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#1 2010-07-26 02:15:55

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

[SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

Hello all,

I tried to install Arch Linux onto an external hard drive, I made a root partition (ext3), and a little swap space. I flagged the root partition "boot" and I installed the grub loader onto the dev/sdb/ (not the root partition). Looked like a successful installation, but when I restarted grub was loading and quit part way with the Error 17: cannot mount selected partition...  the line above that stated "/boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sdb1 ro. sdb1 is my root partition. Since grub didn't fully load I'm assuming something is awry with it, perhaps the menu.lst. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Note: I would appreciate as much detail in the correction process as possible. I'm very interested big_smile

Thanks!

ALSO: I followed the beginners guide to the T

Last edited by oldstutz (2010-07-27 03:19:58)

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#2 2010-07-26 02:22:37

fsckd
Forum Fellow
Registered: 2009-06-15
Posts: 4,173

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition


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#3 2010-07-26 02:25:45

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

I'll give it a shot, during installation I'll use the UUID option. Thanks

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#4 2010-07-26 02:51:04

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

Ok, I used UUID, and I got the same results, this time tho instead of "root=/dev/sdb1 ro" It had a long string of things and UUID in the mix. I read somewhere a similar problem, and they said something about because it is an external hard drive, grub confuses its hd(x,x) position or what not, but it didn't say how to fix it...

Anyways, I'm off for tonight, I'll try again tommorrow.

Last edited by oldstutz (2010-07-26 02:55:09)

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#5 2010-07-26 03:05:19

cesura
Package Maintainer (PM)
From: Tallinn, Estonia
Registered: 2010-01-23
Posts: 1,867

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

I remember I got an Error 17 a while back. IIRC resintalling GRUB from a live cd fixed it. I don't know how that work as that in theory wouldn't fix this error, but it seemed to work then.

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#6 2010-07-26 03:29:48

fsckd
Forum Fellow
Registered: 2009-06-15
Posts: 4,173

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

Oops, should have said show us your menu.lst. Oh well ...


aur S & M :: forum rules :: Community Ethos
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#7 2010-07-26 03:31:39

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst

# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
#
#  Linux           Grub
# -------------------------
#  /dev/fd0        (fd0)
#  /dev/sda        (hd0)
#  /dev/sdb2       (hd1,1)
#  /dev/sda3       (hd0,2)
#

#  FRAMEBUFFER RESOLUTION SETTINGS
#     +-------------------------------------------------+
#          | 640x480    800x600    1024x768   1280x1024
#      ----+--------------------------------------------
#      256 | 0x301=769  0x303=771  0x305=773   0x307=775
#      32K | 0x310=784  0x313=787  0x316=790   0x319=793
#      64K | 0x311=785  0x314=788  0x317=791   0x31A=794
#      16M | 0x312=786  0x315=789  0x318=792   0x31B=795
#     +-------------------------------------------------+
#  for more details and different resolutions see
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRU … Resolution

# general configuration:
timeout   5
default   0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue

# boot sections follow
# each is implicitly numbered from 0 in the order of appearance below
#
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
#
#-*

# (0) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux
root   (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/0f3ab826-ffab-4f59-ae77-935b8933b431 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img

# (1) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux Fallback
root   (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/0f3ab826-ffab-4f59-ae77-935b8933b431 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26-fallback.img

# (2) Windows
#title Windows
#rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#makeactive
#chainloader +1



Off for tonight, this time for real lol. Thanks again for all help

Last edited by oldstutz (2010-07-26 03:32:28)

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#8 2010-07-26 04:11:53

jasonwryan
Anarchist
From: .nz
Registered: 2009-05-09
Posts: 30,424
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

If you want to boot Arch from an external hard drive, you need to include USB in your mkinitcpio hooks: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mkinitcpio

Arch Wiki wrote:

Adds USB modules to the image. Use this if your root device is on a USB mass storage device or if your USB mass storage device needs to be accessed otherwise (checked, mounted, etc.) at boot time.


Arch + dwm   •   Mercurial repos  •   Surfraw

Registered Linux User #482438

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#9 2010-07-26 19:23:38

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

I read through the material, and it makes sense that I need to install the usb module. Unfortunately I don't know how. I'm guessing its during the "configuration" phase that I edit one of the files. I tried typing "usb" in the parenthesis where you load modules manually but it didn't work sad Any help would be fantastic!

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#10 2010-07-26 19:27:20

karol
Archivist
Registered: 2009-05-06
Posts: 25,440

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

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#11 2010-07-26 19:34:51

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

Thanks for the post, I'm going to give the link's suggestion a shot!

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#12 2010-07-26 19:51:15

jasonwryan
Anarchist
From: .nz
Registered: 2009-05-09
Posts: 30,424
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

oldstutz wrote:

I read through the material, and it makes sense that I need to install the usb module. Unfortunately I don't know how. I'm guessing its during the "configuration" phase that I edit one of the files. I tried typing "usb" in the parenthesis where you load modules manually but it didn't work sad Any help would be fantastic!

You edit your mkinitcpio.conf file, add usb to your hooks array and then rebuild the image: the wiki page has all the info: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mkinitcpio


Arch + dwm   •   Mercurial repos  •   Surfraw

Registered Linux User #482438

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#13 2010-07-26 19:55:08

cesura
Package Maintainer (PM)
From: Tallinn, Estonia
Registered: 2010-01-23
Posts: 1,867

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

For future reference on what each GRUB error means, kindly refer to:
http://www.uruk.org/orig-grub/errors.html

Knowing what the problem is is half the battle! wink

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#14 2010-07-27 02:07:43

oldstutz
Member
Registered: 2010-07-26
Posts: 24

Re: [SOLVED] Error 17: cannot mount selected partition

OK, so I finally got a successful boot. I added usb to the hooks. However, I still got the error 17. I had to push "e" during the grub menu, and edit the (hd1,0) to (hd0,0). I always thought my external drive was the (hd1,0), why was grub sensing it as (hd0,0), and how can I make that change permanent? Thanks again, I apologize for overlooking the section on mkinitcpio. FIXED!!!

Had to edit menu.lst lol


THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!

Last edited by oldstutz (2010-07-27 03:15:49)

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