SDB:The Boot Process Hangs with the Message GRUB Geom Error
Version: 8.1
Symptom
GRUB freezes during the boot process with the message 'GRUB Geom Error'.
Cause
There are several possible causes:
- The BIOS contains incorrect hard disk values or LBA [wikipedia] is not activated.
- You installed your Linux system on a new hard disk but forgot to register it in the BIOS. Therefore, stage 1 of the boot loader is loaded, but stage 2 cannot be accessed.
- The BIOS is not able to detect the full hard disk capacity. For example, in case of a 40 GB disk, it only detects the first 32 GB. However, Linux is installed on the last 8 GB.
- The computer BIOS is not able to address the hard disk area beyond cylinder 1024. However, the Linux boot partition (or the partition containing the kernel or other files needed for booting) is partly or entirely located beyond cylinder 1024. Usually, this problem only occurs on old machines. However, it may still happen occasionally even with new BIOS versions.
- The BIOS cannot boot from disks attached to the second IDE controller. However, the Linux hard disk is attached to the second IDE controller. This problem, too, is rather uncommon.
- The hard disk geometry set in the BIOS during the GRUB installation was changed posteriorly or the hard disk was inserted in a different machine or attached to a different controller after the installation.
Solution
For cause one, correct the hard disk settings in the BIOS or activate LBA.
For cause two, register all hard disks in the BIOS.
For causes three, four, and five, a BIOS update might be the answer, provided the motherboard manufacturer supplies a newer BIOS that solves this problem. Otherwise, the problem can be solved by creating a boot partition within the area that can be addressed by the BIOS, i.e. within the hard disk area detected by the BIOS (for cause three), within the first 1024 cylinders (cause four), or on a hard disk attached to the first IDE controller (cause five).
In the case of cause four, the problem should be solved by attaching the Linux hard disk to the first IDE controller, if this is possible. When doing this, remember that the device names (/etc/fstab) will change. Adjust these names and the GRUB configuration files with the rescue system or by reinstalling the Linux system.
For cause number six, rewrite the boot loader with the YaST2 boot loader configuration dialog or by entering the following command in a root shell:
grub --batch --device-map=/boot/grub/device.map </etc/grub.conf
For further information on this problem, refer to the online GRUB documentation at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#Stage1%20errors or enter the command info grub in a shell.
<keyword>grub,geom,error,boot,bootloader,bootmanager</keyword>