Error code 15: File not found

[MkIII_Supra]

I just finished performing a kernel update because there was a security update that zypper said I needed to install on my main x86_64 OpenSuSE 11.0 system. Now I can't boot into my system and I get run in a circle.

So far the only things I have found about this error seem to relate to dual boot (which I don't) systems or Gentoo or Debian based systems. Now I have a work station at the office that I just updated but haven't rebooted... and I now I am afraid to since it's my WORK STATION (you know what I use to earn my paycheck with!!) Anyhow, what is it and why all of a sudden does a perfectly working system get fu**ed by a security update? And of course how do I fix it?

Thank you,

[gamblor01]

I think error code 15 is a file not found error of some sort from grub (if I remember correctly it's grub giving this). You might want to use a live CD to reinstall grub to see if that helps:

Put in the live CD and open a terminal. Then run these commands:

1. grub
2. find /boot/grub/stage1

This should return something like (hd0,0). You will need this output for the next step.

3. root (hd0,0) [swap out (hd0,0) with whatever was returned in step 2]
4. setup (hd0)

This will now install grub in your MBR. Yippee!


Where is Saikee when you need him? ;)

[bwkaz]

Reinstalling grub won't help, though. If it can't find a file, then it won't be able to find the file even after the reinstall.

My guess is that it can't find menu.lst, but it depends on when exactly you're getting the error. If you get the error after selecting a kernel, then the problem is that it can't find the files for that kernel. If you get the error before you even see the menu, then it's probably unable to find menu.lst. (It might also be unable to find stage2.) You can probably fix this menu.lst issue by booting to a rescue CD, chrooting into your system, and regenerating the menu.lst file if it's missing. How to regenerate it is a bit of an issue, though: if you don't know which kernels it's supposed to build (or what extra syntax your distro may have added: e.g. Debian adds a ton of junk to it to support the automagic menu.lst generation code that runs every time you install a newer kernel, to automagically add that new kernel to the list), then it might be hard to get the file back. You may be able to force-reinstall grub using your normal distro tools though; that may get it back.

If it can't find the kernel file, then you can do something similar: boot to a rescue CD, chroot into the system, and edit menu.lst to point to the right kernel image. (You can also edit the kernel command line inside the grub menu, until you get it to boot the right kernel. But those changes don't get saved.)

If it can't find stage2, then you'll probably have to re-extract it from your distro's grub package...

[MkIII_Supra]

I followed the advice of gamblor01 and my system is now back up and running. I hate it when things go wrong just before I have to go to bed.