Arch Linux

yanalex981

Member

Registered: 2012-07-01

Posts: 22

'/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I'm installing Arch 64 bits from the August disc, and when I get to the part for configuring GRUB using 'grub-install /dev/sda', it just returns with the message "Path '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot. Installation is impossible. Aborting."

Partition layout
sda1 Primary NTFS 24GB
sda5 Logical  swap  8GB
sda6 Logical  ext4   16GB
free space about 450GB

I've also tried having a separate boot partition, making the boot primary, making my root partition primary etc, but they all produce the same result

Eithrial

Member

Registered: 2012-06-22

Posts: 22

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

You can try use this:

modprobe dm-mod

and then do grub-install

yanalex981

Member

Registered: 2012-07-01

Posts: 22

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Tried that, and it still produces the same result

workdowg

Member

Registered: 2010-12-31

Posts: 69

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I'm trying to upgrade grub to grub-bios. Following the wiki I did all the steps explicidly, but when I get to:

grub-install --target --=i386-pc --recheck --debug /dev/sda # this IS where it is

I get:

Path '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot. Installation is impossible. Aborting.

(moderator move where you will...)

ngoonee

Forum Fellow

From: Between Thailand and Singapore

Registered: 2009-03-17

Posts: 7,358

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Are you using Arch or Arch Bang? And I'm merging this to a thread in Newbie corner with the exact same issue.

---

Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

workdowg

Member

Registered: 2010-12-31

Posts: 69

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Are you using Arch or Arch Bang? And I'm merging this to a thread in Newbie corner with the exact same issue.

It was archbang at one time...

yanalex981

Member

Registered: 2012-07-01

Posts: 22

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I'm on Arch Aug 04

2ManyDogs

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2012-01-15

Posts: 4,646

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Are you using Arch or Arch Bang? And I'm merging this to a thread in Newbie corner with the exact same issue.

It was archbang at one time...

What does this mean?

workdowg

Member

Registered: 2010-12-31

Posts: 69

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Are you using Arch or Arch Bang? And I'm merging this to a thread in Newbie corner with the exact same issue.

It was archbang at one time...

What does this mean?

It means I started along time ago with archbang and not much is left...

I gave up on trying to upgrade this system.

I'm installing from the live cd (2012.07.15) as I type... I hope I don't run into the same error...

YngveM

Member

Registered: 2012-08-06

Posts: 1

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I had the same error, however when i just waited with the grub installation until after the "arch-chroot /mnt" command it worked like a charm

javex

Member

Registered: 2011-12-30

Posts: 77

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I had the same error, however when i just waited with the grub installation until after the "arch-chroot /mnt" command it worked like a charm

This seems to describe what some users (including me) are having: The order in which to mount & do stuff:
First: Mount your root partiotion to mnt.
Second: Create all other directories for partiotion (usr, var, boot, home, whatever...)
Third: Mount other partiotions

The problem: Users often create the directories before mounting anything (which cannot work, of course). When using pacstrap it will then create usr, var, etc. and assume they should be on root. My test if I did it right was: After running genfstab check that your fstab is filled with all expected entries. If that worked, your problem should not occur anymore.

Regards,
javex

Edit: Another indication might be that arch-chroot dies with something that says it can't chroot because it can't find /bin/bash or similar shells.

Last edited by javex (2012-08-06 16:11:06)

2ManyDogs

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2012-01-15

Posts: 4,646

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

The problem: Users often create the directories before mounting anything (which cannot work, of course). When using pacstrap it will then create usr, var, etc. and assume they should be on root. My test if I did it right was: After running genfstab check that your fstab is filled with all expected entries. If that worked, your problem should not occur anymore.

That's why the Beginners' Guide clearly tells people to mount root at /mnt, and then create the home directory and mount the home partition there, and why the BG also tells people to be sure to check their fstab after running genfstab. I'm not sure how much clearer it could be, but if you have ideas please share them (or edit the wiki -- it's a community effort).

And Dspider was talking about merging the two bootloader sections (install and configure) to make it clearer, but I see he has not done this yet. Maybe if I have time later I'll do another net install so I can see how exactly the two sections could be merged.

Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2012-08-06 16:17:55)

workdowg

Member

Registered: 2010-12-31

Posts: 69

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I had the same error, however when i just waited with the grub installation until after the "arch-chroot /mnt" command it worked like a charm

I did follow the instructions, I of course was in the chroot when I ran it. I also tried from the live cd, chrooted in and got the same issue. I then formatted my / and /boot and re-installed arch... No problems. Well, other than having to reconfigure my system (it is fun for me though).

iamsmrt

Member

Registered: 2009-08-12

Posts: 138

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

I'm getting the same issue and I tried starting from scratch and reformatting my boot/root partitions. I made sure to mount boot/home after I mounted my root partition to /mnt, chroot and install grub from there. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

FirstWizardZorander

Member

Registered: 2007-01-29

Posts: 21

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

iamsmrt, are you running systemd by any chance? I do, and it seems that the systemd-tools package provides libudev.so.1, which replaces libudev.so.0, which is required by grub-probe. Doing this symlink:

# ln -s /usr/lib/libudev.so.1 /usr/lib/libudev.so.0

when chrooted will make grub-probe work, and grub-install will complete without errors.

iamsmrt

Member

Registered: 2009-08-12

Posts: 138

Re: '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot

Nope, I'm not running systemd yet but I plan on moving over soon. I was able to "figure" it out, I reformatted / and /boot a few times, rebuilt partition tables and things finally went smoothly.