GRUB error 15 ( Debian/Ubuntu )
Posted by stringofthoughts on May 25, 2009
The reason for grub error 15 is very simple and so is the solution. The error gives you a message “Error 15: File not found!” simply because the file grub wants is not there. why? because grub is looking into a wrong device. You need to make changes to your /boot/grub/menu.lst file to fix the problem so that grub looks into the correct device but first find out where is your root partition.Boot from a live CD -> open terminal .
$ sudo fdisk -l | grep -i linux
This will list your swap and root devices. In our example here
/dev/hda5 1276 1397 979902 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/hda6 1398 2550 9261441 83 Linux
Swap :: /dev/hda5 and Linux root :: /dev/hda6
/dev/hda6 is your root device. /dev/hda6 is written as (hd0,5) in grub. Make sure you understand this if it’s /dev/hda1 in your system then you ‘ll use (hd0,0). It’s always one digit less in (hdX,Y)
Open your menu.lst file and check /dev/hda6 and (hd0,5) is the root device in the file and not any other device. This is the main reason for error 15. Here in our example root is /dev/hda6 so the /boot/grub/menu.lst should look like this
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-2-686
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-686 root=/dev/hda6 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-2-686title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-2-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-2-686 root=/dev/hda6 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-2-686
For Ubuntu users it’ll be (hd0,5) and /dev/sda6 .Make sure the root device is correct in this file.
Next file to check is /etc/fstab. Open the file and check the device for swap and root is correct. here is an example
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/hda6 / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/hda5 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
Once everything is in place reboot the system. Congratulations you ‘ve just solved your grub problem.
GRUB error 15 ( Debian/Ubuntu ) | Ubuntu-News - Your one stop for news about Ubuntu said
[...] The reason for grub error 15 is very simple and so is the solution. The error gives you a message “Error 15: File not found!” simply because the file grub wants is not there. why? because grub is looking into a wrong device. More here [...]
GRUB error 15 ( Debian/Ubuntu ) | Debian-News.net - Your one stop for news about Debian said
[...] The reason for grub error 15 is very simple and so is the solution. The error gives you a message “Error 15: File not found!” simply because the file grub wants is not there. why? because grub is looking into a wrong device. More here [...]
TetonsGulf said
This gave me some new things to look at, but I’m curious how to handle UUID’s?
I’ve opened a thread over at Ubuntu Forums and I’m getting some help, but another set of eyes would be greatly appreciated! I’d be happy to link back here if you can help me close this!
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7398568#post7398568
Long and short of it, fdisk -l shows:
/dev/sda1 is boot Linux
/dev/sda2 Extended
/dev/sda5 Linux Swap/Solaris
/dev/sdb1 is boot HPFS/NTFS
my menu.lst looks like this:
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-11-generic
uuid 22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic root=UUID=22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic
quiet
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-11-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic root=UUID=22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
uuid 22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
quiet
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
uuid 22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
And finally fstab:
#
#
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sdb1
UUID=22a15ae1-630b-46d3-bd58-84e4d0e9697b / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sdb5
UUID=0e754f28-2132-4506-8b25-eb974af0ec8f none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=46,devmode=664 0 0
stringofthoughts said
Hi,
your menu.lst file seems okay. You should know that the linux image file should actually be there in /boot directory . check if the files vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic and initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic are available in /boot .
Try it like this, It’s for kernel 2.6.27-11
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-11-generic
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic
title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-11-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic root=/dev/sda1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic
Modify your /etc/fstab file to
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
#
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/sda5 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
Justin Timberlake said
This worked. Thanks! Singing your praises to the sky
Install.sh not working with USB (FIX Included) - Remote Exploit Forums said
[...] [...]
annonymous said
FOUND THE PROBLEM
at the end of installation (like step 8 of
you will be prompted
to accept what is a summary of what the system is about to do (partion ___, etc)
click on “advanced”, and there will be a pull down list that says HD, 0 or something
of that sort (don’t remember and i am not going through the process again)
click on that and you will no longer have that option, but the name of your hard drive and the
name of your operating system, in this case ubuntu 9.10.
Click on Ubuntu 9.10 and you’re set!
some people just luck out i guess.
Something to keep in mind:
I already installed the os on the computer but the grub alert came out,
and that is when i re-inserted the livecd and went through the installation process
again (not formatting anything, keeping everything the same)
hope this helps : )
Cloning an Ubuntu Server « HHA said
[...] https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BackupYourSystem/TAR http://linux.byexamples.com/archives/321/fstab-with-uuid/ http://stringofthoughts.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/grub-error-15-debianubuntu/ [...]