fstab errors... no boot

[medusa369]

Hey all. I have a problem where one of my 2 HDs is not booting normally stopped at where x normally would start. In troubleshooting I notticed that maybe the problem might be that in the errant HD I don't see any files in my home folder under the filesystem partition even though I have my home folder under another partitions ( same HD ). I stumbled on this where on my 2nd working HD I DO see files in the filesystem home although yet again I have my home folder on another partitios. I am suspecting this might be the crux of the problem. I give you my gparted screenshots. Also on the nonworking HD I don't see where I can mark my filesystem as root after the fact. HELP...

 

[wizardfromoz]

G'day @medusa369 and welcome to linux.org

For The Viewers -

EDITED - NOTE that much of the below should be the other way around, the OP has told us in #3. Read my response and corrected comments. Wizard

Top screenshot appears to be Linux Mint 20, working on /dev/sdd

Bottom screenshot is Kali, non-working on /dev/sdb

OP (that's Original Poster, ie you, @medusa369 ) - compare the ESPs /dev/sdd1 and /dev/sdb3

The Kali one should be FAT32, not EXT4, you need to reinstall it.

That is, if you feel you MUST use Kali. I don't recommend it unless you are an Advanced User, myself, but they say that at their website, too.

BTW, with the Mint - /dev/sdd3 - that is not really swap (shouldn't show as EXT4) and the size is just crazy, no offence. Mint has its own swap built in.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[medusa369]

Hey wizard! First let me explain that the nonworkling HD is Mint not Kali. As you can see there is a boot partition on Kali noted not in Mint.
Why fat for KaliLinux? BTW I have no swap in MInt (ava1.) Kali (ava2) has a swap partition.

 

[wizardfromoz]

@medusa369 - noted, thanks for clarifying that.

The reason for my confusion was that if I hover my pointer over your top screenshot it shows as

mint20.png

and the bottom one shows as

kali.png

Others may find the same, but of course I take your word for it.

So Kali is the top one, working, and Mint the bottom one, has the problems.

That being so:

• Mint's ESP, /dev/sdb3, should be FAT32, not EXT4 (as it is with the one for Kali). If Mint is not booting, that is a reason why.

• Also on the nonworking HD I don't see where I can mark my filesystem as root after the fact.

  You don't need to. Once you have your Mint fixed up, if you boot into it and open GParted, it will show what is currently /dev/sdb2 with a / for root system in a column titled Mount Point, such as you see with Kali

Perhaps you can recall how you ran the Mint installer, and we can tell what you did wrongly.

Cheers

Wizard

 

[wizardfromoz]

BTW, you still have errors with Kali, but we can talk about that once you have your Mint fixed up.

 

[medusa569]

Hey Wiz. First let me apologize for getting my distros misidentified. Yes Kali was ava2 and Mint20 was ava1. I‌ resolved my problem by reinstalling the mint distro with out formatting the /Home folder and this time making sure there was a / root partition. That seemed to have done the trick. I suppose before the software wasn't appropriately directed to the remaining bootup files to complete a proper login to the mint GUI. This was my first time excperiencing this task and of course was in great fear of loosing pertinent files....all good now. My thanks for your attempts to help. BTW‌i keopt kali the way it was an seems to suffer no repurcussions so far from not having FAT32. I'll look into that at calmer times.

 

[wizardfromoz]

First let me apologize for getting my distros misidentified.

You mean I wasn't going crazy after all?...Oops, too late

Glad you got it sorted

Avagudweegend

Wiz

 

[medusa569]

Nah Wiz: Jus a brain fart on my end..soemthing occuring more and more. Thanks again.