition Number...Linux.......Grub......Misc----------------------------------------------1 (hdb,1) (hd1,0) OpenSUSE6 (hdb,6) (hd1,5) PCLos 2010 or 2009.2?????NB: Not sure what is going on with partition 6, ie, (hdb,6). What was stated earlier.1) this is where the MBR is (actually, this is where grub stage2 and menu.lst are located in order to boot the selected distro and to boot all the other distros)2) this belongs to PCLos 2009 or does this belong to PCLos 2010?NB: This is a reminder to mePossible discreptancy - depends on which distro used to get this infoand on which menu.lst will eventually be used to boot the other distros):grub-install /dev/sdafdisk -l | grep -i linux --> lists hdd/partitions as /dev/hda2NB: Does any of the distros use Grub2? Has 2 hdd - check prober/UUID

[lewmur]

Well, I would of suggested that but I figured with so many distros in the menu.lst, letting Arch install Grub would only cause more problems. The reason being is Archlinux does not auto-generate grub entries. That would go against Arch's KISS philosophy. So you may want to backup your menu.lst first.

He's already lost the menu.lst he was using. Once he has any distro booting, he can check all of the partitions for menu.lst files and see which one seems best. Then add the Arch entries to it and copy it to the /boot/grub/ directory on the Arch partittion.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Well, y'all seem to have this in hand. I'm stepping away from the computer now... Carry on.

[réjean]

Ok!Thanks guys!First forgive the mistakes in this post 'cause I am using a French keyboard and I don't know where the backslash is ( BTW I am using Big Daddy ).I had started installing ArchLinux but I couldn't complete the partitioning. I was giving it my sda8 partition ( 10 GB ) making bootable ( but sometimes it was telling me boot NC which I didn't want. Anyway I am out of it now.So Zeek.1. I see one mistake Ubuntu is on hda10 (hd0,9) and I have 2 swaps (hda5 and hdb5)2. I don't know if I have PCLinuxOS 2009.2 installed or 2010. I would say it is most likely 2009.2.3. I thought I had told PCLinuxOS 2009.2 to install its GRUB on the MBR but maybe I told it to install on the root4. In SGD I have tried Gnu Linux and Fix Boot of Gnu Linux ( GRUB) then it asks me to select a boot grub stage1 file and when I just click on ENTER it says Booting 'N IDE SCSI GRUB HURD TYPE OS'pause Nothing to doNothing to doIf instead I use the arrow and choose6 hdb6 sdb6 (hdi,5) ext2fs PCLinusOS release 2010 (PCLinuxOS)then I get a bunch of set outChecking ifRunning "install boot grub stage1 (hd1) (hd1)1+17 p (hd1,5) boot grub stage2boot grub menu.lst"...succeededDone.pause SGD has succeeded!SGD has succeeded!Then if I choose Reboot P.C.then I get back to the Grub Loading stage 1.5Grub loading, please wait( Except that this time I get an Error 17 message ).5. No I do not have any GRUB 2 that I know of.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

# 17 : "Invalid device requested"This error is returned if a device string is recognizable but does not fall under the other device errors.

[réjean]

When I try

Reboot SGD, and make sure you to use the option:......GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (>=2) MANUALIit will list all the available partitions that have a menu.lst and grubfiles in them. Since booting PCLos 2010 - select that partition again.See what happens.

the only suggestion I get is 6 hdb6 sdb6 (hdi,5) ext2fs PCLinusOS release 2010 (PCLinuxOS)and when I click on it I get another one and if I click on it again then I get a blank screen.P.S. At one point a few minutes ago I don't know if I chose Linux 2 manual or what but then it biooted into PCLinuxOS normally except that I asked to reboot and I haven't been able to duplicate it again.

Edited January 25, 2010 by réjean

[regexorcist]

Maybe a few more partitions would help Sorry, just kidding

[réjean]

Hey! Good idea!Seriously I used SGD chose boot & toolsthen Boot partition and I tried most of the partitions which all gave me ( I think it was an Error 17, or was it 13 ? ) except for hdb7 (h1,6) which is my OpenSuSE within which I am right now. I will keep it open until I get more suggestions.It's /boot/grub/menu.lst is

# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Mon Dec 14 20:59:17 AST 2009default 1timeout 8gfxmenu (hd1,6)/boot/message###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: xen###title Xen -- openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.39-0.2	root (hd1,6)	kernel /boot/xen.gz 	module /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.39-0.2-xen root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part7 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317	module /boot/initrd-2.6.27.39-0.2-xen###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###title openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.39-0.2	root (hd1,6)	kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.39-0.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part7 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317	initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.39-0.2-default###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.39-0.2	root (hd1,6)	kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.39-0.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part7 showopts ide=nodma apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 x11failsafe vga=0x317	initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.39-0.2-default###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:  linux (/dev/sda2)###title linux (/dev/sda2)	rootnoverify (hd0,1)	chainloader +1###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:  Fedora (2.6.27.9-159.fc10.i686) (/dev/sda7)###title Fedora (2.6.27.9-159.fc10.i686) (/dev/sda7)	rootnoverify (hd0,6)	chainloader +1###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:  linux (/dev/sda8)###title linux (/dev/sda8)	rootnoverify (hd0,7)	chainloader +1###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name:  Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-9-generic (/dev/sda10)###title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-9-generic (/dev/sda10)	rootnoverify (hd0,9)	chainloader +1###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###title Windows	rootnoverify (hd0,0)	chainloader +1

which I could modify myself ( I do have a copy of my latest /menu.lst in my yahoo mail ) and here is its /etc/fstab;

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_7Y250P0_Y60XZVJE-part5 swap				 swap	   defaults			  0 0/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part5 swap				 swap	   defaults			  0 0/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part7 /					ext3	   acl,user_xattr		1 1/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6E040L0_E13G1E3N-part1 /home				ext3	   acl,user_xattr		1 2/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_7Y250P0_Y60XZVJE-part1 /windows/C		   ntfs-3g	users,gid=users,fmask=133,dmask=022,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_7Y250P0_Y60XZVJE-part11 /windows/D		   vfat	   users,gid=users,umask=0002,utf8=true 0 0proc				 /proc				proc	   defaults			  0 0sysfs				/sys				 sysfs	  noauto				0 0debugfs			  /sys/kernel/debug	debugfs	noauto				0 0devpts			   /dev/pts			 devpts	 mode=0620,gid=5	   0 0

I don't mind having it installed on the MBR.

Edited January 25, 2010 by réjean

[zeek]

You are moving much faster than I am able to think / write a response. ]So part6 has PCLos 2010. got it, Ubuntu okDid you try this option? ......GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (>=2) MANUALIf you did, and didn't work, then Grub has to be fixed.As Erik said: "Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition This error is returned if the partition requested exists, but the filesystem type cannot be recognized by GRUB." Ref Link: http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/ht...l#Stage2-errorsRead this as to what it means --> Read slowly/carefully: http://stringofthoughts.wordpress.com/2009...7-debianubuntu/Since using PCLOS 20101) First, check its /boot/grub/menu.lst file to see if it is correctly populated. Ref: See SB link. If ok, then, 2) Since you only have 2 hdd:Using SGD, from the first menu (ie,quick menu), choose EASY LIVE SWAP (fix )Then, re-use SGD again with this option: GRUB => MBR & !LINUX! (>=2) MANUALand choose PCLOS 2010 again just on case. Ref: Problematic solution: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/w/index.php5/Howto_Fix_GrubIf not, then 3) Do GRUB solution (Linux shell) option using a LIVE CDIn the terminal, as root follow the instruction (but using the PCLOS2010 partition)Edit: Just saw your response above. I am typing bits and pieces as I have time, then click send. ( I should check to see if you responded first b4 clicking send). Glad it is partially working. Meantime. Read the links posted (if you have any energy left). Be back in a few hrs.

Edited January 25, 2010 by zeek

[réjean]

Thanks zeek!I'm reading your tutorials in the meantime here is;

rejean@linux-l27q:~> suPassword:linux-l27q:/home/rejean # fdisk -lDisk /dev/sda: 251.0 GB, 251000193024 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30515 cylindersUnits = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytesDisk identifier: 0xa34da34d   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/sda1   *		   1		4864	39070048+   7  HPFS/NTFS/dev/sda2			4865		7296	19535040   83  Linux/dev/sda3			7297	   30515   186506617+   5  Extended/dev/sda5			7297		7357	  489951   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/sda6			7358		9905	20466778+  83  Linux/dev/sda7			9906	   12481	20691688+  83  Linux/dev/sda8   *	   12482	   13697	 9767519+  83  Linux/dev/sda9		   13698	   14913	 9767488+  83  Linux/dev/sda10		  14914	   17462	20474811   83  Linux/dev/sda11		  17463	   30515   104848191	b  W95 FAT32Disk /dev/sdb: 41.1 GB, 41110142976 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4998 cylindersUnits = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytesDisk identifier: 0x0000f444   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/sdb1			   1		2517	20217771   83  Linux/dev/sdb2			2518		4998	19928632+   5  Extended/dev/sdb5			3779		3905	 1020096   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/sdb6			3906		4998	 8779491   83  Linux/dev/sdb7			2518		3778	10128919+  83  LinuxPartition table entries are not in disk orderlinux-l27q:/home/rejean #

The last line Partition table entries are not in disk ordermay make you think that when I formatted my PCLinuxOS 2007 partition (hda8) I also deleted it but I have learned from Bruno not to do so. The problem seems to be on the hdb drive anyway i.e. /dev/sdb7P.S. A few more things1. I cannot find the quick menu in SGD that you are talking about and do the EASY LIVE SWAP (fix ).2. The only OS that I can boot into is OpenSuSE and for some strange reason it is listed in SGD as sdb7 while it should be sdb1.3. All the other OSes that I try to boot into give an Error 13 message which the first link you gave me tonight says;

Invalid or unsupported executable format This error is returned if the kernel image being loaded is not recognized as Multiboot or one of the supported native formats (Linux zImage or bzImage, FreeBSD, or NetBSD).

So why don't I reinstall PCLinuxOS 2010 and put its GRUB on the MBR or will having a bad partition table not make it work?P.P.S. I just tried booting into Win7 from the SGD and it works.P.P.P.S.Using SGD and I thind advanced then ( I think ) choose booting GRUB Linux directly I am now in PCLinuxOS 2010 and from it I did:

[root@localhost rejean]# grub-install /dev/hdaInstallation finished. No error reported.This is the contents of the device map /boot/grub/device.map.Check if this is correct or not. If any of the lines is incorrect,fix it and re-run the script `grub-install'.(hd0) /dev/hda(hd1) /dev/hdb[root@localhost rejean]#

Edited January 26, 2010 by réjean

[réjean]

It worked!!!I rebooted and I got my GRUB back! :"> Am I ever mentally drained now. I think that Bruno would be please to see all the work I have done ( Thanks to all of you, of course, especially zeek )

Edited January 26, 2010 by réjean

[zeek]

CongratsWhat a ride.No need to thank me at all. You kept keeping on, and on, and on. Your posts were informative.But really happy it's working :)You don't have to do this, but just for my own curiosity (tomorrow or even next-week).Please post from PCLOS 2010:1) fdisk -lu 2) fstabOh, the swap option should be the last item on the the first menu that pops up in SGD (at least, I think it should be there - I'll have to check).Cheers

Edited January 26, 2010 by zeek

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Bruno would be proud of you, Réjean. And he would have been proud of how everyone jumped in to help you. I'm proud of you guys, too. :yes:Thanks everyone! This is what makes BATL what it is. Let's keep it up!

[réjean]

Thanks Eric. I must have spent 12 hours off and on ( mostly on ) trying to fix the problem. My wife is almost mad at me for that.I hate to think of Bruno using a past tense. Even when he leaves us physically I want to think that his spirit is still with us.Zeek: Here is what you asked me. First the /etc/fstab;

# Entry for /dev/hdb6 :UUID=6631b7e6-1e38-48b7-b9af-76abf7201b93 / ext3 defaults 1 1# Entry for /dev/hda7 :UUID=57600f4c-54b1-4160-8802-c91fd3a0ac6f /home ext3 defaults 1 2none /proc proc defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hda5 :UUID=811287af-bf38-4283-a98c-f9ee0b50156e swap swap defaults 0 0# Entry for /dev/hdb5 :UUID=8cf9d8cc-3028-4fbd-ac07-d0ea6314a358 swap swap defaults 0 0none /dev/pts devpts mode=0620 0 0

then the fdisk -lu:

[root@localhost rejean]# fdisk -luDisk /dev/hda: 251.0 GB, 251000193024 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30515 cylinders, total 490234752 sectorsUnits = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytesDisk identifier: 0xa34da34d   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/hda1   *		  63	78140159	39070048+   7  HPFS/NTFS/dev/hda2		78140160   117210239	19535040   83  Linux/dev/hda3	   117210240   490223474   186506617+   5  Extended/dev/hda5	   117210303   118190204	  489951   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/hda6	   118190268   159123824	20466778+  83  Linux/dev/hda7	   159123888   200507264	20691688+  83  Linux/dev/hda8   *   200507266   220042304	 9767519+  83  Linux/dev/hda9	   220042368   239577344	 9767488+  83  Linux/dev/hda10	  239577408   280527029	20474811   83  Linux/dev/hda11	  280527093   490223474   104848191	b  W95 FAT32Disk /dev/hdb: 41.1 GB, 41110142976 bytes255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4998 cylinders, total 80293248 sectorsUnits = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytesDisk identifier: 0x0000f444   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System/dev/hdb1			  63	40435604	20217771   83  Linux/dev/hdb2		40435605	80292869	19928632+   5  Extended/dev/hdb5		60693633	62733824	 1020096   82  Linux swap / Solaris/dev/hdb6		62733888	80292869	 8779491   83  Linux/dev/hdb7		40435731	60693569	10128919+  83  LinuxPartition table entries are not in disk order[root@localhost rejean]#

so there still is some kind of a problem.In my notes concerning the last installation I have;hdb1 19 GB OpenSuSE /homehdb7 9.6 GB OpenSuSE /hdb5 996MB /Swaphdb6 8.3 GB PCLinuxOS 2009 / ( which I may have replaced by 2010 but labelled the CD ( 2009.2 )Any suggestion? Anyone?P.S. More problems!!! While in PCLinuxOS I pressed Start ( or its equivalent ) then restart and when I got GRUB I chose Mandriva and I got an Error 18 ( Selected cylinder exceeds maximum supported by BIOS This error is returned when a read is attempted at a linear block address beyond the end of the BIOS translated area. This generally happens if your disk is larger than the BIOS can handle (512MB for (E)IDE disks on older machines or larger than 8GB in general). )I clicked Enter and I got a primitive GRUB ( non-graphic? ) I chose all the other distros one after the other and I got the same message for each.So I clicked the Reset button on the tower and got back to a normal GRUB ( GUI ). I chose Mandriva and was able to boot into it. I rebooted and chose Ubuntu ( SuperOS ) and this time I got an Error 13 ( Invalid or unsupported executable format This error is returned if the kernel image being loaded is not recognized as Multiboot or one of the supported native formats (Linux zImage or bzImage, FreeBSD, or NetBSD). I clicked on Enter and got a non-GUI GRUB again then I chose chose OpenSuSE and got the same message. I clicked Reset and I am now in PCLinuxOS.I do remembered the last few weeks when I tried to boot into Ubuntu getting a message about one hardrive getting bad but I could boot into it anyway. I just hope that it is the 2nd hd that is getting bad ( 40 GB ) and not the !st ( 250 GB ).

Edited January 26, 2010 by réjean

[securitybreach]

Well I am glad everything is working now. Sorry I was not around to help more. It is driving me crazy not having full internet access. Oh well just a few more days till I am home.

[alphaomega]

Réjean, I was going to say congratulations and as it looked as if you had managed to get things back up and running with all the great help here at BATL.However, sorry to see that you are still having additional problems.I wish I could be of some help but I have very little experience with grub.And with all those different OS's I would probably go insane trying to keep things inline.Which is why I stick to slackware because things are where they are supposed to be(nothing is moved around like in some other distros).Anyway, good luck in getting things back in working order.I'm going to follow this thread so maybe I'll learn something new.Cheers

[zeek]

rejeanDarnBut best to check, just in caseJust a suggestion: IF decided on smartmontools (ie, smartctl) consider using a gui frontend provided by a LiveCD

1. Parted Magic Live CD (contains gui to smartctl called gsmartcontrol)http://gsmartcontrol.berlios.de/home/index.php/en/Homehttp://gsmartcontrol.berlios.de/home/index.../en/Screenshots
2. SystemRescueCD has smartmontools but not gui http://www.sysresccd.org/System-tools

I'm sure you know this - any testing will put more stress on hdd - but, one has no choice, so, best to save the data first and backup now (data, /home config files, etc ). good luck=====================================================After things get sorted:: wrote below b4 you posted your addendum about possible hdd problems:Don't read this until hdd's are sorted.Disk hda----------1) two boot flags --> hda, yes (windows expects it), but afaik linux (grub) doesn't use them. 2) /dev/hda11 --> I thought type should be c, not b (not sure about this)Disk hdb-----------1) Part table entries not in order. See the grub-devel response (last line) http://www.mail-archive.com/grub-devel@gnu.org/msg02449.htmlSince your windows is on hda, not a problem. Grub is dealing with it.Prob as shown by fdisk -lu on disk hdbThe start and end points of /dev/hdb7 don't directly follow after hdb6After fix what fdisk -lu will look like: The device boot column will stay the same, but the start/end numberswill change. The number should be in sequence. Don't worry if you have afew gaps, but the numbers should be increasing as you go from hda1 -->hda2 --> hda3... The extended partition will look out of sequence, butit is not, just a placeholder for all the logical parts within. Also,the System column *should* change - you won't be able to tell, sinceonly the term Linux will move from one spot to another. This is why itsimp to know what distro is currently in what partition b4 doing the fix.My prediction after the fix, is that the distro currently in hdb7 willmove up to the hdb5 spot and hdb5 and hdb6 will get bumped down. Never had this problem (translation: I don't know from personalexperience, but only think I do). You may be in for another ride: Iwould wait (well, I know you are reading up on this). Its understandablethat you want to fix it for good since this problem probably has beenthere b4 re-formatting the partition.Ok, then The easiest: do the swap thing from SGD - Unfortunately, I don't have mySGD with me - so, I don't know where the option is located.Or you could do it manually via fdiskAs root (saw this at ubuntu forums http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1252662Cheers

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yes, Réjean... I agree. No past tense for Bruno. As I wrote it above, though, I meant that he "would have been" proud had he seen this thread; not "would have" because he's no longer with us. Knowing Bruno, he probably is reading this thread. Old habits are hard to break.

[réjean]

Well, sometimes it is my poor understanding of English. What is English-Canadian, American, British. Universal, Australian, what the heck! Inuit-English? All I know is that if I have a problem I will always think " What would Bruno do in my situation if he were here ( wherever he is ). Then if I don't find an answer I'll go directly to his Tips and I'll look around and around and only then, if I still don't have an answer I'll Google-Linux for reading material ( should do more wikis ) and then Il come here before doing anything. I know that I could go to each distro's forum but I'll trust the people here before any internet-stranger. The reason is that we try to help each other and not impress everyone. This is what I mean by " Bruno's spirit ". I'm hoping that this way we will never get a RTFM., which I recall seeing here several years ago but never lasted more than a day or two, thanks to Bruno or any administrator that did the cleaning up.I really think that we are a community thanks to all of us and especially to Scott who makes it available. Amen!Now seriously about my problems...I have no idea what in the world I have to do, why I am supposed to do it, how to do it, or when. I know who is responsible for the mess ( my computer, not me. That darn machine lol ) but I know one thing: I can count on you all; one, two, three! lol to help me or then start all over.Love you all,Réjean

Edited January 26, 2010 by réjean

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Nah... in this case, Réjean, it was probably my poor usage of the English language. ;)And don't you worry, we intend to carry on in the tradition that Bruno started here at BATL. You'll never see an "RTFM" comment in a post around here as long as I'm around; nor will you see that "n--bie"word.

[zeek]

Rejean,Too many unknowns. Not sure even if its the hdd(s) or filesystem, or ....I understand your frustration. Sounds like you are stepping back - time to regroup.My thoughtsSince, possible hdd problem has been suggested. Address that first as your personal data is important. So,

1. Backup most imp data (too external hd, or dvd, cd, internet storage, whatever). Even if the hdd is failing, then try to recover what you can. It's not ideal, but it's the best that can be done.
2. Then use live cd with gui suggested (previously linked) to check the health of both hdd. Wait for the result hdd test results. Then go from there.
3. If hdd's are Ok, then check memory - again using any distro's liveCD (most have the option to check the memory before installing). Then, wait for the results of the memory check. The memory test may not be conclusive, that is Ok, we are looking for major problems. If nothing found, just assume everything is Ok with memory and move on. Most likely the memory will be Ok, but you never know. Need to know - have some piece of mind.
4. Now, the only thing to do is to proceed slowly - revisit Grub and menu.lst (see how they talking to each other). Do only one distro at a time. My suggesttion would be to start with PCLOS 2010 as it does a great job of recognizing other distros. We will try our hardest to get PCLOS to work after reboots. Don't worry about trying to boot any other distro yet.
5. If this doesn't work, then what you suggested about trying to re-install PCLOS 2010 was a good one.
6. Some more suggestions, but let see first. Trying to see if it is Grub? Is it menu.lst? Is it partition table? etc.

Wait,See what others say/suggest. In meantime - Rest CheersYou are right - this is a community!

Edited January 27, 2010 by zeek