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    #1

    Mending a broken install

    I have two KDE 3.58 installs on hda, one which i've got set up precisely as i like it and which runs like a well-oiled machine; and one which no longer boots, because since i installed it, i've changed the partitions around a bit. If i try to boot it, it tries, but then dies with UUID errors.

    I would, however, like sometime to try KDE 4.0, but i don't wish to re-install (yet again ), so my question is: can i simply copy the boot sequence of my present good install ( / on hda2, /home on hda3) to the broken one ( / on hda5, /home on hda6), boot it, and then upgrade it?

    Would this be successful?
    If so, could someone please tell me what file(s) i need to copy?
    Tags: None
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    #2
    Re: Mending a broken install

    Could it be the menu.lst file pointing to the wrong partition? Can you edit GRUB to point to the device/part and not the UUID?
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      #3
      Re: Mending a broken install

      UUID errors can be overcome with a CTRL + D and your back in the system. Then just add the proper values into your fstab.
      Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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        #4
        Re: Mending a broken install

        Originally posted by toad
        UUID errors can be overcome with a CTRL + D and your back in the system. Then just add the proper values into your fstab.
        Hmmm, forgot about that . That's definitely where I'd check.
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          #5
          Re: Mending a broken install

          Thank you for the replies.

          @ MoonRise - i don't want to risk editing Grub, the system is running too well for me to risk that - and i'm prone to making mistakes if things are complicated.....

          @ toad - how do i do that, please (add the values) ? That is, so long as it won't endanger my present 3.58 install (and XP on hda1)
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            #6
            Re: Mending a broken install

            toad is right about Control+D. Those errors are common. You are getting that error because you did some re-partitioning. (I also get them all the time with all my messing around with partitions and OSs.)


            If you were to do a fresh install of another instance of Gutsy, say on hda5, you could do it without messing up your GRUB boot as follows:

            Use the Live Kubuntu Desktop installer.
            Choose “Manual” partitioning method (in Step 4, I think?).
            At Step 6, BEFORE pressing Finish, click the Advanced button at lower right, and type where you want GRUB to go. A safe place would be (hd0,4) which is the same as saying hda5 = your new Kubuntu partition.

            Then you will have no way to boot into your new hda5 Kubuntu!
            So, to boot into it temporarily, re-boot, at your regular GRUB menu, hit the “c” key,
            type at the grub> prompt:
            chainloader (hd0,4)+1

            (space after chainloader)

            That puts you into the menu.lst on hda5, where you can select the topmost entry to get into your new Kubuntu Gutsy there.

            To fix the boot permanently to include your new hda5 Kubuntu, copy the boot entry for your new Kubuntu (the title-root-kernel-initrd lines) from the /boot/grub/menu.lst on hda5, and put that entry into your regular GRUB /boot/grub/menu.lst on hda2 (? -- right? that's where your good Kubuntu is? -- the one that controls the boot menu?).

            That's what I know this Saturday morning,

            Mike
            An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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              #7
              Re: Mending a broken install

              To get your UUIDs back

              sudo vol_id -u /dev/hdxNUMER_or_sdxNUMBER

              then copy and paste the output against the relevant entry in your fstab.
              Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                #8
                Re: Mending a broken install

                That will show them. I just do
                Code:
                blkid
                in the Konsole and leave that window open while I edit /etc/fstab with Kate in another window. 8)
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                  #9
                  Re: Mending a broken install

                  well, why didn't you say so in the first place Wicked!
                  Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                    #10
                    Re: Mending a broken install

                    Originally posted by dibl
                    That will show them. I just do
                    Code:
                    blkid
                    in the Konsole and leave that window open while I edit /etc/fstab with Kate in another window. 8)
                    What is "blkid"? Can I run that without it altering anything?
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                      #11
                      Re: Mending a broken install

                      UUIDs, listing:
                      From Live CD and HD: ls /dev/disk/by-uuid/ -alh
                      From HD (only): blkid

                      (they just display the UUIds -- nothing else)
                      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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                        #12
                        Re: Mending a broken install

                        Code:
                        man blkid
                        man (manual) is your friend in Linux.
                        Windows no longer obstruct my view.
                        Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                        "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                          #13
                          Re: Mending a broken install

                          Safe as houses. ALWAYS check the man page first, then try:

                          ingo@debtop:~$ blkid
                          /dev/sda1: UUID="a764c5f9-eb23-4744-a262-9c336f37b472" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
                          /dev/sda2: UUID="bb34fbac-f028-439a-a425-6e3d6a108cab" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
                          /dev/sda3: UUID="125e44c5-58fb-4062-bef3-a6fff7628dc1" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
                          /dev/sda5: UUID="04621977-d216-4c21-8d07-4ad466253213" TYPE="swap"
                          /dev/sda6: UUID="f535bce0-2f8c-49b5-9ed8-c3f0de20c36b" SEC_TYPE="ext2" TYPE="ext3"
                          ingo@debtop:~$
                          Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                            #14
                            Re: Mending a broken install

                            Cool!! Thanks!
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                              #15
                              Re: Mending a broken install

                              Thank you - all - for the help and advice.

                              @ Qqmike - i tried installing / to hda5 (formatted) with hda6 as /home, and Grub installed to (hd0,4), but got a message something like: "Error unpacking Grub to (hd0,4). This is a fatal error.", and when i clicked "OK" the installer disappeared, and i then couldn't boot either installation.
                              So i reinstalled / to hda2 and /home to hda3 again.

                              So i'm back to square one.

                              Possibly this "Fatal error" was caused by hda4 being an extended partition which contains hda5, hda6, & hda7...?
                              *shrugs*

                              It works now anyway, thank you for the help and advice.

                              Life is a constant process of learning....
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