12.04 beta 2 update to 3.2.0-22 destroyed grub configuration

[jerrylamos]

Pangolin 12.04 beta 2 updates are mangling grub. After an update that does a update-grub rebooting results in a:

Purple screen with a few columns of faint black lines at the top.

Sometimes boot-repair disk works, not recently, it repairs to the same purple screen and faint black lines. Attached is the boot-repair disk info.

So I get my multi-partitions going again by installing Lucid Lynx in a spare partition. So far, never fails!

Attached is a copy of the boot-repair info. It said it worked but I got the same purple screen with a few black lines at the top.
With nothing running can't do an ubuntu-bug grub.

Sure would like to know how to save grub & configuration so I could at least boot live and restore them.

Super-Grub2-USB did enable me to get the partition running again, booting usb hybrid iso.

Acer Aspire 5253 notebook AMD Dual-Core Processor E-350, 2 GB memory 15.6" HD LED LCD.

Thanks much,

Jerry

[YannUbuntu (yannubuntu)]

Hi Jerry,
According to your Boot-Repair log, you have correctly reinstalled the GRUB of 11.10 in the MBR of sda. Its update-grub correctly detected 11.10 on sda1 and two 12.04 (on sda2 and sda7).
As you have purple screen, I suggest you try the "Uncomment GFXMODE" option of Boot-Repair.

I see no 10.04, have you installed it on another disk ?

[jerrylamos (jerrylamos)]

YannUbuntu, thanks for your reply.

Here's what's on the Acer Aspire 5253 notebook from 3.2.0-22 grub.cfg:

Ubuntu, with Linux 3.2.0-22-generic-pae
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-33-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 3.2.0-20-generic-pae

Now it's on my table side by side with a Thinkpad T40 which is also a multi-boot various levels of ubuntu having problems with install.

Maybe I do get mixed up remembering what's on which partition.

Thinking about it, the problem could really be that Grub2 sometimes isn't using the correct screen support so the screen is illegible:

VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Wrestler [Radeon HD 6310]
15.6" HD LED LCD

so I wind up with something unreadable when Grub2 boots. So boot repair might be restoring the grub configuration which gives me the same unreadable display. Super-Grub2-USB didn't do that, it just looked for operating systems and allowed me to boot whichever regardless of what the hd installed grub2 would do.

Is there something I could do when powering up to go into a "safe mode" before Grub2 uses whatever display support it's doing??

I could try plugging in an external monitor when this happens - what info would be useful if the Grub2 isn't driving the notebook's display properly?

This problem has been going on from time to time, not always, with Pangolin on this pc. I got so frustrated that it might be garbaging the multiboot with Windoze 7 that I removed that hard drive and replaced it with a spare hard drive. Then when my wife needs the Windoze 7 for something she's doing on web support (proprietary software not available on linux) I plug the original hard drive back in.

Thanks, Jerry

[jerrylamos (jerrylamos)]

YannUbuntu, I just did a (successful) update-grub. Screen output:

sudo update-grub
[sudo] password for jerry:
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-20-generic-pae
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.2.0-20-generic-pae
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
Found Ubuntu 10.04.3 LTS (10.04) on /dev/sda1
Found Ubuntu precise (development branch) (12.04) on /dev/sda2
done

That's where I got the idea of 10.04.

Jerry

[YannUbuntu (yannubuntu)]

ok thanks (BootInfo displayed a wrong information for sda1, i'll report it to its dev)

Concerning your boot problem, you have the bug with GRUB1.99-21 (Precise), but not with GRUB1.98-1 (Lucid). That's a regression. So maybe the GRUB devs would be interested in knowing if you have the bug with GRUB1.99-12 (Oneiric).
Please could you backup your documents, then erase sda2 and install Ubuntu 11.10 ( http://releases.ubuntu.com/11.10 ) on sda2 ? During the installation, let GRUB being installed in sda (not sda2 !). After installation, reboot and tell us if you get to a working GRUB menu.

[jerrylamos (jerrylamos)]

Installed Oneiric and updated. So far no grub failure, but note Pangolin Alpha ran before failures with Beta.
I don't have a clue what causes the problem except an automatic update-grub during an update.

After taxes (April 15 is coming ready or not) I might try looking at Alpha 2 and updating it.

I installed Oneiric because Lucid said the display was "unknown" so I got a stretched 1024x768. I'm not on it right now, I think the 15.6" is a 1360x768 or so. When I get the unreadable screen, hitting enter does not continue boot, nor does waiting for the automatic boot if a grub entry is not chosen.

[Marcus Tomlinson (marcustomlinson)]

This release of Ubuntu is no longer receiving maintenance updates. If this is still an issue on a maintained version of Ubuntu please let us know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for grub2 (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]