Fixing an unbootable computer after a failed grub installation can be a bit tricky. Here's what I ended up doing. First of all, boot the machine up and get access to the root partition: Get a Debian installation CD for the same architecture (i.e. Don't use an i386 CD if your root partition is amd64). Converter 4.3 does not support Ubuntu 10.04 because Ubuntu have switched to GRUB2 boot loader, but Converter 4.3 supports only GRUB1. You can try the new Converter 5.0 - this issue should be fixed there. Overview of Install GRUB. GRUB stands for Grand Unified Bootloader. If you have multiple kernel images installed on your system, you can choose which one to be executed. GRUB shows a splash display screen, is waiting for a couple of seconds, unless you enter anything; it loads the default kernel image since given inside the grub configuration file.
If you no longer have a Recovery HD you can boot from, then you might try Recovery Partition Creator 3.7 – Updated for Mavericks | Musings to create a new one to use. Or if your Mini can use Internet Recovery - Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - then you can do this:
Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
- Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
- After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
- Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Ubuntu Grub Bootloader Failed To Install
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.
Sep 5, 2014 2:13 PM
Windows has been pushing a lot of updates lately and there is one thing consistent amongst all of them. They all override the Windows Boot Manager. So, in case you are running Ubuntu and Windows on dual boot, you will not be able to boot into Ubuntu after the Windows update. Nevertheless, we have found a couple of unique ways to fix this issue.
How to Fix Grub After Windows 10 Upgrade
Case 1: Faulty Windows Boot Manager
Post-Windows update, Microsoft overrides the Windows Boot Manager to use the NT bootloader. So, now when you restart your system, it directly boots up to Windows 10. This is because the Windows bootloader cannot identify Ubuntu. In order to enable booting to Ubuntu, we would need to make changes in the Windows boot registry.
To do that, open the command line with administrator privileges and run the following command.
This would change the bootloader back to GRUB. Now, reboot your system and most probably, you will get the violet GRUB menu.
But, in case you get a “System Bootloader not found” error message, we would need to disable secure boot through the UEFI firmware.
To get to the firmware settings, press F2 or F10 on the boot splash screen. In the firmware settings, disable secure boot. I am using an Acer E5-575G laptop, so my firmware settings would be different from yours. In Acer, you need to set the Supervisor password in order to disable Secure Boot.
Case 2: Faulty GRUB file
If the first solution didn’t fix your problem, a possible reason may be that you have a broken GRUB file. In that scenario, we would need to repair the file using a tool called Boot Repair. Now, since you cannot boot into Ubuntu, we would need a bootable USB drive or Ubuntu live CD. You can download the Ubuntu ISO image from the official website and then use a Bootable USB Software to flash the image on the USB. Plugin the bootable USB media or live CD, restart your system and select “Try Ubuntu without installing”.
Once you boot into live Ubuntu, open the command line, and type the following command.
The command will add the Boot Repair tool’s repository to apt and also update all the repositories.
Now, we can download the repair tool using the following command
After downloading the tool, run it using the following command.
The Boot Repair tool will now automatically scan all the disks in your system to find the ext4 partition. Post that, you will be presented with 2 options. Click on “Recommended Repair” and it will handle all the complexities. If you have dealt with GRUB before and you have an in-depth idea of the Ubuntu file system, you can also select “Advanced Options”. This will provide you more drilled down controls. However, it’s recommended to go with “Recommended Repair” as it mostly solves the problem.
If you get a prompt saying secure boot is enabled, click on Continue and head over to the BIOS settings and disable secure boot.
Restart your system and now you should see the GRUB boot menu which will let you boot to Ubuntu.
Wrapping Up
These solutions should fix your problem. There are slim chances that they won’t and in that case, you would have to install a fresh copy of Ubuntu all over again.
For more queries or issues regarding Ubuntu and GRUB2, let me know in the comments below.
Grub Bootloader Failed To Install Into Target
Also Read: How to Disable Incognito Mode in Windows, Ubuntu, and macOS