docs/errors.html - grub4dos-solaris - Rivoreo Source Code Repositories

 <HTML>

 <HEAD>
 <TITLE>GRUB Error Messages</TITLE>
 </HEAD>

 <BODY>

 <CENTER><H1>GRUB Error Messages</H1></CENTER>
 <CENTER><H3>by
 <A HREF=http://www.uruk.org/~erich/>Erich Boleyn</A></H3></CENTER>

 <HR>

 <H2>Contents</H2>

 <UL>
 <LI><A HREF="#stage1">Errors Reported by the Stage 1</A>
 <LI><A HREF="#stage1_5">Errors Reported by the Stage 1.5</A>
 <LI><A HREF="#stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A>
 </UL>

 <HR>

 <H2><A NAME="stage1">Errors Reported by the Stage 1</A></H2>

 The general way that the Stage 1 handles errors is to print an
 error string and then halt.  Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del will reboot.<P>

 The following is a comprehensive list of error messages for the
 Stage 1:<P>

 <UL>
 <LI><B>"Hard Disk Error"</B><P>
 This error message will occur if the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5 is being read
 from a hard disk, and the attempt to determine the size and
 geometry of the hard disk fails.<P>
 <LI><B>"Floppy Error"</B><P>
 This error message will occur if the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5 is being read
 from a floppy disk, and the attempt to determine the size and
 geometry of the floppy disk fails.  It's listed as a different error
 since the probe sequence is different than for hard disks.<P>
 <LI><B>"Read Error"</B><P>
 This error message will occur if a disk read error happens while trying
 to read the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5.<P>
 <LI><B>"Geom Error"</B><P>
 This error message will occur if the location of the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5
 is not in the area supported by reading the disk with the BIOS directly.
 This could occur because the BIOS translated geometry has been changed
 by the user or the disk is moved to another machine or controller after
 installation, or GRUB was not installed using itself (if it was, the
 Stage 2 version of this error would have been seen during that process
 and it would not have completed the install).<P>
 </UL>

 <HR>

 <H2><A NAME="stage1_5">Errors Reported by the Stage 1.5</A></H2>

 The general way that the Stage 1.5 handles errors is to print an
 error number in the form "Error: <num>" and then halt.  Pressing
 Ctrl-Alt-Del will reboot.<P>

 The error numbers correspond to the
 <A HREF="#stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A> in the
 listed sequence.<P>

 <HR>

 <H2><A NAME="stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A></H2>

 The general way that the Stage 2 handles errors is to abort the
 operation in question, print an error string, then (if possible)
 either continue based on the fact that an error occurred or wait
 for the user to deal with the error.<P>

 The following is a comprehensive list of error messages for the
 Stage 2 (error numbers for the Stage 1.5 are listed before the
 colon in each description):<P>

 <UL>
 <LI><B>1</B> : <B>"Selected item won't fit into memory"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a kernel, module, or raw file load
 command is either trying to load it's data such that it won't fit into
 memory or it is simply too big.<P>
 <LI><B>2</B> : <B>"Selected disk doesn't exist"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the device part of a device- or full filename
 refers to a disk or BIOS device that is not present or not recognized
 by the BIOS in the system.<P>
 <LI><B>3</B> : <B>"Disk read error"</B><P>
 This error is returned if there is a disk read error when trying to probe or
 read data from a particular disk.<P>
 <LI><B>4</B> : <B>"Disk write error"</B><P>
 This error is returned if there is a disk write error when trying to write
 to a particular disk.  This would generally only occur during an
 install of set active partition command.<P>
 <LI><B>5</B> : <B>"Disk geometry error"</B><P>
 This error is returned when a read is attempted at a linear block address
 beyond the end of the BIOS translated area.  This generally happens
 if your disk is larger than the BIOS can handle (512MB for (E)IDE disks on
 older machines or larger than 8GB in general).<P>
 <LI><B>6</B> : <B>"Attempt to access block outside partition"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a linear block address
 is outside of the disk partition.  This generally happens
 because of a corrupt filesystem on the disk or a bug in the code handling
 it in GRUB (it's a great debugging tool).<P>
 <LI><B>7</B> : <B>"Partition table invalid or corrupt"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the sanity checks on the integrity of the partition
 table fail.  This is a bad sign.<P>
 <LI><B>8</B> : <B>"No such partition"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a partition is requested in the device part of a
 device- or full filename which isn't on the selected disk.<P>
 <LI><B>9</B> : <B>"Bad filename (must be absolute pathname or blocklist)"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a filename is requested which doesn't fit the
 syntax/rules listed in the <A HREF=filesystem.txt>Filesystem
 Description</A>.<P>
 <LI><B>10</B> : <B>"Bad file or directory type"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a file requested is not a regular file, but
 something like a symbolic link, directory, or FIFO.<P>
 <LI><B>11</B> : <B>"File not found"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the specified filename cannot be found, but
 everything else (like the disk/partition info) is OK.<P>
 <LI><B>12</B> : <B>"Cannot mount selected partition"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the partition requested exists, but the filesystem
 type cannot be recognized by GRUB.<P>
 <LI><B>13</B> : <B>"Inconsistent filesystem structure"</B><P>
 This error is returned by the filesystem code to denote an internal
 error caused by the sanity checks of the filesystem structure on disk
 not matching what it expects.  This is usually caused by a corrupt
 filesystem or bugs in the code handling it in GRUB.<P>
 <LI><B>14</B> : <B>"Filesystem compatibility error, can\'t read whole file"</B><P>
 Some of the filesystem reading code in GRUB has limits on the length of
 the files it can read.  This error is returned when the user runs into
 such a limit.<P>
 <LI><B>15</B> : <B>"Error while parsing number"</B><P>
 This error is returned if GRUB was expecting to read a numbur and encountered
 bad data.<P>
 <LI><B>16</B> : <B>"Device string unrecognizable"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a device string was expected, and the string
 encountered didn't fit the
 syntax/rules listed in the <A HREF=filesystem.txt>Filesystem
 Description</A>.<P>
 <LI><B>17</B> : <B>"Invalid device requested"</B><P>
 This error is returned if a device string is recognizable but does not
 fall under the other device errors.<P>
 <LI><B>18</B> : <B>"Invalid or unsupported executable format"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the kernel image boing loaded is not recognized
 as Multiboot or one of the supported native formats (Linux zImage or
 bzImage, FreeBSD, or NetBSD).<P>
 <LI><B>19</B> : <B>"Loading below 1MB is not supported"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the lowest address in a kernel is below the
 1MB boundary.  The Linux zImage format is a special case and can be
 handled since it has a fixed loading address and maximum size.<P>
 <LI><B>20</B> : <B>"Unsupported Multiboot features requested"</B><P>
 This error is returned when the Multiboot features word in the Multiboot
 header requires a feature that is not recognized.  The point of this is
 that the kernel requires special handling which GRUB is likely unable
 to provide.<P>
 <LI><B>21</B> : <B>"Unknown boot failure"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the boot attempt did not succeed for reasons
 which are unknown.<P>
 <LI><B>22</B> : <B>"Must load Multiboot kernel before modules"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the module load command is used before loading
 a Multiboot kernel.  It only makes sense in this case anyway, as GRUB
 has no idea how to communicate the presence of location of such modules
 to a non-Multiboot-aware kernel.<P>
 <LI><B>23</B> : <B>"Must load Linux kernel before initrd"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the initrd command is used before loading
 a Linux kernel.  Similar to the above error, it only makes sense in that
 case anyway.<P>
 <LI><B>24</B> : <B>"Cannot boot without kernel loaded"</B><P>
 This error is returned if GRUB is told to execute the boot sequence without
 having a kernel to start.<P>
 <LI><B>25</B> : <B>"Unrecognized command"</B><P>
 This error is returned if an unrecognized command is entered into the
 command-line or in a boot sequence section of a config file and that
 entry is selected.<P>
 <LI><B>26</B> : <B>"Bad or incompatible header on compressed file"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the file header for a supposedly compressed file
 is bad.<P>
 <LI><B>27</B> : <B>"Bad or corrupt data while decompressing file"</B><P>
 This error is returned the run-length decompression code gets an
 internal error.  This is usually from a corrupt file.<P>
 <LI><B>28</B> : <B>"Bad or corrupt version of stage1/stage2"</B><P>
 This error is returned if the install command is pointed to incompatible
 or corrupt versions of the stage1 or stage2.  It can't detect corruption
 in general, but this is a sanity check on the version numbers, which
 should be correct.<P>
 </UL>

 <HR>

 <A HREF=mailto:erich@uruk.org><I>erich@uruk.org</I></A><P>

 </BODY>
 </HTML>
	<HTML>

	<HEAD>
	<TITLE>GRUB Error Messages</TITLE>
	</HEAD>

	<BODY>

	<CENTER><H1>GRUB Error Messages</H1></CENTER>
	<CENTER><H3>by
	<A HREF=http://www.uruk.org/~erich/>Erich Boleyn</A></H3></CENTER>

	<HR>

	<H2>Contents</H2>

	<UL>
	<LI><A HREF="#stage1">Errors Reported by the Stage 1</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#stage1_5">Errors Reported by the Stage 1.5</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A>
	</UL>

	<HR>

	<H2><A NAME="stage1">Errors Reported by the Stage 1</A></H2>

	The general way that the Stage 1 handles errors is to print an
	error string and then halt. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del will reboot.<P>

	The following is a comprehensive list of error messages for the
	Stage 1:<P>

	<UL>
	<LI><B>"Hard Disk Error"</B><P>
	This error message will occur if the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5 is being read
	from a hard disk, and the attempt to determine the size and
	geometry of the hard disk fails.<P>
	<LI><B>"Floppy Error"</B><P>
	This error message will occur if the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5 is being read
	from a floppy disk, and the attempt to determine the size and
	geometry of the floppy disk fails. It's listed as a different error
	since the probe sequence is different than for hard disks.<P>
	<LI><B>"Read Error"</B><P>
	This error message will occur if a disk read error happens while trying
	to read the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5.<P>
	<LI><B>"Geom Error"</B><P>
	This error message will occur if the location of the Stage 2 or Stage 1.5
	is not in the area supported by reading the disk with the BIOS directly.
	This could occur because the BIOS translated geometry has been changed
	by the user or the disk is moved to another machine or controller after
	installation, or GRUB was not installed using itself (if it was, the
	Stage 2 version of this error would have been seen during that process
	and it would not have completed the install).<P>
	</UL>

	<HR>

	<H2><A NAME="stage1_5">Errors Reported by the Stage 1.5</A></H2>

	The general way that the Stage 1.5 handles errors is to print an
	error number in the form "Error: <num>" and then halt. Pressing
	Ctrl-Alt-Del will reboot.<P>

	The error numbers correspond to the
	<A HREF="#stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A> in the
	listed sequence.<P>

	<HR>

	<H2><A NAME="stage2">Errors Reported by the Stage 2</A></H2>

	The general way that the Stage 2 handles errors is to abort the
	operation in question, print an error string, then (if possible)
	either continue based on the fact that an error occurred or wait
	for the user to deal with the error.<P>

	The following is a comprehensive list of error messages for the
	Stage 2 (error numbers for the Stage 1.5 are listed before the
	colon in each description):<P>

	<UL>
	<LI><B>1</B> : <B>"Selected item won't fit into memory"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a kernel, module, or raw file load
	command is either trying to load it's data such that it won't fit into
	memory or it is simply too big.<P>
	<LI><B>2</B> : <B>"Selected disk doesn't exist"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the device part of a device- or full filename
	refers to a disk or BIOS device that is not present or not recognized
	by the BIOS in the system.<P>
	<LI><B>3</B> : <B>"Disk read error"</B><P>
	This error is returned if there is a disk read error when trying to probe or
	read data from a particular disk.<P>
	<LI><B>4</B> : <B>"Disk write error"</B><P>
	This error is returned if there is a disk write error when trying to write
	to a particular disk. This would generally only occur during an
	install of set active partition command.<P>
	<LI><B>5</B> : <B>"Disk geometry error"</B><P>
	This error is returned when a read is attempted at a linear block address
	beyond the end of the BIOS translated area. This generally happens
	if your disk is larger than the BIOS can handle (512MB for (E)IDE disks on
	older machines or larger than 8GB in general).<P>
	<LI><B>6</B> : <B>"Attempt to access block outside partition"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a linear block address
	is outside of the disk partition. This generally happens
	because of a corrupt filesystem on the disk or a bug in the code handling
	it in GRUB (it's a great debugging tool).<P>
	<LI><B>7</B> : <B>"Partition table invalid or corrupt"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the sanity checks on the integrity of the partition
	table fail. This is a bad sign.<P>
	<LI><B>8</B> : <B>"No such partition"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a partition is requested in the device part of a
	device- or full filename which isn't on the selected disk.<P>
	<LI><B>9</B> : <B>"Bad filename (must be absolute pathname or blocklist)"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a filename is requested which doesn't fit the
	syntax/rules listed in the <A HREF=filesystem.txt>Filesystem
	Description</A>.<P>
	<LI><B>10</B> : <B>"Bad file or directory type"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a file requested is not a regular file, but
	something like a symbolic link, directory, or FIFO.<P>
	<LI><B>11</B> : <B>"File not found"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the specified filename cannot be found, but
	everything else (like the disk/partition info) is OK.<P>
	<LI><B>12</B> : <B>"Cannot mount selected partition"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the partition requested exists, but the filesystem
	type cannot be recognized by GRUB.<P>
	<LI><B>13</B> : <B>"Inconsistent filesystem structure"</B><P>
	This error is returned by the filesystem code to denote an internal
	error caused by the sanity checks of the filesystem structure on disk
	not matching what it expects. This is usually caused by a corrupt
	filesystem or bugs in the code handling it in GRUB.<P>
	<LI><B>14</B> : <B>"Filesystem compatibility error, can\'t read whole file"</B><P>
	Some of the filesystem reading code in GRUB has limits on the length of
	the files it can read. This error is returned when the user runs into
	such a limit.<P>
	<LI><B>15</B> : <B>"Error while parsing number"</B><P>
	This error is returned if GRUB was expecting to read a numbur and encountered
	bad data.<P>
	<LI><B>16</B> : <B>"Device string unrecognizable"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a device string was expected, and the string
	encountered didn't fit the
	syntax/rules listed in the <A HREF=filesystem.txt>Filesystem
	Description</A>.<P>
	<LI><B>17</B> : <B>"Invalid device requested"</B><P>
	This error is returned if a device string is recognizable but does not
	fall under the other device errors.<P>
	<LI><B>18</B> : <B>"Invalid or unsupported executable format"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the kernel image boing loaded is not recognized
	as Multiboot or one of the supported native formats (Linux zImage or
	bzImage, FreeBSD, or NetBSD).<P>
	<LI><B>19</B> : <B>"Loading below 1MB is not supported"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the lowest address in a kernel is below the
	1MB boundary. The Linux zImage format is a special case and can be
	handled since it has a fixed loading address and maximum size.<P>
	<LI><B>20</B> : <B>"Unsupported Multiboot features requested"</B><P>
	This error is returned when the Multiboot features word in the Multiboot
	header requires a feature that is not recognized. The point of this is
	that the kernel requires special handling which GRUB is likely unable
	to provide.<P>
	<LI><B>21</B> : <B>"Unknown boot failure"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the boot attempt did not succeed for reasons
	which are unknown.<P>
	<LI><B>22</B> : <B>"Must load Multiboot kernel before modules"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the module load command is used before loading
	a Multiboot kernel. It only makes sense in this case anyway, as GRUB
	has no idea how to communicate the presence of location of such modules
	to a non-Multiboot-aware kernel.<P>
	<LI><B>23</B> : <B>"Must load Linux kernel before initrd"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the initrd command is used before loading
	a Linux kernel. Similar to the above error, it only makes sense in that
	case anyway.<P>
	<LI><B>24</B> : <B>"Cannot boot without kernel loaded"</B><P>
	This error is returned if GRUB is told to execute the boot sequence without
	having a kernel to start.<P>
	<LI><B>25</B> : <B>"Unrecognized command"</B><P>
	This error is returned if an unrecognized command is entered into the
	command-line or in a boot sequence section of a config file and that
	entry is selected.<P>
	<LI><B>26</B> : <B>"Bad or incompatible header on compressed file"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the file header for a supposedly compressed file
	is bad.<P>
	<LI><B>27</B> : <B>"Bad or corrupt data while decompressing file"</B><P>
	This error is returned the run-length decompression code gets an
	internal error. This is usually from a corrupt file.<P>
	<LI><B>28</B> : <B>"Bad or corrupt version of stage1/stage2"</B><P>
	This error is returned if the install command is pointed to incompatible
	or corrupt versions of the stage1 or stage2. It can't detect corruption
	in general, but this is a sanity check on the version numbers, which
	should be correct.<P>
	</UL>

	<HR>

	<A HREF=mailto:erich@uruk.org><I>erich@uruk.org</I></A><P>

	</BODY>
	</HTML>