(SOLVED) Got "Error 21" message when in GRUB

[Old-Polack]

Well, drat!  I got the error 15 again. 

I'm back on the LiveCD.  What do I do now, Coach?

Batzilla

Let's try to find which file it is that grub is complaining about. To start the grub application, in a terminal, as root, just type the word grub and press the Enter key. The grub prompt looks like this;

grub>

... but won't be blue... I just use that to differentiate it from the command, which I show in purple. To leave grub, when you are done, the command is;

grub> quit                                      <Enter>

Example:

[root@fatman ~]# grub                             <Enter>
Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time.

Next you get this;


    GNU GRUB  version 0.97  (640K lower / 3072K upper memory)

 [ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported.  For the first word, TAB
   lists possible command completions.  Anywhere else TAB lists the possible
   completions of a device/filename. ]

grub>

First we try to find the kernel link, vmlinuz..

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz                      <Enter>
 (hd0,0)
 (hd0,7)
 (hd1,0)
 (hd1,5)
 (hd1,6)
 (hd1,7)
 (hd1,8)
 (hd1,12)
 (hd1,13)
 (hd1,14)
 (hd1,16)
 (hd2,2)
 (hd2,4)
 (hd2,5)
 (hd2,6)
 (hd2,8)
 (hd2,9)
 (hd2,10)

grub>

... next we try to find the initrd.img link


grub> find /boot/initrd.img                    <Enter>
 (hd0,7)
 (hd1,0)
 (hd1,5)
 (hd1,6)
 (hd1,7)
 (hd1,8)
 (hd1,13)
 (hd1,14)
 (hd1,16)
 (hd2,2)
 (hd2,4)
 (hd2,5)
 (hd2,6)
 (hd2,8)
 (hd2,9)
 (hd2,10)

grub>

Two of my partitions have a /boot/vmlinuz link, but do not have a /boot/initrd.img link. In my case it's by design, as they are special case installations and each initrd image is called by its specific name in each of its 3 respective boot stanzas, depending on which particular computer I'm booting the installation on. These installations are on external hard drives, and are regularly booted on three different computers, each needing a different initrd image.

To leave the grub application, I issue the quit command;

grub> quit                                    <Enter>

...which returns me to the root prompt.

[root@fatman ~]#

----------------------------------------------- End Example ----------------------------------

In your case, run the two commands shown, in the grub application, then report the results. Don't quit grub yet, as we may need to try to find something else, depending on what the results are.

[batzilla]

    GNU GRUB  version 0.97  (640K lower / 3072K upper memory)

 [ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported.  For the first word, TAB
   lists possible command completions.  Anywhere else TAB lists the possible
   completions of a device/filename. ]

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/initrd.img
 (hd1,0)

grub>

[Old-Polack]

    GNU GRUB  version 0.97  (640K lower / 3072K upper memory)

 [ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported.  For the first word, TAB
   lists possible command completions.  Anywhere else TAB lists the possible
   completions of a device/filename. ]

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/initrd.img
 (hd1,0)

grub>

OK, try these three;

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26.8.tex3

grub> find /boot/initrd-2.6.26.8.tex3.img

grub> find /boot/gfxmenu

Note: grub says it's finding the files on (hd1,0) but your menu.lst stanzas are looking for them on (hd0,0). On most older computers that have IDE/PATA drives, the boot drive needs to be attached as the master drive on the first IDE controller, ie as /dev/hda. If your grub stage1 is installed on /dev/hda then (hd1,0) would be correct.

When done with the above three commands, leave grub, then as root, edit your /boot/grub/menu.lst by copying the first boot stanza, directly below the original stanza, change the title to Test Boot, then change the two (hd0,0) entries to (hd1,0) and save the file. Then try rebooting using the Test Boot entry from the boot menu.

To do this, you need to do the following commands;

[root@localhost guest]# mkdir /here                          <Enter>

[root@localhost guest]# mount /dev/hdb1 /here                        <Enter>

[root@localhost guest]# kwrite /here/boot/grub/menu.lst                      <Enter>

Make the edits and save the file, then try the reboot using the new Test Boot menu option.

Post your results.

[batzilla]

Sorry I took so long to reply.  Had to go to work today (part-time job).

I think I've followed your instructions correctly, but I have some questions at the bottom.

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26.8.tex3
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/initrd-2.6.26.8.tex3.img
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/gfxmenu
 (hd1,0)

This is the results of # kwrite /here/boot/grub/menu.lst

timeout 10
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/boot/gfxmenu
default 0

title linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  failsafe acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

This is my edit of the menu.lst

timeout 10
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/boot/gfxmenu
default 0

title linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title Test Boot
kernel (hd1,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd1,0)/boot/initrd.img

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  failsafe acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

Is this what you had in mind?

When I ran kwrite /here/boot/grub/menu.lst kwrite took me to another screen.  It didn't come up in the terminal.  Is it supposed to do that?  I thought it would come up in the terminal.

I've done very very little editing, so I'm not familiar with what I need to do now.  To save and close I use wq, right?  Once it's saved, how do I reboot without restarting the computer?  Won't I lose this if I reboot?

[T6]

kwrite is a great text editor that works in a graphical environment, it is preferable for us who don't have much skills with console tools, specially to write to and edit files

[Old-Polack]

Sorry I took so long to reply.  Had to go to work today (part-time job).

I think I've followed your instructions correctly, but I have some questions at the bottom.

grub> find /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26.8.tex3
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/initrd-2.6.26.8.tex3.img
 (hd1,0)

grub> find /boot/gfxmenu
 (hd1,0)

This is the results of # kwrite /here/boot/grub/menu.lst

timeout 10
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/boot/gfxmenu
default 0

title linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  failsafe acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

This is my edit of the menu.lst

timeout 10
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
gfxmenu (hd0,0)/boot/gfxmenu
default 0

title linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title Test Boot
kernel (hd1,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd1,0)/boot/initrd.img

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=linux-nonfb root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  acpi=on resume=UUID=41ebc2ae-888e-497f-9de2-b7de288a1053
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz BOOT_IMAGE=failsafe root=UUID=eda7fcdf-0131-48f7-9c47-40ec0027fe72  failsafe acpi=on
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img

Is this what you had in mind?

When I ran kwrite /here/boot/grub/menu.lst kwrite took me to another screen.  It didn't come up in the terminal.  Is it supposed to do that?  I thought it would come up in the terminal.

I've done very very little editing, so I'm not familiar with what I need to do now.  To save and close I use wq, right?  Once it's saved, how do I reboot without restarting the computer?  Won't I lose this if I reboot?

You are working in a GUI environment so I called a GUI editor, for ease of use. To save the file just click the save icon. (looks like a floppy disk)

You reboot by rebooting. If you've saved the file, it will be saved on the hard drive. You should see the Test Boot option in the boot menu, so choose that and see what happens.

[batzilla]

Everything booted beautifully!!!   Now I should try to boot with pclinuxos 2012.08 again, right?

[Old-Polack]

Everything booted beautifully!!!   Now I should try to boot with pclinuxos 2012.08 again, right?

If your ultimate goal is to install the latest version of PCLinuxOS, you will need to do that. Before you do that, can you check, in the running installation, what video driver it is using? It could be helpful.

[batzilla]

It says it's using "nvidia".

[Old-Polack]

It says it's using "nvidia".

Which one?

[batzilla]

From $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Device"
    Identifier "device1"
    VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
    BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce 3 to GeForce 4"
    Driver "nvidia"
    Option "DPMS"
    Option "RenderAccel" "false"
    Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"
    Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "1"
EndSection

Is this what you need?

[Old-Polack]

From $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Device"
    Identifier "device1"
    VendorName "nVidia Corporation"
    BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce 3 to GeForce 4"
    Driver "nvidia"
    Option "DPMS"
    Option "RenderAccel" "false"
    Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"
    Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals"
    Option "IgnoreEDID" "1"
EndSection

Is this what you need?

Yup. I wanted to check to see if there was a similar offering in the new version. There is, and it says there is a proprietary drive for it, but i don't know if that's the one we already tried. We'll see.

Note:

Especially the last few lines about the discontinued legacy drivers.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,109050.msg932021/topicseen.html#new

[batzilla]

Well, I put in the pclinuxos 2012.08 LiveCD and got to the same point that I did before.  Went in and changed nvidia to nv, then startx and everything seems to be working fine.  I think I'll check it out for a while with the LiveCD before I decide to make the plunge into installing it.  The only problem I have is, since I use startx as "root", when I open a terminal, I always get the root login.  Even when I choose Konsole-Terminal, I get logged in as root.  How do I get out of root?  Maybe I won't have this problem when I install the new os.?

[Old-Polack]

Well, I put in the pclinuxos 2012.08 LiveCD and got to the same point that I did before.  Went in and changed nvidia to nv, then startx and everything seems to be working fine.  I think I'll check it out for a while with the LiveCD before I decide to make the plunge into installing it.  The only problem I have is, since I use startx as "root", when I open a terminal, I always get the root login.  Even when I choose Konsole-Terminal, I get logged in as root.  How do I get out of root?  Maybe I won't have this problem when I install the new os.?

After the edit to use the nv driver, you can exit the root user login with the command exit. You will be returned to the CLI login prompt where you can log in as guest, with the password guest, then, at the guest user's prompt, issue the startx command.

The alternate method is to issue the init 3 command while still logged in as root, followed by the init 5 command. If you seem to get a hang after the init 3 command, and no prompt returns, just press the Enter key, and the prompt will return.

The init 5 command will bring you to the GUI login screen, where you can log in as guest in the usual manner.

[batzilla]

Thanks a million, Old-Polack.   I've really learned a lot through all this.  I hope to continue learning with future posts.