Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon GNU GRUB is empty

[LearningtoLinux]

I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 that i wiped and installed Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon version 2.06 onto about 4 years ago. Apparently since the beginning everything that I have downloaded was filed into the root filesystem so I did searches and found some info to delete what I could after saving everything to an external hard drive. I did this and it seemed to work, then I tried to do an update. After the update it prompted me to restart it so I did and now I can not sign into my laptop.

Then I looked up how to get to the GNU GRUB boot directory and it is blank except for this: grub>

Please help me, I have the original installation on a thumb drive but nothing happens when I plug it in.

 

[Condobloke]

G'day & Welcome to Linux.org

** BE SURE to identify the correct partition that grub is/was stored on***

How to install or reinstall Grub - Linux Mint Forums

 

[Condobloke]

OR....this is more straightforward

sudo grub-install /dev/sdx (<<<<<or whatever partition is the boot)

sudo update-grub

Reboot

 

[LearningtoLinux]

OR....this is more straightforward

sudo grub-install /dev/sdx (<<<<<or whatever partition is the boot)

sudo update-grub

Reboot

They came up saying, "can't find command 'sudo'"

 

[LearningtoLinux]

OR....this is more straightforward

sudo grub-install /dev/sdx (<<<<<or whatever partition is the boot)

sudo update-grub

Reboot

Reboot brings me to the sign in page but it won't let me sign in.

 

[Condobloke]

Instead of typing in a password, just hit Enter

if it asks for it....make the user name mint

 

[bob466]

It might be an idea to do a clean install of Mint Cinnamon 21.3.

 

[LearningtoLinux]

It might be an idea to do a clean install of Mint Cinnamon 21.3. View attachment 20305

Yes thank you Bob, I am trying to get to where I can reinstall Linux from the thumb drive I have. Nothing has gotten me there yet. Do you know how I can do this?

 

[LearningtoLinux]

Instead of typing in a password, just hit Enter

if it asks for it....make the user name mint

Neither of these worked. It seems to me that I accidentally deleted critical boot files.

 

[LearningtoLinux]

I was finally able to sign in, I'm not sure if everything I download is still being saved in the root filesystem or not. There is also this secondary window on the desktop top left over the desktop icons that I cannot get rid of.

 

[Condobloke]

I am trying to get to where I can reinstall Linux from the thumb drive I have

Given the uncertainty here, i think @bob466's suggestion of a fresh install would be best

The thumb drive.....it has Linux loaded onto it ?......is that still Linux Mint 20 ?...could be a really good idea to upgrade to Linux Mint 21.3
This would be the time you save anything that you need to save to an external drive
AFter saving everything you need, there is no need to wipe the drive....the Linux Installer will do that for you.
Use Balena etcher to 'load' 21.3 to the usb stick. No need to wipe the usb stick first...balena will wipe it as part of the process

Boot the laptop to that usb stick.....that will be a LIVE version....you can play around with it if you wish to.....but remember it is not fully installed....yet.

To fully install, double click on the "Install Linux Mint" icon on the desktop. Tick the boxes to install multimedia codecs etc during the install....also select to use the entire disk for Linux Mint .

Sit back with a coffee and watch.

Try not to complicate the process. it is quite straightforward.


Reading this may line the ducks up in a row for you

Install Linux Mint — Linux Mint Installation Guide documentation

linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io

 

[LearningtoLinux]

Given the uncertainty here, i think @bob466's suggestion of a fresh install would be best

The thumb drive.....it has Linux loaded onto it ?......is that still Linux Mint 20 ?...could be a really good idea to upgrade to Linux Mint 21.3
This would be the time you save anything that you need to save to an external drive
AFter saving everything you need, there is no need to wipe the drive....the Linux Installer will do that for you.
Use Balena etcher to 'load' 21.3 to the usb stick. No need to wipe the usb stick first...balena will wipe it as part of the process

Boot the laptop to that usb stick.....that will be a LIVE version....you can play around with it if you wish to.....but remember it is not fully installed....yet.

To fully install, double click on the "Install Linux Mint" icon on the desktop. Tick the boxes to install multimedia codecs etc during the install....also select to use the entire disk for Linux Mint .

Sit back with a coffee and watch.

Try not to complicate the process. it is quite straightforward.


Reading this may line the ducks up in a row for you

Install Linux Mint — Linux Mint Installation Guide documentation

linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io

Thank you very much for the step by step instructions! I had already done this without the upgrade you described. I will do this now, it would be way better to have the newest version and I don't know why I didn't think of it.

 

[LearningtoLinux]

Given the uncertainty here, i think @bob466's suggestion of a fresh install would be best

The thumb drive.....it has Linux loaded onto it ?......is that still Linux Mint 20 ?...could be a really good idea to upgrade to Linux Mint 21.3
This would be the time you save anything that you need to save to an external drive
AFter saving everything you need, there is no need to wipe the drive....the Linux Installer will do that for you.
Use Balena etcher to 'load' 21.3 to the usb stick. No need to wipe the usb stick first...balena will wipe it as part of the process

Boot the laptop to that usb stick.....that will be a LIVE version....you can play around with it if you wish to.....but remember it is not fully installed....yet.

To fully install, double click on the "Install Linux Mint" icon on the desktop. Tick the boxes to install multimedia codecs etc during the install....also select to use the entire disk for Linux Mint .

Sit back with a coffee and watch.

Try not to complicate the process. it is quite straightforward.


Reading this may line the ducks up in a row for you

Install Linux Mint — Linux Mint Installation Guide documentation

linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io

I ran into an error installing Balena Etcher and sent them the log file to get help.

 

[Condobloke]

Are you using Linux to download Etcher ?

 

[LearningtoLinux]

Are you using Linux to download Etcher ?

No I am doing it on my PC running windows so I can put it on the USB stick to plug into my laptop which is running Linux

 

[bob466]

Yes thank you Bob, I am trying to get to where I can reinstall Linux from the thumb drive I have. Nothing has gotten me there yet. Do you know how I can do this?

Follow Condobloke's advice in post 11.

It's very easy to burn the Mint ISO to a Flash Drive with Etcher on a Linux computer...if there's something wrong with the ISO Etcher will tell you. If that's the case...download the ISO from a different mirror...run the checksum too.

 

[LearningtoLinux]

Given the uncertainty here, i think @bob466's suggestion of a fresh install would be best

The thumb drive.....it has Linux loaded onto it ?......is that still Linux Mint 20 ?...could be a really good idea to upgrade to Linux Mint 21.3
This would be the time you save anything that you need to save to an external drive
AFter saving everything you need, there is no need to wipe the drive....the Linux Installer will do that for you.
Use Balena etcher to 'load' 21.3 to the usb stick. No need to wipe the usb stick first...balena will wipe it as part of the process

Boot the laptop to that usb stick.....that will be a LIVE version....you can play around with it if you wish to.....but remember it is not fully installed....yet.

To fully install, double click on the "Install Linux Mint" icon on the desktop. Tick the boxes to install multimedia codecs etc during the install....also select to use the entire disk for Linux Mint .

Sit back with a coffee and watch.

Try not to complicate the process. it is quite straightforward.


Reading this may line the ducks up in a row for you

Install Linux Mint — Linux Mint Installation Guide documentation

linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io

 

[LearningtoLinux]

I wasn't able to download the newest version onto the same USB stick as the original so I downloaded it onto a new one. Will this cause problems when I install the newest version onto my laptop?

 

[Condobloke]

As long as you used Balena Etcher to "attach" the .iso file you have downloaded, to the new usb

So, download the newest version of Linux mint to your pc......then use balena etcher to attach the file you downloaded, to the usb stick

 

[LearningtoLinux]

As long as you used Balena Etcher to "attach" the .iso file you have downloaded, to the new usb

So, download the newest version of Linux mint to your pc......then use balena etcher to attach the file you downloaded, to the usb stick

I haven't gotten a response for the service ticket of the error I had when downloading Balena etcher onto my PC. Does this need to be on my laptop to download Linux? I am unable to download anything onto my laptop.