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I have a 14.04 LTS CD, which I used to help to reinstall the OS over my old installation of Ubuntu.

The process was pretty standard : insert disc, boot from CD, erase existing OS and install 14.04.

Everything looked fine, and I even got the message that installation was complete.

Then, I removed the CD as prompted, and rebooted the machine. That's when things went crazy. I see the DELL logo, and then a purple border, followed by a black screen. Then, ... nothing. Ever.

I had to do multiple force reboots by holding down the power button. Holding on to the right-shift button did not open up the Grub menu. I still get back the same purple border and black screen.

Edit : I managed to enter Grub menu by holding on to the ESC key, but I am getting the Grub error below.

Minimal BASH like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB lists possible command completions. anywhere else TAB lists possible device or file completions.

Subsequently, I reinserted the disc and selected the option to try Ubuntu without installing, which is how I am here now.

sudo parted -l

shows the following:

Model: ATA ST2000DM001-1ER1 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 2000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End     Size    File system     Name  Flags
 1      1049kB  538MB   537MB   fat32                 boot
 2      538MB   1863GB  1863GB  ext4
 3      1863GB  2000GB  137GB   linux-swap(v1)


Warning: Unable to open /dev/sr0 read-write (Read-only file system).  /dev/sr0
has been opened read-only.
Error: Can't have a partition outside the disk!

The Ubuntu OS seems to be installed on dev/sda2, while dev/sda1 seems to be the /boot/efi partition.

According to boot-repair,

GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition  Attrs   Start Sector    End Sector  # of Sectors System
/dev/sda1                 2,048     1,050,623     1,048,576 EFI System partition
/dev/sda2             1,050,624 3,638,751,231 3,637,700,608 Data partition (Linux)
/dev/sda3         3,638,751,232 3,907,028,991   268,277,760 Swap partition (Linux)

Edit : I reinstalled 14.04 again, and now boot-repair can run just fine. It says Repair Successful, but I am getting Grub error when I hold on to the ESC key when booting up :

Minimal BASH like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB lists possible command completions. anywhere else TAB lists possible device or file completions.

When I exit from this CLI, it says that it is not able to find a system to boot. I select F1 to Retry boot, and it shows me a nice Grub menu, from which I selected the first option Ubuntu after adding the parameters nomodeset and nolapic. It then blank screened... Really not sure what is going on here.

I have tried numerous things I have read over the net over the past day, but it is still stuck at this same problem. I am no expert on this! Please help! Thank you :)!

Additional Info:

lspci | grep VGA returns

VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 13bb (rev a2)

It is a DELL Precision Tower 5810. Pastebin for Boot Info report is at http://paste.ubuntu.com/24515152/.

Tacocat
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  • @Rod Smith I have looked at that question before posting this one, and I have tried the methods stated in the answers, but none of them worked for me... So, unless people are still answering to that question, I do need to ask my own question to get answers :S – Tacocat May 05 '17 at 01:31
  • I've re-opened your question. You're probably barking up the wrong tree in your attempt to use Boot Repair; the problem sounds like your Ubuntu 14.04 lacks (working) video drivers for your hardware. Since 14.04 is three years old, I recommend you try something newer -- 16.04, and perhaps 17.04. It might also be helpful to specify your exact computer model, age, and (if you know it) video chipset information. – Rod Smith May 05 '17 at 02:44
  • @RodSmith The reason why I didn't think it is a video driver issue was because... My old installation was also a 14.04, and it could render fine. I don't really understand what is going on here. In fact, I am not able too see anything either when I use the 14.04 installation disc, without first setting the nomodeset and nolapic parameters. Hilariously, this machine is only 1 month old, and it is a Dell Precision Tower. – Tacocat May 05 '17 at 03:08
  • @RodSmith I reinstalled 14.04 again, and now boot-repair can run just fine. It says repair successful, but I am getting Grub error when I hold on to the ESC key when booting up : Minimal BASH like line editing is supported. When I exit from this CLI, it says that it is not able to find a system to boot. I select F1 to retry boot, and it shows me a nice Grub menu, from which I selected the first option Ubuntu after adding the parameters nomodeset and nolapic. It then blank screened... – Tacocat May 05 '17 at 03:13
  • What model system and what video card/chip? Often nomodeset required until you install proprietary drivers. But if now only grub prompt, install is not correct. Did you reinstall in BIOS/CSM/Legacy mode? Post link to Summary Report, so we can see details: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info – oldfred May 05 '17 at 03:38
  • @oldfred lspci | grep VGA' returnsVGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 13bb (rev a2)`; It is a DELL Precision Tower 5810; pastebin for Boot Info report is at http://paste.ubuntu.com/24515152/. (Will add these to edit of question.) – Tacocat May 05 '17 at 04:54
  • Your make it clear that the computer is launching GRUB, and (until your repair), GRUB was launching the kernel; the no-video problem occurs well into the kernel launch process, which makes it unlikely that Boot Repair would help. Compared to your earlier working installation, you might have a BIOS-vs-EFI issue, a kernel options issue, a proprietary-vs-standard drivers issue, etc. Since the computer is one month old, I must strongly advise you to abandon 14.04 in favor of 16.04.2 or 17.04. Even though you say 14.04 worked before, a newer version is more likely to work without problems. – Rod Smith May 05 '17 at 12:56
  • @RodSmith "Your make it clear that the computer is launching GRUB, and (until your repair), GRUB was launching the kernel;" I am not sure I understand (how it is that I made those clear). Sorry, I don't really unds how these things work. But OK. I understand what you are advising. I will try to get 16.04 on a disc and try it out. Thanks! – Tacocat May 08 '17 at 02:12

2 Answers2

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try reinstalling ubuntu or try catch this keys ctrl+logokey+alt and delete+end+pagedown try this 2 to 5 time its better to reinstall the old version or press del key when the computer boots up go to bios features and enable the HDD smart compatibility i to had this problem but this things solved it

RUBYSTARTER
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A rather late update, my apologies. For anybody who mind chance upon this question in the future, do note that I have solved the problem by simply upgrading to Ubuntu 16.04 (replaced 14.04 entirely). Credits to RodSmith for this simple solution.

Till date, I have no idea how the machine worked with 14.04 when it first came into my possession brand new.

Thank you, @RodSmith, for your input and help.

Tacocat
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