smartanuj.com
Its my blog
Ubuntu 9.10 WUBI installation problem , GRUB screen after updating
Okay so I wanted to try Ubuntu 9.10 on my computer partially because it is so damn old to run windows 7 and partially because I wanted to give it a try. Only problem I didn’t have a Boot CD and my old computer won’t boot from a USB. So I tried WUBI and installed Ubuntu within windows. I was all set to try Ubuntu now. Ubuntu was running quite good , I had even shifted my development environment from Windows XP to Ubuntu 9.10. After running for a few days Ubuntu’s update manager notified me there are some updates, so i clicked Update and the update started. After the update it asked to Restart Computer and so i did.
After the restart when i tried to boot into Ubuntu , the GRUB screen came and i was like what do i do now ? I am a techie but i am not that into Linux so i was clueless there.
So i had to boot into Windows again , fire up Firefox and hunt the web for a solution as now i had everything in my Linux Environment.
Finally i found a solution and compiled everything at one place.
Please follow the following steps if you too got stuck at the GRUB screen in a WUBI installation after doing a Linux Kernel Update / Update to Ubuntu
- sh:grub>set root=(loop0)
- sh:grub>linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda1 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro
- sh:grub>initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
- sh:grub>boot
please note /ubuntu/disks/root.disk is the location of your WUBI installation (default being C:\ubuntu)
this will enable you to boot into Ubuntu Back
After booting into Ubuntu follow these steps to not to see that GRUB screen again during starting up.
- Open Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal)
- Type sudo update-grub2 and click Enter, enter your administrator password and voila your GRUB list is made again. and you’ll not the GRUB screen again
I hope that helps. if you have any doubt please say in comments.
December 27, 2009 - 12:24 pm
Hi, i got this problem on my wubied ubuntu after an accidental grup-pc update. Since that moment, i get into my ubuntu launching manually the kernel like you expose in the first paragraph, but i haven’t come to recover my grub menu even creating it by typing sudo update-grub2, although the grub-cfg file is created correctly. I just see the same prompt everytime i reboot.
I read it’s about a kinda problem with the ntfs partition.
If i can’t recover the menu, is there any kind of MS-DOS *.bat file to enclose all the commands necesary to boot into ubuntu from the grub prompt?
Thanks for the help u can provide.
Regards.
February 11, 2010 - 7:11 pm
Hi,
Im a little confused with:
/ubuntu/disks/root.disk
My Ubuntu installation is at F:\ubuntu
So how do I edit it???
Thanks
February 11, 2010 - 8:07 pm
try setting the root to sda2 eg.
# sh:grub>linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda2 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro
February 14, 2010 - 12:46 am
sda2 did not work but i randomly tried sda3 and it did ! i.e
# sh:grub>linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=/dev/sda3 loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro
February 14, 2010 - 4:01 am
Well the SDA actually means what partition on SATA harddrive are you referring to.
for eg. SDA1 means –> On a SATA Drive (SD) 1st or A (A) it refers to Partition 1 (1) = SDA1
March 1, 2010 - 6:58 pm
You have offered the most help than anyone, however I am doing a clean install using wubi on a windows 7 64bit HP- I have set the installer to run in vista compatibility mode AND it installs just fine (i keep my laptop off line, and i use the desktop cd iso) Well it installs nice, but when it goes to reboot i end up at grub.
I tried what you suggested and ran through every sda that I think of yet it tells me that I have to load the kernel first just after I type: initrd/ boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
Am I doing anything wrong? I have also tried to run it without the comparability mode on and it does the same thing!
Any help would be much appreciated! I am not quite ready to actually physically change my harddrive yet and run it side by side- but I am willing too if I can’t get wubi to work!
March 2, 2010 - 1:11 pm
Well actually the solution mentioned above is meant for those who UPDATE their WUBI installation and then are stuck with GRUB screen.
You probably need to have a 64bit version of ubuntu to run properly.
Obviously you need to run WUBI in compatibility mode as Windows 7 is still not supported by them.
March 3, 2010 - 8:29 pm
It automatically downloaded 64bit for me and then I downloaded the iso myself, following in its footsteps.
However and I am running it in compatibility for Vista. I know this is for an update but I am getting the same error, that is why I was hoping it would help.
I am going to keep tinkering with it if I come up with something I will let you all know!
March 4, 2010 - 3:22 pm
Thanks for this! I was panicking slightly when I got the error when rebooting. Gonna try this and let you know if it works!