Just upgraded Ubuntu to 11.04- Now I can't boot

[KrisB]

Hi All,

Hoping Someone can help me. I'm a relative newbie. I've used Ubuntu for a couple of years, but I know VERY little about command line, and I pretty much don't know how to fix things. Sorry!

I just did the "update manager" update to 11.04 and my system which is relatively new and worked perfectly until right after the upgrade suddenly won't boot after the restart.

Hardware: Asus Motherboard M4A785-M w/ ATI onboard video
500 GB Sata Hard Drive
AMD Quadcore processor
4 Gig of Memory

I tried going to the recovery mode and "repairing broken packages" but it tells me that zero files will be downloaded or changed. Then, I tried using the USB to boot and reload the OS (which I used on another computer and it worked perfectly) but it won't boot to USB. I tried an old version 9 CD but it won't boot to CD (yes I checked the boot order in BIOS and my HD was last in line).

So- I attempt to boot- and it starts to load. I get the purple splash screen. Then it goes black, and immediately drops me into a list of errors and tells me all things that it's "starting/stopping" and says "0k" to each except one which in red says something about "stopping automatic crash report" which says "fail". The only thing it lets me do from there is Control-Alt-Delete. I can sometimes get to the Recovery mode, by holding the left shift, and I did manage to use a "previous linux version" to boot- picked the first one on the list. But it's a one time deal, then it goes back to not booting.

I searched some forums for ideas since I was at a loss for what to do. One "solution" I saw was try the sudo apt-get clean, sudo apt-get update, sudo apt-get upgrade, but that didn't help either. I really want to avoid wiping the drive if I can help it. I just can't figure out how to make this thing boot, or why it refuses to boot to CD and USB. Anyone have any ideas that can help? Can I somehow get it back to booting to 10.10? It might be worth it at this point!?

Thanks to anyone who can help me. I need very clear instructions please. I'm very clueless about any terminal stuff yet. Thanks! Kris

[saikee]

Please do not multi-post the same thread. I have merged the two together.

[KrisB]

I didn't mean to... I didn't realize the post had to be approved first- I missed that when I sent the first one. I didn't see it showing on the board and thought it didn't go through. Sorry about that! Feel Free to delete one.

Kris

[saikee]

Can you try older kernels from the booting list?

It appears that there may be

(1) A bug in the update causing the new set of system files fail to boot.

(2) Your hard disk may be corrupted and on its way out with the newly updated files in faulty or corrupted area of the disk.

To instruct the PC to boot whatever booting device first is a God given right. You should check the Bios again. The CD will boot if it comes before the hdd. Having hdd last on the list does not guarantee CD will boot if it isn't on the list. Also check the booting CD on another PC to make sure it is bootable first.

[KrisB]

Hi,

Yes, actually I can boot to an older kernel. I picked the first one on the list and it got me running- but only until I shut down. It only boots that way- recovery mode to the older kernel. A restart will put me back at the error screen.

I'll try the CD again. I did try the USB a couple of times, and it started to work (flashing several times) then didn't. Last night the CD would Spin but not boot. I'll try again w/ my laptop and make sure the CD works. I'll also recheck the USB. Not sure why it hasn't wanted to boot to either, even when I set the boot order in Bios. I have it set on CD first, then USB then HDD. Those are the only three choices in there.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[KrisB]

and the Version 9 CD did not boot my laptop even though I used it to install it two years ago on the desktop. ? The USB worked perfectly on the laptop. Put it into this desktop, double checked the boot order, and still no go. Partial boot, then error screen. Restarted and got in only with recovery mode followed by using a "previous version".

[saikee]

If the system boots the older kernels then you have got a healthy Linux to work with.

You can edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg, which is a text file editable by a root user, to ask Grub to boot which ever choice first. The default is specified by the command

set default="0"

Grub count from zero when choosing system to boot. The about entry in grub.cfg tells Grub if the owner does not choose a system to boot within the time limit specified in the "set timeout" command then the choice in "set default" will be automatically boooted. BY changing 0 to 2 Grub will select the third system as default system to boot and so on.

It is quite common to find bugs in upodates. The older kernels are just as good as long as they work.

[JRefL5]

FYI Ubuntu 10.11 used GRUB 2 so Krisb may need to remove some kernel installed on his system in case of grub-update.

Kris, I seem to recall seeing that there some issues with Unitity depending on vidio card(s) (older cards I think). You might want to check on the *buntu fourms.