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I happen to have deleted the /boot directory on my system instead of on the one I was supposed to.. I found this in order to restore it, however I had problems with apt --reinstall so I decided to remove and install the packages manually. Probably not the brightest idea, now have 2 broken images that I do not know how to fix.

Running dpkg --audit tells me

The following packages are only half configured, probably due to problems
configuring them the first time.  The configuration should be retried using
dpkg --configure <package> or the configure menu option in dselect:
 linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic Signed kernel image generic
 linux-image-4.15.0-43-generic Signed kernel image generic

Running dpkg --configure linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic

Setting up linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic (4.15.0-42.45) ...
Processing triggers for linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic (4.15.0-42.45) ...
/etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms:
run-parts: failed to exec /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms: No such file or directory
run-parts: /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms exited with return code 1
dpkg: error processing package linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic (--configure):
 installed linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
 linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic

However /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms exists

~$ ls -l /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1120 авг 31  2016 /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms

My machine is still running though, is it possible to save it?

EDIT:

Just tried to run dkms manually and found out /bin/bash was missing. Installed it with apt install bash and then issued the commands

dpkg --audit
apt install -f
update-grub

Everything looks normal now, however after reboot there is no ubuntu boot option in grub..

php_nub_qq
  • 1,489

1 Answers1

1
  • Boot with a Live Ubuntu Disc

  • Mount the partition/s with Ubuntu file system, on /mnt

  • Example 

    sudo mount /dev/sdxx /mnt
sudo mount /dev/sdxy /mnt/boot
sudo mount /dev/sdxz /mnt/boot/efi

    Where sdx=disk, sdxx="/" partition, sdxy="boot" partition,sdxz="efi" partition

    then run 

    for i in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys /run; do sudo mount -B $i /mnt$i; done
sudo chroot mnt

  • Most importantly, since you have lost your /boot/grub/efi and may be /boot/grub/efi also.

    • Find your boot type

      [ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "EFI boot on HDD" || echo "Legacy boot on HDD"

    • If internet problem.

      echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" >/etc/resolv.conf

      or

      cp /mnt/etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

    • For legacy/bios boot

      apt install --reinstall grub-pc grub-common

    • For UEFI(efi) boot

      apt install --reinstall grub-common grub-efi grub-efi-amd64 grub-efi-amd64-bin

    • And

      grub-install /sdx # no apt infront

    • Now run

      dpkg -S /boot
sudo dpkg --audit

to find the packages needed. Install the packages.

  • Then

    apt --fix-missing install
update-initramfs -u 
update-grub

    and

    exit
for i in /sys /proc /dev/pts /dev; do sudo umount /mnt$i; done

    Unmount mounted partitions.

    Example:

    sudo umount /mnt/boot/efi
sudo umount /mnt/boot
sudo umount /mnt
sudo reboot

  • For errors after rebooting.

    sudo dpkg --configure -a
Vijay
  • 8,056
  • I just did all that, all commands run fine, apt doesn't report any errors, says images are installed - everything looks good, except when I reboot there is only windows and system setup (bios) in grub.. – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 13:43
  • also when reinstalling the images I see it says it's adding boot menu entry for windows boot manager and efi firmware configuration, not sure if there should be such message for grub which is missing?

    grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sdc1. Check your device.map. Found Windows Boot Manager on /dev/sdb1@/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi Adding boot menu entry for EFI firmware configuration where /dev/sdc1 is my ubutnu live flash drive

     – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 14:01
  • 1
    @php_nub_qq seethe edited answer. I see that you have efi boot. – Vijay Jan 12 '19 at 18:42
  • Ok we're certainly going somewhere. I am now seeing ubuntu and advanced options for ubuntu in grub, however when I chose to boot in ubuntu it takes unusually long and then flashes a console screen with a message of some files being checked or something and then a bunch of lines saying something about a key that is not trusted, I can only provide so much information because the screen flashes for probably less than a second. After this a terminal appears as if I'm running a server version of ubuntu which I'm not, and I can't login because any input from the keyboard appears to be ignored --> – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 20:20
  • Which is also the case when going in recovery mode, keyboard is not working but it works in grub menu. – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 20:21
  • @php_nub_qq thanks for edit. Why not try fsck and apt install -f from Ubuntu live DVD/USB drive. – Vijay Jan 12 '19 at 20:38
  • Do you mean while chrooted in the mounted broken system? Sorry if it's a dumb question, I only have basic knowledge, apt install -f just says there is 0 packages to be updated or installed and I'm not familiar with fsck – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 20:42
  • You are right. fsck before mount and apt install -f after chroot. (Writing from mobile) – Vijay Jan 12 '19 at 20:46
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – php_nub_qq Jan 12 '19 at 20:48