From: none@not.here   
      
   Paul wrote:   
   > On Wed, 2/11/2026 12:31 AM, Axel wrote:   
   >> Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:   
   >>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:52:49 +1100, Axel wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> Asked Google, and AI said run "sudo grub-update" and reboot, which I   
   >>>> did. It produced this..  https://auslink.info/linux/panic.jpg   
   >>> Worth trying to see if SystemRescue can make any sense of it.   
   >>>   
   >>> Always keep a copy handy on a bootable USB stick.   
   >> so I downloaded the ISO and burnt it to a DVD on the main PC, and booted   
   the laptop from it, and I get this .. https://auslink.info/linux/security.jpg   
   >>   
   >     AI Overview   
   >   
   >     A "Security Boot Fail" or "Secure Boot Violation" error usually occurs   
   when the   
   >     system BIOS detects unauthorized changes to the boot loader, often   
   caused by   
   >     UEFI updates, new hardware, or booting from an unsigned USB drive. To   
   fix it,   
   >     enter the BIOS (usually F2, F12, or Del at startup), disable Secure Boot   
   in   
   >     the Boot/Security menu, or set BIOS to UEFI mode.   
   >   
   > Note that Ubuntu has screwed around with the UEFI materials in the BIOS.   
   > I noted what looked like some certificates added to my Big Machine by a   
   > Ubuntu install attempt. My BIOS offered an opportunity to connect a FAT32   
   > USB stick and "back up" the UEFI metadata, but I had neglected to do this   
   > before Ubuntu got in there. I can't say I am too happy about silent changes   
   > to the machine... I have still not managed to correct this. I put the BIOS   
   > in some sort of recovery mode and it still didn't clean house.   
   >   
   > *******   
   >   
   > Assuming you do enough about secure boot settings to allow some media to   
   boot,   
   > you can work on your boot problem of the original disk.   
   >   
   >    https://askubuntu.com/questions/41930/kernel-panic-not-sync   
   ng-vfs-unable-to-mount-root-fs-on-unknown-block0-0   
   >   
   >      "You are missing the initramfs for that kernel. Choose another kernel   
   from the   
   >       GRUB menu under Advanced options for Ubuntu and run   
   >   
   >          sudo update-initramfs -u -k version   
   >   
   >       to generate the initrd for version (replace version with the kernel   
   version string   
   >       such as   
   >   
   >          4.15.0-36-generic   
   >   
   >       ) then   
   >   
   >          sudo update-grub   
   >   
   >       it does have to do with the rootfs. The kernel can't mount the rootfs   
   because it   
   >       isn't configured correctly to do so. Instead it is assumed that the   
   kernel will   
   >       use an initramfs to mount the rootfs. In the days before initramfs,   
   you had to   
   >       configure the kernel to know a hard coded block number for the rootfs   
   to mount,   
   >       and this is the behavior it falls back to when it has no initramfs.   
   >      "   
   >   
   >      *****   
   >   
   >      "In my situation the problem was that /boot was at 100% capacity, so   
   the last   
   >       2 kernel updates had not completed successfully, hence on reboot when   
   GRUB2   
   >       selected the latest Kernel, it failed."   
   >   
   > At a time like this, starting using the Install Media in a Live Session,   
   > gives an opportunity to examine the partitions for fullness. You don't want   
   > to be attempting to repair something, without space to do the repair. I'm   
   more   
   > willing to believe this all started with a space problem, than something   
   else.   
   >   
   > ****************************   
   >   
   >      https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair   
   >   
   >         https://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/files/   
   >   
   >             boot-repair-disk-64bit.iso 	2023-12-23 	2.6 GB   
   >   
   > That's just the equivalent of a Live DVD plus the .ppa with the   
   > Boot Repair package in it. The ISO is convenient for a person with   
   > optical media capability, but you can also use your favorite ISO to USB   
   > stick utility to put that media on USB. I have both that particular   
   > version and a CD sized one (much older, not appropriate). So that   
   > tool is in my kit bag of odds and sods and I have used it, more than   
   > once (when lazy). I know how to chroot, as I was doing that back   
   > in Gentoo days.   
   >   
   > Sometimes, Boot Repair can do the thing itself, but just as often,   
   > it will tell you to open a Terminal and issue forth with text   
   > commands. Then, while you stare at those instructions, you think   
   > about whether the syntax looks reasonable, any disk identifiers   
   > are OK and so on.   
   >   
   > One of the rules of "boot repair", is ONLY the disk with the OS and   
   > the boot information should be present during the Repair. It does   
   > you no good, if the Boot Repair puts the starting materials   
   > on Disk 4, the OS is on Disk 1, Thursday morning you unplug   
   > Disk 4 and the thing gives another boot error scenario. You need   
   > simple setups, self contained ones, where boot materials are "next to"   
   > the OS. When I give you advice like this, my assumption is that the   
   > boot disk was *already* self contained and in perfect shape. Now   
   > is not the time to be introducing additional curve balls such   
   > as "I broke my boot" and "by the way, I never did this correctly   
   > in the first place". We call that a "double fault"! And that   
   > requires more cleverness and extra shoveling to escape.   
   >   
   >  From your Live Media, make sure you have enough space before you   
   > start the repair. Make sure. We don't want to turn this into a   
   > clown show, where you ask GOogle and it tells you to reinstall the OS :-)   
      
   I had already started a fresh install before i saw your comprehensive   
   post, thank you. it seemed the best option to avoid a possibly corrupted   
   system. thankfully all is working well now. btw.. this laptop has the   
   most rudimentary BIOS I have ever seen. there are very few settings, and   
   most cannot be changed. It has UEFI with secure boot, but there's no way   
   to disable SB.   
      
   >   
   >     Paul   
      
      
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