TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Alrighty just some background information on how I got in the hellish predicament: I went on a trip to see some of my out of state family(leaving my siblings at home with my parents) Anyways, all went great until I came home and was greeted with a little message with a black background on my computer : error: no such device: [letters/numbers] grub rescue> none of my siblings will admit to causing the problem, nor do they know how it happened. This message pops up immediately after the "Dell" logo, so I'm unable to get into any menu/screen except the setup screen. Is there anyway to fix this? If so can someone help me fix the problem, I would greatly appreciate it. p.s if any other information is needed I'll do my best to get it for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 What OSs are installed on the computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Windows XP professional and Ubuntu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows Before that, just check that there are no memory sticks or similar plugged into the computer, also unplug any card readers that may be attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 By that you mean external memory like usb sticks and the sort right? Sorry for the questions, just want to double check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 By that you mean external memory like usb sticks and the sort right? These things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Thanks for the illustration lol But I can't follow the instructions because I can't get to any OS or menu other than the setup(F2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Boot of a live disk, if you don't have a live disk... make one... if you can't make one... install windows on a second hard disk, use that to make one! Get a live disk been the a key point :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 I have ubuntu on a flash drive but whenever I plug it in the computer and turn it on, nothing happens, same black screen and message Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 You probably need to tell the computer to try and boot from the flash drive. Go in to the BIOS and check the boot order or look for a boot menu option in the first post screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 I can't change the order (USB is the last one on the list) on the boot list since my admin password was changed Would there be any way to bypass that password? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Disconnect the computer from the wall power socket, open the case, remove the motherboard battery for a minuet. This will cause the BIOS to restore the default settings. If the default settings contain a password, google for the default password. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Alrighty, and would changing the order probably fix the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Possibly, but at least you will be able to boot from your USB stick (may be), which will allow you to reinstall GRUB and (nearly certainly) fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Alright then, thanks for the help :D I'll come back if any other problems occur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Another question, sorry, but by remove the motherboard do you mean just unplug everything connected to it? (Sorry, I'm not very tech knowledgeable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 The motherboard battery, just the battery, not any thing else. It will probably look like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 So that will just come right off then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 It will be in a holder of some nature. There are a few different designs of holders, some require you to press on a clip of some nature to remove the battery, other just use some nature of spring to hold the battery in. Since you know relatively little about the insides of computers, I suggest you give this a read to avoid accidentally damaging the computer. It's quite easy to avoid causing static damage, just make sure you touch an earthed piece of bare metal before you start touching things inside the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Cool, thanks for replies by the way :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpaniard Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 WOO got Ubuntu installing as I'm typing lol Thanks a bunch Sparda for the help (I just flipped the pass node on the mother board for the BIOS password) Ten million thank you's!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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