Recently I was installing Linux Mint 19 onto a computer and discovered that the installer consistently failed to setup GRUB correctly. This left the system in an unbootable state. Thankfully there was an easy work around!
From within the live CD environment, simply quit the installer once the installation has completed (and grub has failed). Then install the Boot-Repair utility:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
 sudo apt-get update
 sudo apt install boot-repair
 sudo boot-repair
Once Boot-Repair has loaded click the arrow next to Advanced options, then navigate to the GRUB Location tab. On this screen simply press Apply and allow it to do the work for you. After the bootloader has been fixed you can restart your computer as normal and boot into your new OS!
Hello Tyler B
thanks to you for this solution I think it is the most suitable for this problem
despite everything there’s a little mistake you forgot a “n” in : “yannubuntu”
rectify : sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
if it helps anyone after me.
Thanks for the catch. I’ve corrected it!
Awesome solution, saved my day..
Glad it could help!
Note that you can also make bootable CD of Boot Repair. Works like a charm.
Hi, I have the same problem. But when I go into the terminal on the live cd, it asks me for a password – any ideas? Many thanks in advance.
Many thanks for this contribution.
I just applied your advice with immediate absolute success after hours of attempts solving the problem by defining a different GRUB installation location.
i had no idea what i did there.
just followed the instruction.
result was a further error message.
but nevertheless – afterwards it worked!
thank you so much! my first linux finally! <3
Very funny. Everything except the D/L of an .iso file!
it was with great joy that i discovered this site, as it addressed the very issue that was troubling me. i followed the script manually, but was met with the reply. cannot add PPA:’expecting value: line1 column1 (char 0)’ i then cut and pasted the script from your site and got the exact reply. what have i done wrong?
Same problem as Alexander O Reilly. No solution?
hey hey
great that it worked with all the others… here it hasnt as the grub location is empty
what to do?
I had the same problem until I realised there is a series of commands
>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair

>sudo apt-get update

>sudo apt install boot-repair
>
sudo boot-repair
Despite it saying the boot was successfully repaired I also got a message saying that the Linux Mint 19 Tara boot files are far from the start of the disk and to try creating a /boot partition (EXT4, >200Mb, start of the disk) using tools such as gParted. Then select this partition via the [Separate /boot partition] option of [Boot Repair]. (https://help/ubuntu.com/community/BootPartition)
I need to try this as the Grub boot menu does not appear
For newbies, much more simple: “Boot Repair Live Disk”
https://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/files/
(Use Unebootin for USB or make a/put on a Live DVD)
Takes three minutes to fix GRUB or GRUB2.
Comes in handy wheen needed!
Cheers
For newbies, much more simple: “Boot Repair Live Disk”
https://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/files/
(Use Unetbootin for USB or make a/put on a Live DVD)
Takes three minutes to fix GRUB or GRUB2.
Comes in handy wheen needed!
Cheers
(ie UNETBOOTIN)
Does NOT work for me, still the same error.
Just installed Linux Mint 20 on an older machine that had Mint 18, and it wouldn’t boot.
I discovered that Mint 20 already has boot repair installed, so I just booted again with my live USB and after a little trouble (USB was in legacy mode, it had to be EFI), I could succesfully run boot repair, and now my computer boots again.
Thanks!
AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO ENSURE GRUB IS INSTALLED
I initially got round the problem of Mint spitting the dummy at the end of install and needing rescue action to install Grub properly, by using boot repair as suggested above. However, I now use a solution that seems to work every time:
-Before installing Mint (or any Ubuntu-based system), I use Gparted to create a 10MB fat32 partition immediately preceding the area where I will create my Root partition. I label this boot/efi, and set the ‘label’ values to ‘boot’ and ‘esp’.
-Mint then recognizes this during installation and puts 2 directories there, using 6.4 MB and totalling 11 items (In MINT-20-Ulyana). These appear under sub directories: ‘ BOOT ‘ and ‘ ubuntu ‘ Works every time!
Hello there! I tried this, among other things,on a Dell Latitude E6410 laptop (which is around 14 years old, to be fair) and all it did was give me a ‘error: unknown filesystem’ message after I ran this. Am I doing something wrong?