Arch Linux

AlexC_

Member

Registered: 2008-07-14

Posts: 14

GRUB2, GPT - "unknown filesystem", "you need to load the kernel first"

Morning,

I am trying to install Arch Linux on a Vertex 2E SSD using GRUB2 and GPT, however once I had successfully installed GRUB2 and restarted after I installed Arch Linux, GRUB is unable to boot it with errors such as "unknown filesystem" followed by "you need to load the kernel first".

I have /dev/sda1 as my BIOS Grub partition (bios_grub flag in gparted) @1MiB, /dev/sda2 as /boot and /dev/sda3 as /

This is the entry in my /boot/grub/grub.cfg which does not look right to me at all:

menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd0,3)
linux /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda2 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
}

Please could someone show me how to install GRUB2 within this Arch Linux installation, and configure it so it will boot it?

I've been at it for hours =(

Last edited by AlexC_ (2011-03-19 20:50:54)

socker

Member

Registered: 2009-12-30

Posts: 2

Re: GRUB2, GPT - "unknown filesystem", "you need to load the kernel first"

# (0) Arch Linux
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd0,gpt3)
linux /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/0725acf3-f312-472c-b3a6-e49b3629115d ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
}

Where both my / and /boot is at /dev/sda3, or "0725acf3-f312-472c-b3a6-e49b3629115d" if you so like. This with GRUB2 and GPT.

cylverbak

Member

Registered: 2010-11-04

Posts: 60

Re: GRUB2, GPT - "unknown filesystem", "you need to load the kernel first"

@AlexC_
Does this link help at all. Sounds like the same situation I was in.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=114420

siriusb

Member

From: Hungary

Registered: 2010-01-01

Posts: 422

Re: GRUB2, GPT - "unknown filesystem", "you need to load the kernel first"

First of all you don't need the /boot prefix in linux and initrd lines, since you have a separate boot partition. When your / partition includes your /boot folder, too, you need that prefix, but you said /dev/sda2 is your boot partition.

Also, you can move your set root line from all menuentries to the "general" section of your grub.cfg, (it is before all the menuentries) so it will control every entry. I suggest to replace it with

search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root UUID

where UUID is your /boot partition's (sda2) UUID.

sudo blkid

will tell you what you need. This way you make sure this partition will be found in any case.