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Remove old linux from bootable OS - Printable Version

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Remove old linux from bootable OS - taratree - 03-24-2015

I noticed problem with linux lite i.e firefox cannot connect to internet, gray screen, cannot install/remove program

I decided to reinstall the OS but instead of replacing the old linux it created new one. Basically now I have 3 OS my original window, faulty linux and new linux.

Is there any way I can remove the old faulty linux?


Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - rokytnji - 03-24-2015

I and other members would reply.

But not enough details really to give one.

Your post assumes we are looking over your shoulder and know what you are talking about.
I realize language barriers may be a issue in this thread.

But if you can be more descriptive. Give lots more detail. Computer specs. Which distro installed grub to mbr. What distros are installed.

Maybe we can help you then. Here are some commands to get you started.

Code:
sudo parted -l

Code:
sudo blkid

Code:
sudo fdisk -l

a screenshot of gparted using http://imgur.com/ to post the screenshot on the forum'

You need to tell us the /dev/sdx  partition of the bad linux install. I hope I am clear on this.
Good luck.

Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - gold_finger - 03-25-2015

Yes you can get rid of the bad installation and keep the good one, but like rokytnji said -- we need a bit more info.

Sounds like you have 2 Linux Lites installed and one Windows; and that only one of the Linux Lites works.  Is that correct?

When the grub menu shows up, is the first choice shown now the good Linux Lite?  If not, which choice is it?

Boot into the working Linux Lite you have installed.  Open a terminal and enter the commands posted by rokytnji and also enter this one:
Code:
lsblk

With info from questions above and those commands we'll be able to tell you how to get rid of the bad installation.

Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - taratree - 03-25-2015

(03-25-2015, 05:48 PM)gold_finger link Wrote: Sounds like you have 2 Linux Lites installed and one Windows; and that only one of the Linux Lites works.  Is that correct?

When the grub menu shows up, is the first choice shown now the good Linux Lite?  If not, which choice is it?
Yes, only one works and the first choice is the good one


Code:
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ sudo parted -l
[sudo] password for tara:
Model: ATA FUJITSU MHV2120B (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 120GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
1      1049kB  57.7GB  57.7GB  primary   ntfs            boot
2      57.7GB  120GB   62.3GB  extended
7      57.7GB  90.0GB  32.2GB  logical   ext4
5      90.0GB  118GB   27.9GB  logical   ext4
6      118GB   120GB   2144MB  logical   linux-swap(v1)


tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ sudo blkid
/dev/sda1: LABEL="Vista" UUID="A0587FF5587FC914" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: UUID="2a348d9f-99ba-4fdb-91d4-bf328f6f519f" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda6: UUID="4d5b3f79-18e3-417b-85c0-5b3c6f71570b" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda7: UUID="48a7d9ac-b24b-400a-858e-b2a1aa1653bf" TYPE="ext4"
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders, total 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x463efd91

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048   112778741    56388347    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2       112779262   234440703    60830721    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       175755264   230250495    27247616   83  Linux
/dev/sda6       230252544   234440703     2094080   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7       112779264   175755263    31488000   83  Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0 111.8G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0  53.8G  0 part
├─sda2   8:2    0     1K  0 part
├─sda5   8:5    0    26G  0 part
├─sda6   8:6    0     2G  0 part [SWAP]
└─sda7   8:7    0    30G  0 part /
sr0     11:0    1  1024M  0 rom 
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ lsblk


Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - gold_finger - 03-25-2015

Code:
Partition table entries are not in disk order
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0 111.8G  0 disk
├─sda1   8:1    0  53.8G  0 part
├─sda2   8:2    0     1K  0 part
├─sda5   8:5    0    26G  0 part
├─sda6   8:6    0     2G  0 part [SWAP]
└─sda7   8:7    0    30G  0 part /
sr0     11:0    1  1024M  0 rom 
tara@tara-VERSAE6210-RNC81031647:~$ lsblk

Okay, the "/" listed on line for "sda7" indicates that that is the root partition you are booted into while running the command -- so that is the root partition for your good Linux Lite installation.

If you haven't spent a lot of time customizing that new installation and don't have a lot of data on it that needs to be saved, the easiest thing to do would be to delete all current Linux partitions, then install again.  To do that:
  • Boot with "live" LL DVD/USB
  • Open GParted (Menu -> System -> Partition Drives)
  • Right-click the Swap partition, choose "Swapoff"
  • Then delete each partition in this order by right-clicking them and choosing "Delete":  sda7, sda6, sda5, sda2.
  • Go to Edit -> Apply All Operations to finalize the deletions
  • You'll now see that the drive only has the Windows partition followed by unformatted free space -- leave it that way.
  • Now you can start the installer and tell it to install "Along side Windows".  It will automatically use the free space and make one large root partition and a small Swap partition.
  • Reboot when done and you'll have choice for Windows and (only one) Linux Lite.
If you have current install customized and don't want redo it all again, you can delete the bad install's partition, then move things around on the drive to end up with one large root for the current install.  This procedure might actually take longer to do and will likely result in an unbootable system initially, which will need to be fixed from your "live" DVD/USB.  It should be doable, but there is also a possibility that things will not go right and you'll end up with a broken system and need to re-install anyway.  (It's not likely, but is a possibility whenever manipulating partitions.)  Here's how this procedure would go:
  • Boot with "live" LL DVD/USB
  • Open GParted
  • Right-click Swap partition, choose "Swapoff"
  • Right-click sda5, choose "Delete"
  • Right-click sda6 (Swap), choose "Resize/Move"
  • With your mouse, grab sda6 and move it all the way to the left as far as you can within sda2
  • The free space from the deleted sda5 should now be between sda6 and sda7
  • Right-click sda7, choose "Resize/Move"
  • With mouse, grab left edge of sda7 and drag it to the left to encompass all of that free space (until you hit edge of the moved sda6)
  • Now you should see the original Windows partition followed by the extended (sda2) partition with only a Swap partition (sda6) and one Root partition (sda7) inside it.
  • Assuming that is what you see, go to Edit -> Apply All Operations to carry out those changes.  (This will likely take quite a bit of time to complete.  Not sure how much, but my guess would be anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour.)
  • After this completes there is a good chance that you won't be able to boot into anything -- Windows or Linux Lite.  Try rebooting into both anyway just to be sure.
  • If reboot did not work (into either OS), describe for us exactly what you saw and what happened?
  • Then, boot again with your "live" DVD/USB.
  • Enter the following commands in a terminal:
Code:
sudo parted -l
sudo blkid -c /dev/null

The sudo parted -l command will list your partitions.  The last partition listed should show as having "Ext4" under "File system" column.  Make a note of the partition number for that partition.  Using that, you'll now know that the root partition is called /dev/sdaX (where "X" is the partition number).  Mount that partition with the following command (substitute partition number for "X"):
Code:
sudo mount /dev/sdaX /mnt

Now enter this command so we can see what is in your fstab file (which directs booting to proper partitions):
Code:
cat /mnt/etc/fstab

Copy entire output of terminal commands you just ran (all four commands) and paste that back here for us to see.

When done, unmount the partition you mounted before shutting down.
Code:
sudo umount /dev/sdaX

We'll need to see that output before we can give specifics on how to get booting up and running again.

Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - taratree - 03-29-2015

I decided to delete and install new linux and everything works well.
Thank you very much.

Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - N4RPS - 03-29-2015

Hello!

You're welcome. That's a pretty much 100% effective solution to nearly every Linux Lite issue.

LL installs so quickly, it's often faster to re-install than trying to sort an issue out...

73 DE N4RPS
Rob



Re: Remove old linux from bootable OS - gold_finger - 03-30-2015

Glad you got it sorted out.  Definitely easier to just re-install vs. trying to move everything around and then repair booting.