boot error

[oracle1]

since installing 9.10 I have the following errors apearing when I boot

one or more of the mounts listed in /etc/fstab/ cannot yet be mounted swap waiting for uuid 6182 etc press esc to enter a recovery shell

then when I login i get

no command arguement supplied usage kdesudo [-u <runas>] <command> kde sudo will now exit

can anyone shed any light on this. It happened when I upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10

[lmilano]

Re: boot error

What do you mean exactly by "login"? Can you login to a shell (command line)? A graphical environment?

Can you run this? "cat /etc/fstab" and show us the contents? It seems as if there is an issue with the swap. If you know how to edit fstab as root, you can add a "#" at the beginning of any line declaring a swap partition and try again ...

[oracle1]

Re: boot error

oracle1@oracle1-desktop:~$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --uuid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=4be56fe3-7cfc-49de-a3ec-7ea949b909a8 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=6182436f-0a03-4c02-9171-b45e02da6a64 none swap sw 0 0
#debian partition
UUID=e6f55a5d-cc41-4da6-8ac3-c6d5e4d4565a /media/sda7 ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0
oracle1@oracle1-desktop:~$

I select the kernel I want to boot in Grub, and it loads up and asks for a password in the graphical environment. I can usually type in a few characters and then automatically it will drop back to a dark screen with the kubuntu logo and with the error message with hit esc to shell in it in blue low res type and then it goes back to the graphical password screen I enter my password it boots normally into full system and issues the runas no argument error. After that situation is normal O/S bulletproof.

To all that have helped me with linux the initial hardship of learning the O/S has passed and I am now truly amazed at its stability. On the odd occasion that I use XP or 7 I'm just not impressed. Even if Linux has errors or hardware changes it boots no matter what. My life has changed for the better, thanks

oracle1

[oracle1]

Re: boot error

ahhh yes and I have had previous problems because of debian on one/ the final of three partitions. I never use it is it worth keeping? Can I remove it?

cheers

[lmilano]

Re: boot error

It seems as if you hit this bug:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...ll/+bug/483205

You may want to subscribe to it. Although the Canonical maintainer seems not consider it a bug! Anyway, what's in the /media/sda7 partition? Do you need it? You may want to use "kdesudo kate" in konsole to run kate in superuser mode, and add a "#" in front of all entries but "/", and see if you get a good boot. Then you add the rest one by one (remove the "#"). I am not sure, but that could help! Please be careful when dealing with /etc/fstab! Please keep a copy somewhere, you can restore it from the live CD if needed.

Cheers!
Leo

[barbolani]

Re: boot error

I'd try removing the two last lines first. In theory, the "noauto" option should exclude them from being mounted at boot time, but there could be some other thing attempting to mount them.

/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0

[oracle1]

Re: boot error

debian was the last install I suspect it in sda7. I have found before that to alter the boot I have to do it from the debian partition, Is this the case with etc/fstab file do I have to find this on the debian partition?

[lmilano]

Re: boot error

debian was the last install I suspect it in sda7. I have found before that to alter the boot I have to do it from the debian partition, Is this the case with etc/fstab file do I have to find this on the debian partition?

I am not sure I follow exactly what you say. But I think I do: it seems as if you first installed kubuntu, and later on debian on the third partition. Is that the case?

It also seems that debian installed grub on the boot sector of the only drive, so you need to boot to debian to change certain things.

Multibooting is certainly possible but you need to know a little bit your way around with bootloaders (grub in this case).

You may want to just reinstall grub to the MBR from kubuntu. To do that:

1. Get a clean boot to kubuntu.
2. Install grub to the MBR. If you only have a disk, it should be this "sudo grub-install /dev/sda"

Please be careful, fooling around with grub and MBR's is always risky. You can read more here:
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...2dinstall.html

Cheers!

[oracle1]

Re: boot error

Yes I installed Windoze first then kubuntu second and finally debian so that I could dabble with debian as my experience level rose. All partitions are on one hard drive. However when I installed Debian It altered the MBR so that it had control of the relevant boot files and I have had a few conflicts since. I suppose the question is do I really need Debian, I never use it and it is distinctly harder to use than Kubuntu. The other question is do I simply alter the MBR to put kubuntu in charge and leave the debian partition alone, or do I delete the debian partition all together. Do I need to learn debian as some of my hard core friends are telling me to? Kubuntu seems to be working great for me.

[lmilano]

Re: boot error

Hi

You don't need to remove the partition really, just overwrite the MBR using grub from the Kubuntu boot. However, you may want to remove it in the future and make more room for Kubuntu. One step at a time though.

As for Debian, I have nothing but gratitude for the Debian folks, without who Kubuntu would not be possible. However, I agree it is harder to use, and I would say that there is no reason for you to learn how to do things the hard way, unless you are planning to do System Administration of Debian systems or something along these lines. I am sure your friends mean well, I simply don't think their suggestion will bring anything to the table for you.

Cheers!

[Qqmike]

Re: boot error

As lmilano says, you simply need to reinstall GRUB (from your Kubuntu to your MBR); no need to delete any OSs or partitions.

See the sections titled "re-installing GRUB" (which you can do when booted into your Kubuntu):

If using GRUB 2 (1.96 or 1.97+):
GRUB 2 A Guide for Users
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3106368.0
(re: sudo grub-install /dev/sdx)

If using GRUB legacy (0.97):
-- How To GRUB Methods - Toolkit
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081671.0
(re: root-setup-quit)

[oracle1]

Re: boot error

Im not sure I am game to fiddle with the MBR can I edit the file fstab in debian and resolve it that way I have been succesful with this method before

[verndog]

Re: boot error

Im not sure I am game to fiddle with the MBR can I edit the file fstab in debian and resolve it that way I have been succesful with this method before

Ok then. Output the following two commands, from konsole:

sudo fdisk -l
sudo blkid

So we can line up your UUID ouputs to your fstab.

[lmilano]

Re: boot error

Thanks a lot, Verndog, for chiming in, I know you have the expertise to help if oracle1 goes this way. Let me just point out that this will be very hard to maintain. Every time there is a kernel upgrade in Kubuntu, oracle1 will need to boot in Debian and then change things manually. Also, I think the needed change is not really in fstab, but in the menu.lst of the Debian partition, though I might be wrong.

Another option would be to plug in a cheap USB pendrive, boot to Kubuntu, and install Kubuntu's grub to the MBR of the USB drive. Then, set up the BIOS to boot from that USB drive.

[verndog]

Re: boot error

Thanks a lot, Verndog, for chiming in, I know you have the expertise to help if oracle1 goes this way. Let me just point out that this will be very hard to maintain. Every time there is a kernel upgrade in Kubuntu, oracle1 will need to boot in Debian and then change things manually. Also, I think the needed change is not really in fstab, but in the menu.lst of the Debian partition, though I might be wrong.

Another option would be to plug in a cheap USB pendrive, boot to Kubuntu, and install Kubuntu's grub to the MBR of the USB drive. Then, set up the BIOS to boot from that USB drive.

lmilano, your obsoletely correct in your assessment. oracle1, said he didn't want to mess with grub, I just wanted to get a larger picture.

In fact the best picture is to run the script boot-info-script. It will give us wide screen view of what he's up against.