Triple boot system not able to boot fedora: blinking cursor appears

anacleto · #1 14th April 2010, 10:55 AM

Hi everyone,
I have a triple boot system installed on my laptop (Acer Aspire 5732Z): Backtrack, Window7 and Fedora.
I can perfectly boot with Backtrack and Window7 but when I select Fedora in the grub menu I just see a blinking cursor on a black screen, if i type Ctrl Alt F2 nothing will happen.
I'm posting below the output of fdisk -l command and the content of the file /boot/grub/menu.lst (taken after booting Backtrack):

root@bt:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x903bc83f

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1567 12586896 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 * 1568 1580 104422+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 1581 6680 40960000 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 6681 30401 190538932+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 6681 7955 10240000 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 7955 8032 614399+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7 8032 30401 179684351+ 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xdfb32466

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 60802 488384512 7 HPFS/NTFS

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 10

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=0x317 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=vga=0x317

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

splashimage=c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.30.9
uuid c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.30.9 root=UUID=c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.30.9
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.30.9 (recovery mode)
uuid c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.30.9 root=UUID=c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.30.9

title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
uuid c67d65cb-d9e2-488f-84ff-6b68acb92b17
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda2
title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root (hd0,1)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing
# linux installation on /dev/sda5.
title Fedora (2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686) (on /dev/sda5)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686 ro root=UUID=2b0d9de0-ecdb-4723-b565-35693677e163 noiswmd LANG=it_IT.UTF-8 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=it rhgb quiet
# initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.img
# savedefault
boot

Is there anything wrong?
Can anyone help me to solve the issue?

Thanks so much for your help!!

***glennzo*** · #2 14th April 2010, 11:20 AM

You'll need to uncomment the line # initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.img. Take out the # and the space so it reads

Code:

initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.img

Reboot and try to boot Fedora.

anacleto · #3 14th April 2010, 11:31 AM

I just tried but the issue still persist: when I select Fedora in the grub menu I just see a blinking cursor on a black screen.

stoat · #4 14th April 2010, 04:43 PM

Hello anacleto and glennzo,

I don't really know what the problem is, of course. But some things to check or consider...

Fedora filesystems nowadays use 256-byte inodes. Backtrack's grub version needs to be v0.97-21 or later to access files (the kernel, for example) in such filesystems.
If you chose to install Fedora in an ext4 filesystem, then Backtrack's grub version needs to be version 0.97-52 or later to access files there.
You can try creating another Fedora section in the Backtrack menu.lst for experimenting (copy the existing one and paste it below the original). Then, if Fedora is in a single root partition (/dev/sda5), try using root=/dev/sda5 in the kernel line instead of the UUID. Example of what I mean...
Code:
```
title Fedora Testing
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686 ro root=/dev/sda5 noiswmd LANG=it_IT.UTF-8 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=it rhgb quiet 
initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.img
```
You can try using the configfile menu command instead of directly booting the kernel. Example of what I mean...
Code:
```
title Fedora Testing
root (hd0,4)
configfile /boot/grub/grub.conf
```
This has the side benefit of being immune to breakage when Fedora updates its kernel.
If you chose to install Fedora's GRUB in the first sector of the Fedora boot partition (or root partition if no separate boot partition), then you can try using the chainloader menu command. Example of what I mean...
Code:
```
title Fedora Testing
root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
```
This has the side benefit of not attempting to access the Fedora filesystem. Another side benefit of it is that it is also immune to breakage when Fedora updates its kernel.
You can try a Super Grub Disk (easy to find with Google) to emergency boot Fedora. It would confirm that the Fedora system is capable of booting. It's a handy utility that everyone should possess anyway (for emergency booting and re-installing GRUB, for example). If a Super Grub Disk cannot boot your Fedora system, then perhaps nothing can and a re-install might be considered.

No promises for anything above this sentence. Just some stuff to think about and maybe try.

sarikachouhan · #5 28th July 2010, 03:39 PM

[hi
i have installed windows7 then fedora13 & then ubuntu10.04.
Now i am not able to log in fedora. How to see grub file of fedora? & also plz tell me how to update my ubuntu grub so that I can log in fedora

***glennzo*** · #6 28th July 2010, 04:23 PM

Ubuntu should have added Fedora and Windows during the installation process, boot loader installation. Boot Ubuntu and open a terminal. Type

Code:

sudo update-grub

Look at the output. It will tell you if it found Fedora.