π ~1 min read
Table of contents
Symptom & Impact
Boot process stops at grub rescue, preventing OS startup.
Environment & Reproduction
May follow disk layout changes, cloning, or failed bootloader updates.
Root Cause Analysis
GRUB cannot locate expected boot partition or filesystem modules.
Quick Triage
Identify correct root and boot partitions from rescue environment.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Validate partition table, filesystem integrity, and GRUB config paths.
Solution – Primary Fix
Chroot from live media, reinstall GRUB, and regenerate configuration.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Restore bootloader from backup image when partition metadata is heavily damaged.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
System boots normally without entering rescue prompt.
Rollback Plan
Revert to pre-change disk image if boot chain restoration fails.
Prevention & Hardening
Use tested procedures for partition edits and maintain boot media backups.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
unknown filesystem, no such partition, and grub rescue shell loop.
Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
View all Ubuntu 20.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub β
Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.
References & Further Reading
Ubuntu GRUB recovery and bootloader reinstallation documentation.
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