GRUB Bootloader Recovery????

$SOLID$ Necro · 12-August-06, 03:31 AM

I am posting this here for my friend Alpha, he is stuck and needs your help, so any info you might have would be most appreciated! Sorry for the formatting, I am doing a copy paste!

"I have RedHat 9 (2.4.something - I forget what it is exactly) kernel
running on the following system (specs):
MSI KT4AV-L
AMD Duron 1.8 GHz
2x 256 MB PC2100
512 MB PC2100
Promise SX6000 6-channel ATA RAID HBA
4x Hitachi 250 GB 7.2krpm ATA/100 (RAID5)
Netgear GA311 GbE NIC
Powercolor ATi Radeon 9000 32MB (or something like that; I forget what that is specifically as well)
I recently either had a power outage of I tripped the breaker (again)
and that resulted in an improper shutdown of the system
all of them came back online fine; except for that one
it throws me into the grub prompt (i.e. grub>)
my question is "how do I recover the boot configuration/settings?"

Other details below:

GRUB version 0.93 (634K lower / 1047488K upper memory)
[ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB
lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists the possible completions of a device/filename.]
grub> root (hd0,
Possible partitions are:
Partition num: 0, Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
Partition num: 1, Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82
grub> root (hd0,0)
Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
grub> kernel /boot
Error 15: File not found
grub> kernel /lost+found/ (lotsa numbers)
grub> root (hd0,1)
Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82
grub> kernel /
Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition

Also:

I don't have a boot floppy available for it (nor do I know how to create one)
I do have an Ubuntu live CD on standby if needed
and that preserving the 750 GB of data on the RAID5 array is absolutely crucial.

Ras Qulec · 12-August-06, 02:01 PM

Looking at the partition type, partition 1 on hd0 is your swap partition.
If all of your hard drives are in the RAID array [as your specs indicate] then partition 0 on hd0 should be that set.

The kernel command requires the name of the kernel [such as /vmlinux] using root(hd0,0)

You may need to find out the kernel version you had or was standard at the time you installed or last updated the system. The file name may include that information.

the commands you enter may look something like this [copied from http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...onfigfile.html

Code:

root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.18-5.47 ro root=/dev/hda1
initrd /initrd-2.4.18-5.47.img
boot

If it doesn't work you might ask someone on a Red Hat forum for their grub configuration file and see what they have.

$SOLID$ Necro · 12-August-06, 03:17 PM

My friend thanks you for the input!

+Rep to you

$SOLID$ Necro · 12-August-06, 06:42 PM

Sorry for the double post, but this is the feedback I just recieved from Alpha:
"grub> kernel /vmlinuz
Error 15: File not found
grub> kernet /boot
Error 15: File not found"

Ras Qulec · 12-August-06, 06:50 PM

Try hitting tab after typing kernel /vmlinux, it may bring up a list. I think you need the full name of the vmlinux file.

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	Sorry for the double post, but this is the feedback I just recieved from Alpha: "grub> kernel /vmlinuz Error 15: File not found grub> kernet /boot Error 15: File not found"

$SOLID$ Necro · 12-August-06, 07:20 PM

Alpha's reply is:
"That that IS after hitting TAB"

Ras Qulec · 12-August-06, 07:33 PM

Oh! D:

Well then I would suggest loading up that live CD and trying to mount the partition.

If the ext2 is actually ext3 it may have a journal to replay and it will write anything it didnt finish before the power outage.

If its not, or there was no problem with the filesystem, you can look in /boot and check the name of the vmlinux and initrd files.

If neither are there post what is and we can figure out if you still have a valid kernel on there.

Some helpfull commands:

Code:

sudo mkdir /mnt/harddrive
sudo mount -o user,ro /dev/hda1 /mnt/harddrive
cd /mnt/harddrive/boot
ls

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	Alpha's reply is: "That that IS after hitting TAB"

Bionic · 12-August-06, 07:37 PM

What happens if he boots from the live CD, then has a look at /boot/grub/menu.lst?

I had trouble with my SATA drive being recognized after a kernel upgrade awhile back. I'm not sure that this is a similar problem, though.

Ras Qulec · 12-August-06, 07:39 PM

Thats a good idea, and a bit simpler. Try that first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bionic


	What happens if he boots from the live CD, then has a look at /boot/grub/menu.lst?

$SOLID$ Necro · 12-August-06, 08:16 PM

Thanks again for the replies, his response is:

I don't know if that will work or not. I haven't tried it yet because I don't know if I would need an Ubuntu driver for the RAID controller. On top of which; there is nothing that tells me that (with certainty) that the data would remain intact, so in additional recovering the system, I need to find a way to open up the partition/array, and back up all 750 GB of it before
I do anything else with it.

It looks as though that grub isn't identifying/recognizing the RAID array as it ishence why it cannot mount it and get access to the data that I want to get access to.

Another idea that I've already thought/thinking about is to do an 'upgrade' install...another is to boot the RH9 install CD, and boot: lnux rescue*linux

The other idea is to use one of my other (test) systems; install RH9 on it, with the RAID driver (without the RAID card); and then make a boot floppy with that system, so that I can jumpstart my other system; long enough to extract the data off the array

Ras Qulec · 12-August-06, 08:21 PM

If he wants to be really safe that last option seems like the best one:

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	Thanks again for the replies, his response is: The other idea is to use one of my other (test) systems; install RH9 on it, with the RAID driver (without the RAID card); and then make a boot floppy with that system, so that I can jumpstart my other system; long enough to extract the data off the array

I unfortunatly have never played with RAID so I can not say if any other would be as safe. But as long as the RAID array information is stored on the card (As I think it is for a true RAID card?) that method sounds like it would work to me.

thedemonxanth · 12-August-06, 09:20 PM

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-5.47 ro root=/dev/hda1
initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.18-5.47.img

or whatever the appropriate version numbers are, just plain initrd and vmlinuz might work.

$SOLID$ Necro · 13-August-06, 01:43 AM

Once again...heeeeeere's Alpha!

To thedemonxanth: see posts above. /boot/ gives an error 15.
The somewhat quasi-good news is that it is a HW RAID solution (RAID is independent of OS); so, the theory is that if I boot the SX6000 driver, I should be able to mount the array and begin the data extraction over LAN.

"I should be able to mount the array as ro, and begin the data extraction over LAN. Even for GbE, it's going to be a fun couple of days for a 750 GB array."
thanks

Ras Qulec · 13-August-06, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	"I should be able to mount the array as ro, and begin the data extraction over LAN. Even for GbE, it's going to be a fun couple of days for a 750 GB array." thanks

I hope it works out for your friend!

With that much important data he might consider setting up a second computer that has a small linux distro installed on it and the drivers. This way he can throw the array and card in if there is ever a problem with the main system.

Bionic · 13-August-06, 01:05 PM

Don't worry about the Ubuntu Live CD. It won't make any changes to the files whatsoever.
Once you get to the live desktop, just look for/attempt to mount the RAID array. it might not work because of driver issues, but it won't hurt anything to try

thedemonxanth · 13-August-06, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	Once again...heeeeeere's Alpha! To thedemonxanth: see posts above. /boot/ gives an error 15. The somewhat quasi-good news is that it is a HW RAID solution (RAID is independent of OS); so, the theory is that if I boot the SX6000 driver, I should be able to mount the array and begin the data extraction over LAN. "I should be able to mount the array as ro, and begin the data extraction over LAN. Even for GbE, it's going to be a fun couple of days for a 750 GB array." thanks

I saw the above posts and it looked like you weren't typing the whole path to the kernel, just /boot or /vmlinuz. You have to type in the entire path including kernel image name or it won't find it.

$SOLID$ Necro · 13-August-06, 02:40 PM

Bionic:

"...it won't hurt anything"
"so long as the array stays intact. I never like playing around with/messing with MBR and partition tables no matter what form they come in. It's like the game "Operation". One wrong move and it's bye bye data."

"the error message comes up after pressing TAB for auto-completion and/or BASH-like line editing. In other words, if I type:
grub> kernel / [TAB]; the ONLY thing that comes up is "lost+found"; and completing the line makes it:
grub> kernel /lost+found/
if I press TAB after that, I get a huge list of numbers that I can't even read
if I type:
grub> kernel /b [TAB]
Error 15: File Not Found
grub> kernel /vm [TAB]
Error 15: File Not Found

You do NOT have to type in the whole thing as it will auto-complete it for you; if it is present.

Somehow I get the feeling that /boot and /vmlinuz (in it's various forms) exist

which means it may be able to open the bootloader; but not the array itself (at least that IS one possibility that I would have to consider in this scenario)

Bionic · 14-August-06, 09:46 AM

I'm confused... When you boot to a live CD, you could do so without even having a HDD in the system (I think). It doesn't touch anything unless you run a command once it's up and booted.

$SOLID$ Necro · 15-August-06, 10:27 PM

Bionic:

"you said 'it might not work because of driver isues, but it won't hurt anything to try.'
that statement would be true so long as the data on the array is preserved. In my experience, modifying the MBR, partition tables (regardless what forms it comes in), and the VTOC all result in loss of data.
Having said that, someone suggested to me yesterday (one of my friend's
that's a Linux expert told me to boot the install cd to rescue mode, and to repair the GRUB bootloader.
he also gave me instructions on how to mount the array as read-only so that I can extract the data off of it
The other idea that I am thinking of right now is to install RH9 onto another drive with the array drivers installed; and use that drive to jumpstart the system; mounting the array as ro, and moving the data that way.

12-August-06, 03:31 AM		#1 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? I am posting this here for my friend Alpha, he is stuck and needs your help, so any info you might have would be most appreciated! Sorry for the formatting, I am doing a copy paste! "I have RedHat 9 (2.4.something - I forget what it is exactly) kernel running on the following system (specs): MSI KT4AV-L AMD Duron 1.8 GHz 2x 256 MB PC2100 512 MB PC2100 Promise SX6000 6-channel ATA RAID HBA 4x Hitachi 250 GB 7.2krpm ATA/100 (RAID5) Netgear GA311 GbE NIC Powercolor ATi Radeon 9000 32MB (or something like that; I forget what that is specifically as well) I recently either had a power outage of I tripped the breaker (again) and that resulted in an improper shutdown of the system all of them came back online fine; except for that one it throws me into the grub prompt (i.e. grub>) my question is "how do I recover the boot configuration/settings?" Other details below: GRUB version 0.93 (634K lower / 1047488K upper memory) [ Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists the possible completions of a device/filename.] grub> root (hd0, Possible partitions are: Partition num: 0, Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83 Partition num: 1, Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82 grub> root (hd0,0) Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83 grub> kernel /boot Error 15: File not found grub> kernel /lost+found/ (lotsa numbers) grub> root (hd0,1) Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82 grub> kernel / Error 17: Cannot mount selected partition Also: I don't have a boot floppy available for it (nor do I know how to create one) I do have an Ubuntu live CD on standby if needed and that preserving the 750 GB of data on the RAID5 array is absolutely crucial.

12-August-06, 02:01 PM		#2 (permalink)
Ras Qulec Apex Techie Wannabe	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Looking at the partition type, partition 1 on hd0 is your swap partition. If all of your hard drives are in the RAID array [as your specs indicate] then partition 0 on hd0 should be that set. The kernel command requires the name of the kernel [such as /vmlinux] using root(hd0,0) You may need to find out the kernel version you had or was standard at the time you installed or last updated the system. The file name may include that information. the commands you enter may look something like this [copied from http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...onfigfile.html Code: root (hd0,0) kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.18-5.47 ro root=/dev/hda1 initrd /initrd-2.4.18-5.47.img boot If it doesn't work you might ask someone on a Red Hat forum for their grub configuration file and see what they have.

12-August-06, 03:17 PM		#3 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? My friend thanks you for the input! +Rep to you

12-August-06, 06:42 PM		#4 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Sorry for the double post, but this is the feedback I just recieved from Alpha: "grub> kernel /vmlinuz Error 15: File not found grub> kernet /boot Error 15: File not found"

12-August-06, 07:20 PM		#6 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Alpha's reply is: "That that IS after hitting TAB"

12-August-06, 07:37 PM		#8 (permalink)
Bionic Apex Tech Maniac	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? What happens if he boots from the live CD, then has a look at /boot/grub/menu.lst? I had trouble with my SATA drive being recognized after a kernel upgrade awhile back. I'm not sure that this is a similar problem, though.

12-August-06, 08:16 PM		#10 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Thanks again for the replies, his response is: I don't know if that will work or not. I haven't tried it yet because I don't know if I would need an Ubuntu driver for the RAID controller. On top of which; there is nothing that tells me that (with certainty) that the data would remain intact, so in additional recovering the system, I need to find a way to open up the partition/array, and back up all 750 GB of it before I do anything else with it. It looks as though that grub isn't identifying/recognizing the RAID array as it ishence why it cannot mount it and get access to the data that I want to get access to. *Another idea that I've already thought/thinking about is to do an 'upgrade' install...another is to boot the RH9 install CD, and boot: lnux rescuelinux** The other idea is to use one of my other (test) systems; install RH9 on it, with the RAID driver (without the RAID card); and then make a boot floppy with that system, so that I can jumpstart my other system; long enough to extract the data off the array

12-August-06, 09:20 PM		#12 (permalink)
thedemonxanth Apex Tech Fanatic Supreme	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-5.47 ro root=/dev/hda1 initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.18-5.47.img or whatever the appropriate version numbers are, just plain initrd and vmlinuz might work.

13-August-06, 01:43 AM		#13 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Once again...heeeeeere's Alpha! To thedemonxanth: see posts above. /boot/ gives an error 15. The somewhat quasi-good news is that it is a HW RAID solution (RAID is independent of OS); so, the theory is that if I boot the SX6000 driver, I should be able to mount the array and begin the data extraction over LAN. "I should be able to mount the array as ro, and begin the data extraction over LAN. Even for GbE, it's going to be a fun couple of days for a 750 GB array." thanks Last edited by $SOLID$ Necro; 13-August-06 at 01:52 AM..

13-August-06, 01:05 PM		#15 (permalink)
Bionic Apex Tech Maniac	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Don't worry about the Ubuntu Live CD. It won't make any changes to the files whatsoever. Once you get to the live desktop, just look for/attempt to mount the RAID array. it might not work because of driver issues, but it won't hurt anything to try

13-August-06, 02:40 PM		#17 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Bionic: "...it won't hurt anything" "so long as the array stays intact. I never like playing around with/messing with MBR and partition tables no matter what form they come in. It's like the game "Operation". One wrong move and it's bye bye data." "the error message comes up after pressing TAB for auto-completion and/or BASH-like line editing. In other words, if I type: grub> kernel / [TAB]; the ONLY thing that comes up is "lost+found"; and completing the line makes it: grub> kernel /lost+found/ if I press TAB after that, I get a huge list of numbers that I can't even read if I type: grub> kernel /b [TAB] Error 15: File Not Found grub> kernel /vm [TAB] Error 15: File Not Found You do NOT have to type in the whole thing as it will auto-complete it for you; if it is present. Somehow I get the feeling that /boot and /vmlinuz (in it's various forms) exist which means it may be able to open the bootloader; but not the array itself (at least that IS one possibility that I would have to consider in this scenario)

14-August-06, 09:46 AM		#18 (permalink)
Bionic Apex Tech Maniac	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? I'm confused... When you boot to a live CD, you could do so without even having a HDD in the system (I think). It doesn't touch anything unless you run a command once it's up and booted.

15-August-06, 10:27 PM		#19 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker	Re: GRUB Bootloader Recovery???? Bionic: "you said 'it might not work because of driver isues, but it won't hurt anything to try.' that statement would be true so long as the data on the array is preserved. In my experience, modifying the MBR, partition tables (regardless what forms it comes in), and the VTOC all result in loss of data. Having said that, someone suggested to me yesterday (one of my friend's that's a Linux expert told me to boot the install cd to rescue mode, and to repair the GRUB bootloader. he also gave me instructions on how to mount the array as read-only so that I can extract the data off of it The other idea that I am thinking of right now is to install RH9 onto another drive with the array drivers installed; and use that drive to jumpstart the system; mounting the array as ro, and moving the data that way.

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