kernel updates get hardy boot stuck in busy box
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wubi |
Incomplete
|
Undecided
|
Agostino Russo | ||
linux (Ubuntu) |
Invalid
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
I am running Hardy installed through Wubi in Windows XP, installed on an external USB hdd.
Hardy had been working fine for several weeks. After installing a slew of automatic updates and restarting, I got stuck in Busybox. Busy box happened to me once before - turns out I had a USB flash drive plugged in, and it screwed up the boot order. However, this time, this is not the case. It seems to be one of the updates.
I uninstalled Ubuntu from inside XP, downloaded a whole new ISO, checked it with winMd5sum, everything was kosher, it installed inside windows fine. It booted smoothly into Ubuntu. Once in Ubuntu, all I did was install the updates (all 102 of them), restart, and wham! I'm back stuck in Busybox.
All the Busybox issues I can find online are related to install. Installing is not my issue, I can install fine.
Following gatmaitan20's hunch, I installed all the updates except any that said "kernel". Ubuntu restarted just fine.
Here's what I didn't install (some didn't say "kernel", but are tied to others):
linux-generic (2.6.24.17.19)
linux-headers-
linux-headers-
linux-headers-
linux-image-
linux-image-generic
linux-restricte
linux-restricte
linux-ubuntu-
So, starting with the smallest group, I installed the "headers," restarted, and it restarted fine.
So, then I installed only "linux-
That did it. Stuck right in busybox. None of the other updates can be installed separately from that one.
So I'm not installing any besides "headers" until I know what to do.
Hardware:
Dell 4600c
Pentium 4 2.66GHz, 865PE Intel chipset
XFX GeForce 6200 low-profile graphics card, 256 DDR2
1 GB ram (2x 512)
Internal Hard drive is a serial ATA (where XP is)
External Western Digital 320 GB USB drive (where Ubuntu is installed)
Changed in wubi: | |
status: | New → Confirmed |
Changed in wubi: | |
status: | Confirmed → Incomplete |
I also had this problem.
I salvaged my installation, but I'm still not aware of what actually solved the problem. I'm also not sure how stable my system is now.
Here is what I did, but I can't say I figured out the cause-effect relationship. It did lead me to the right path of a working computer.
My intention was to backup my home folder to a networked computer, thinking I would have to do a fresh install, but I ended up fixing the problem (however inelegantly).
My first clue, in retrospect, was that after the upgrade, but before the restart that started the busybox-syndrome, I did look at my menu.lst file, and it looked like a hybrid: it had duplicate sections, with one referencing 2.6.24-17 and the other referencing 2.6.24-16. I trusted that this was normal, or at least acceptable to the OS. Well, maybe it's not.
1) I loaded the LiveCD and started a live session (I'm not sure how you would do this in Wubi but I think you will have a parallel). /answers. launchpad. net/ubuntu/ +question/ 34816
While I was initially able to see my home folder, I couldn't copy it, because I didn't have permisison to do more that look at. So, I asked for help.
References:
https:/
2) I followed Knut's first suggestion to run " 'sudo nautilus' in a terminal. This will open a new window witch have root rights."
Note: I'm not sure if this step was actually necessary, but I did in fact do it. I got a terminal window as expected, but I also got an error message. Regardless, I kept open the terminal window that appeared and used it for the following steps.
3) Because I have some experience editing my menu.lst file to get Ubuntu stable, I went into the folder that houses the file.
4) There I deleted the "hybrid" menu.lst file and restored my menu.backup file from the pre-2.6.24-17 upgrade.
5) I also saw "duplicate" files in the folder: one set for linux 2.6.24-17 and one set for 2.6.24-16. I deleted all the files with 2.6.24-17 in the file name.
I did this because of your successful troubleshooting.
6) Rebooted...all was well.
Now, *what* actually worked? I'm not sure. I'm not in a position to experiment, since I have to keep the computer up and running for my father.
So, the logical question is: "Which kernel am I actually running? -16? or -17?" At this point, I'm not aware how to determine that.
I think we're narrowing down the problem though.