New Install Won't boot after GRUB

johnnymike · 2012-10-14 23:39:04

I have been using ArchBang for the past year and a half so I finally thought that I knew enough about Linux to try installing a true Arch Linux system.

I followed the beginner instructions carefully and was able to successfully install my system (or at least I thought) and GRUB. I am currently running my system on a Dell inspiron with two separate hard drives. The primary drive is the one I am trying to install Arch on while I have Windows 7 installed on the second drive.

The drive I installed Arch on is /dev/sde. I think that I successfully installed GRUB given that when I boot my computer it goes into GRUB and shows both my Arch Linux install and my Windows 7 system and when I select Windows 7 in GRUB it successfully boots.

But when I selected my Arch install in GRUB the system does not boot. It just shows:

/dev/sda1: clean, 31087/3751936 files, 478966/15000685 blocks

and then I am left with a blinking cursor and after a few minutes I get:

Welcome to emergency mode. Use "systemctl default" or ^D to enter default mode.
Give root password for maintance:

Anyone one how I fix this? Do I need to reinstall? As I said before I didn't receive any errors during the install and GRUB seems to be working correctly. Please remember that I am a newbie but please help!

alexanderthegre · 2012-10-14 23:49:34

What happens when you hit <ctrl>-d ?

Trilby · 2012-10-15 00:01:32

No you don't need to reinstall, you do need to fix your grub configuration though. It sounds like it is not properly pointing to the root partition.

Post your grub config and your partitioning scheme.

WonderWoofy · 2012-10-15 00:32:43

Are you using /dev/sdeX for your bootloader? With two disks, you are better off using UUIDs or LABELs. I personally use UUIDs, but also label all my partitions so that I can have a human readable form if I need to boot from something like the UEFI shell.

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 01:41:21

Trilby wrote:

No you don't need to reinstall, you do need to fix your grub configuration though. It sounds like it is not properly pointing to the root partition.
Post your grub config and your partitioning scheme.

Partition Scheme from lsblk output:

Name MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 931G 0 disk
sda1 8:1 0 57G 0 disk /
sda2 8:2 0 7G 0 disk
sda3 8:3 0 866G 0 disk
sdb 8:16 0 111G 0 disk
sdb 1 8:17 0 111G 0 disk
sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 disk

I don't now if this output of the partition table is what you want given that the lsblk is the only command I am familiar with. The sdb disk is where the windows install is.

Here is the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file:

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot-once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
saved_env saved_entry
fi
}
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
}
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ]; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd4,msdos1'
if [x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd4,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd4,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci4, msdos1 9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=en_US
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_input console
terminal_output gfxterm
set timeout=5
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch GNU/Linux, with Linux core repo kernel' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-core repo kernel-true-9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd4,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd4,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd4,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci4, msdos1 9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0
fi
echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
linux /boot/vmlinux-linux root=UUID=9fd0e01-89b1-494c-908f-e89db34d80e0 ro quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtext86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtext86+ ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sdf1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-44F084A6F0849FB2' {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root="hd5,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd4,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd4,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci4, msdos1 44F084A6F0849FB2
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 44F084A6F0849FB2
fi
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This files provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

Last edited by johnnymike (2012-10-15 01:52:09)

Trilby · 2012-10-15 01:45:19

Please edit your post to used code tags like

this

for all the code.

Also, I was asking about your partitioning scheme, not what was actually mounted at the time you ran the command. In other words, what are the intended mount points, or what partitions have you selected for what purposes (boot, root, home, swap, others such as var/usr ...)

Something is odd about your disk numbers too. How many disks do you have? I assumed the sde in your first post was a typo, but your grub config refers to an sde and sdf - but your block device listing only shows sda and sdb.

Last edited by Trilby (2012-10-15 01:47:51)

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 01:57:56

Trilby wrote:

Please edit your post to used code tags like
this
for all the code.
Also, I was asking about your partitioning scheme, not what was actually mounted at the time you ran the command. In other words, what are the intended mount points, or what partitions have you selected for what purposes (boot, root, home, swap, others such as var/usr ...)
Something is odd about your disk numbers too. How many disks do you have? I assumed the sde in your first post was a typo, but your grub config refers to an sde and sdf - but your block device listing only shows sda and sdb.

Sorry about not properly posting the code.

Anyways, when I was partitioning using cfdisk during the install, the disk was labeled /dev/sde and the root, swap, and home partitions where labeled as sde1, sde2, and sde3 respectively. This was the same labeling I got after writing the partition table to the disk and running the lsblk command as per the Arch Linux install instructions.

Also, I thought the same thing about the disk numbers as well. When I was running ArchBang I was using an older version of grub with a /boot/grub/menu.lst file and in that file my Linux drive was hd0 and my windows drive was hd1. Now for some reason they are hd4 and hd5.

alexanderthegre · 2012-10-15 03:37:47

This really doesn't look like a grub issue to me; given that it talks about systemctl, you probably just installed today and it asks for the root password (IIRC bootloaders can't do this), it seems to be a problem with systemd...
As it asks for the root password, what sort of prompt do you get if you give it?

Trilby · 2012-10-15 03:41:42

Alexander, this is the expected result if there is no initramfs or the root partition can't be mounted. Hence my suspicion that there is an error in the grub configs, but as I don't use grub(2) I can barely make heads or tales of those configs.

Edit: speaking of which, you only have one boot entry for arch, and it uses the fallback initramfs. Is there a reason for this?

Last edited by Trilby (2012-10-15 03:44:04)

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 03:46:36

alexanderthegre wrote:

This really doesn't look like a grub issue to me; given that it talks about systemctl, you probably just installed today and it asks for the root password (IIRC bootloaders can't do this), it seems to be a problem with systemd...
As it asks for the root password, what sort of prompt do you get if you give it?

I don't think it's a GRUB issue either as GRUB seems to be working fine. I did just install the system today and I am in the point in the Beginner's install guide after you update the system and reboot for the first time. This problem is occuring after the first reboot of the freshly installed system. If you hit ^D it just gives you a blinking cursor. If you give the root password I am able to get root access, i.e. I get the [root@ArchLinuxPC~]# prompt where ArchLinuxPC is the hostname of my system.

I just assumed that when I rebooted that it would do something similar to the boot page I would get for my ArchBang system where it would boot the init Linux 2.88 and start and load all of the daemons and modules but then instead of opening a window manager like openbox (given that I haven't yet installed a window manager) that I would then get my user prompt for the user I created during the install.

Trilby · 2012-10-15 03:49:37

Johnny, it sounds like a bad initramfs. I suspect the update included a kernel update which in turned rebuilt the initramfs, you should rebuild them again with `mkinitcpio -p linux`.

Edit: you will not likely be able to do this from the recovery shell. You can either manually mount your root partition in the recovery shell then rebuild the initramfs, or you can use the live media and chroot. The latter is a few more steps, but may be easier as there is a well written wiki page on exactly how to do it.

Last edited by Trilby (2012-10-15 03:53:11)

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 03:49:48

Trilby wrote:

Alexander, this is the expected result if there is no initramfs or the root partition can't be mounted. Hence my suspicion that there is an error in the grub configs, but as I don't use grub(2) I can barely make heads or tales of those configs.
Edit: speaking of which, you only have one boot entry for arch, and it uses the fallback initramfs. Is there a reason for this?

I am a complete newbie to installing a more advanced Linux system like Arch so I just followed the GRUB installation wiki and ran the command

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

to automatically generate my GRUB config as per the instructions in the installation guide.

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 03:53:32

I forgot to mention that I ran the command

pacman -S os-prober

before creating my GRUB config file. Hence, why my grub.cfg file looks semi-sophisticated for a newbie and why it properly accounts for my windows install.

WonderWoofy · 2012-10-15 03:55:58

Well, since grub2 configures the config file for you, it actually just looks like you have os-prober installed. Maybe it would be better to post /etc/default/grub as that is where the user configurations are stored.

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 04:00:01

Trilby wrote:

Johnny, it sounds like a bad initramfs. I suspect the update included a kernel update which in turned rebuilt the initramfs, you should rebuild them again with `mkinitcpio -p linux`.
Edit: you will not likely be able to do this from the recovery shell. You can either manually mount your root partition in the recovery shell then rebuild the initramfs, or you can use the live media and chroot. The latter is a few more steps, but may be easier as there is a well written wiki page on exactly how to do it.

Triby, I tried running the mkinitcpio command like you said within the recovery shell and it seemed to go through successfully BUT I just rebooted and it is still doing the same thing.

Now you are saying that in the live media method what I would have to do it boot from the live cd, and then run

arch-chroot /mnt

to chroot and then try running the command you suggested?

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 04:17:54

WonderWoofy wrote:

Well, since grub2 configures the config file for you, it actually just looks like you have os-prober installed. Maybe it would be better to post /etc/default/grub as that is where the user configurations are stored.

Contents of /etc/default/grub

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_DEFAULT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTER="Arch"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
GRUB_PRELOAD_MODULES="part_gpt part_msdos"
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=5
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=console
#GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT=console
GRUB_GFXMODE=auto
GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep
#GRUB-DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true
GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY=true
#GRUB_COLOR_NORMAL="light-blue/black"
#GRUB_COLOR_HIGHLIGHT="light-cyan/blue"
#GRUB_BACKGROUND="/path/to/wallpaper"
#GRUB_THEME="/path/to/gfxtheme"
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"
#GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT="true"

WonderWoofy · 2012-10-15 04:19:09

Wow, that is the most default config since I last used grub2. I guess there is nothing to see here... sorry.

piie · 2012-10-15 13:43:18

Had same problem here... This brought me a bit further:

- log in with your root password
- # mount -o rw,remount /
- edit /etc/fstab for / filesystem to this:
/dev/sda1 / auto defaults,nofail 0 0

Now login prompt is there, but / fs is still mounted "ro" by default.

BTW: I think switching to systemd was a big error because IMHO it breaks archlinux's "kiss" philosophy

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 17:40:59

I think that I might have figured it out. I remounted my / filesystem and opened the fstab file to look at it. In the file my partitions where labeled sde1, sde2, and sde3 not sda1, sda2, sda3 that the current lsblk output is showing. This made sense though given that as I said before when I was doing the install I was using sdeX throughout.

Anyways, I went into my fstab file and manually changed the partition labels to sda1, sda2, sda3. I then wrote the file, exited, and rebooted my system and now it shows the line

/dev/sda1: clean, 31087/3751936 files, 478966/15000685 blocks

as before but the screen then blinks and then I get the usual thing I would expect from my experience with ArchBang, i.e.

Arch Linux 3.5.6.1-ARCH (tty1)
ArchLinuxPC login: _

and from this I can do things like login into to the user I created during the install and connect to wifi.

Does this mean that modifying the fstab fixed the problem? As I said before, I have never installed a true Arch Linux system before so I don't know what I is actually supposed to happen after I exit the chroot after configuring the system and then reboot for the first time during the install process. Can someone please respond as to whether I can now continue with the remainder of the install process or let me know how I can check whether or not the system, at this point at least, is good to go?

johnnymike · 2012-10-15 17:46:03

Well one thing that may be an indicator that something is still wrong is that I'm not able to use the sudo command. When I try to use it like I did when using ArchBang I get:

~bash: sudo: command not found

akhsig · 2012-10-15 18:03:12

You may just need to install the sudo package from the official repo.

pacman -S sudo

Arch Linux

#1 2012-10-14 23:39:04

New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#2 2012-10-14 23:49:34

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#3 2012-10-15 00:01:32

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#4 2012-10-15 00:32:43

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#5 2012-10-15 01:41:21

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#6 2012-10-15 01:45:19

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#7 2012-10-15 01:57:56

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#8 2012-10-15 03:37:47

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#9 2012-10-15 03:41:42

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#10 2012-10-15 03:46:36

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#11 2012-10-15 03:49:37

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#12 2012-10-15 03:49:48

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#13 2012-10-15 03:53:32

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#14 2012-10-15 03:55:58

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#15 2012-10-15 04:00:01

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#16 2012-10-15 04:17:54

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#17 2012-10-15 04:19:09

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#18 2012-10-15 13:43:18

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#19 2012-10-15 17:40:59

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#20 2012-10-15 17:46:03

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

#21 2012-10-15 18:03:12

Re: New Install Won't boot after GRUB

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