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I used my Dell laptop to compile a boot usb stick with another Ubuntu distro. When I finished I tried to go back on to the Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS system on the laptop but all I get is a flashing cursor in the top LH corner of the screen. I have run Boot Repair Disk but it only created a "paste file" with a caption that someone may be able to help if they review this file. At the moment when I switch the laptop on I get the usual Dell start-up screen and then is goes to the flashing cursor and that's it. I'm not a techie by any means so your help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Rambler1

Rambler1
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  • In honesty it was a little while ago and I'm not sure exactly what I did. As I recall I was trying to partition a memory stick and install another version of Ubuntu, I booted from a boot CD containing Mint and working in Mint I tried to create a bootable version of another Ubuntu distro but I can't remember which. – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 16:02
  • Is it possible that you made a mistake and formatted a volume associated with your system installation? Without knowing what caused the problem, it's hard to guess how to fix it. There is always the one-size-fits-all solution which is to reinstall the OS. You can boot a live session from installation media by selecting "Try Ubuntu" if you need to access the file systems. – Nmath Jul 10 '21 at 16:05
  • It was a while ago, I'm not sure what I did. I was trying to partition a memory stick and install another ver of Ubuntu, I booted from a boot CD with Mint and working in it I tried to create a bootable version of another Ubuntu distro but I can't remember which. I thought it would be a safer way of working as I was not working on the Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS and so less likely to do any harm. When I run the Boot Repair it gives the option to create a "bootinfo summary" or to quit, there is no option with "reccommended repairs". It gave me this web address : http://paste.ubuntu.com/p/54829vFgjD/ – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 16:14
  • I do need to access the files but thought that I may overwrite them if I ran anything else. I have the disc with Mint, would that allow me to access the files? – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 16:17
  • I'd be the last to say that what you propose is impossible! – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 16:18
  • Any live session of Ubuntu will allow you to access file systems. Running a live session doesn't need to be installed and won't make changes to your installed system unless you tell it to. From the boot repair output there were no operating systems found. If I had to guess, you made a mistake when flashing the USB and wrote over your Ubuntu installation instead. Be very careful what operations you perform even in a live session because even though a live session does not need to be installed, it's still a fully functional version of Ubuntu – Nmath Jul 10 '21 at 16:55
  • OK, I'll take a look with Mint. Should it come up as another drive in the File Manager? – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 17:00
  • Yes the file manager should be able to access any mounted file systems – Nmath Jul 10 '21 at 17:07
  • OK another lesson learned, thank you for your assistance. – Rambler1 Jul 10 '21 at 17:08

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