As I have written in my
last post (
http://meandmyubuntulinux.blogspot.com/2011/10/recovery-of-deleted-partition-part-2.html
) that the Ubuntu Live disk was able to detect all of my partitions and
all my data but still I was unable to boot into the system.
So, I tried to re-install
the Ubuntu Grub Loader and see if that works . So, as per the post on
ubuntu forum ( http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1581099
) , I proceeded as follows :
1) Boot into the Live USB
disk.
3) Created a directory for
mounting my Ubuntu partition :
sudo mkdir /mnt/temp
3)
Mount the Ubuntu Installation :
sudo mount /dev/sda9 /mnt/temp
4)
Mount miscellaneous filesystem for proper working of chroot
command :
for i
in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys; do sudo mount -B $i /mnt/temp$i; done
5)
chroot into the Ubuntu installation :
sudo
chroot /mnt/temp
If the above commands
run successfully, the terminal prompt should include "root"
( root@ubuntu:/# ), which indicates you are in the chroot
environment.
6) Confirm that I have
an working internet connection in the chroot environment
:
apt-get
update
As I was
having a working internet connection , I moved forward to the next
step.
7)
Purging the Grub Loader : Do not proceed to following command if you
don't have a working internet connection. The next command
will remove grub, grub-pc (Grub 2) and grub-common. ( If you are sure you have never had Grub legacy on the current
installation you may omit "grub" from the next command else keeping that in the command does no harm. ). Here is what you will do when you enter the command :
a) Press ENTER to continue.
b)Read the warning during the install about removing the
bootloader. TAB to highlight "<Yes>" and press
ENTER.
Command :
apt-get purge grub grub-pc grub-common
8) Re-install the grub
packages : Here is what will happen:
a) You will be given the opportunity
to add extra kernel options to the kernel line. If you don't know,
you probably don't need them ; TAB to highlight "<OK>"
and press ENTER.
b) Read the installation notes. TAB
to "<OK>" to continue.
c) When presented with the device
option, use the UP/DN keys to select the correct drive (
/dev/sdX ).
- Make sure the installation drive [*] /dev/sdX has an asterisk next to it ( example: [*] /dev/sda ). If it doesn't, highlight it and press the SPACE bar to select it.
- Do not select a partition ( example: [ ] /dev/sda5 , etc).
Command :
apt-get install grub-common grub-pc
This is the point where I got stuck again, as it refuesd to install the Grub Loader onto my Hard Disk ( /dev/sda ).
:-(
When this problem persisted
no matter what I do to resolve it, I finally figured out that the
Mini iso image which I was trying to write on the Pen-drive using the
dd command ( Refer to my post : http://meandmyubuntulinux.blogspot.com/2011/10/recovery-of-deleted-partition.html ) was almost 25 MB in size so
it must have over written the Master Boot Record , the partition
table as well as some other important Windows files ( remember that I had
Windows Xp installed in my 1st Partition ) and hence corrupting the Windows installation.
So, I decided to format
that partition and do a fresh re-install of the Ubuntu Grub Loader. I back-up everything that was important for me from the Xp
partition via the USB live disk and formatted the /dev/sda1 partition using GParted Partition Editor .
Next I repeated the above steps from 1 to 8. This time it
successfully installed the Grub Loader without a hitch. So I could
proceed further.
Step 9:- Update the Grub
Loader files
update-grub
Step
10:- Exit the chroot environment
exit
If
you have successfully exited chroot, the terminal prompt should
return to the Ubuntu Live CD prompt ( ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ )
Step 11:- Unmout whatever you previously mounted :
Step 11:- Unmout whatever you previously mounted :
sudo
umount /mnt/temp
for
i in /dev/pts /dev /proc /sys; do sudo umount /mnt/temp$i ; done
When I finally re-booted the
system. I was able to boot into my only left Operating System i.e. my
loving Ubuntu. Windows is gone ( as such also I was rarely using it
and was thinking to remove it and put it into the Virtual-Box.). It
was a very tiring but learning experience to do all this. I actually
never imagined that I could bring back my system into this working
condition and that too without loosing a single important file . But I did it !!! All thanks to the Ubuntu forum ( http://ubuntuforums.org ). One very important thing that I learned is
cross-check each command twice before firing it especially when you
are in root privilage else you may land into a series of problem that
you never imagined and may be never able to recover from the
damage that it inflict.
Have a Good Day and a happy
Ubuntu experience.....
