Linux Mint Install Failure on older ASUS Zenbook N501JW

[Alexzee]

That is the exact error I get when I boot up.


Would it still be there after I erased the drive when I installed Mint? My intention is to single boot Linux via this drive.

I ran fsck and this is what I got:

fsck from util-linux 2.37.2
e2fsck 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
ext2fs_open2: Bad magic number in super-block
fsck.ext2: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks...
fsck.ext2: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sdb

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:

e2fsck -b 8193 <device>

or
<device>

Found a dos partition table in /dev/sdb


Thanks again for any and all help.

Thanks for clarifying that is the exact message.
Yes, there is a possibility that a hidden partition could still be in place even after you installed Mint.

In the past I couldn't get rid of 3-4 Fedora partitions and I had to boot into a Live version of G-Parted to completely remove those partitions.

I would try the advise given and run:

e2fsck -b 32768 /dev/sdb

OR> e2fsck -b 8193 /dev/sdb

When you have time what is the output of:

lsblk -f

I had trouble coping and pasting in code tags and somehow one of the lines of text from the output you posted got removed.
Also, trying to type in /dev/sdb in code tags at the end of e2fsck -b 8193 failed. Pressing the keys produced nothing.

 

[Jerry-Linux]

OR> e2fsck -b 8193 /dev/sdb

When I run that I get:

e2fsck 1.46.5 (30-Dec-2021)
e2fsck: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sdb

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
or
e2fsck -b 32768 <device>

Found a dos partition table in /dev/sdb

lsblk -f

For that command I get:

NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
│ vfat FAT32 AC05-3C8A 504.9M 1% /boot/efi
└─sda2
ext4 1.0 0ac74c4e-19a8-4c7e-a7da-e09fcaa3ec9f 207.7G 6% /
sdb
└─sdb1
BitLoc 2

That text looks a little jumbled so I attached a screenshot.

Is any of that info useful? I am not sure if that helps.

 

[Alexzee]

When I run that I get:




For that command I get:

That text looks a little jumbled so I attached a screenshot.

Is any of that info useful? I am not sure if that helps.

Looking at the screenshot it shows that /dev/sdb1 is labeled "BitLoc2".
After some reading Bitlocker Encryption is used on hard drives that run a Windows 10 or Windows 11 os.

Turn on device encryption - Microsoft Support

Learn how to turn on device encryption, or standard BitLocker encryption in Windows.

support.microsoft.com

Do you have G-parted installed on your Asus Zenbook in your Linux Mint installation?

 

[Brickwizard]

Looking at the screenshot it shows that /dev/sdb1 is labeled "BitLoc2".

Unless you're dual booting with windows, you certainly don't want that, I would be inclined to completely clean and reformat the drive, and start again by reinstalling Mint

 

[Deleted member 108694]

Along with @Brickwizard has said I usually turn off UEFI and use Legacy boot if your BIOS will let you - you do not need UEFI to run Linux - For most hardware, the boot mode (EFI vs. BIOS) is irrelevant. The drivers Linux loads are identical in either case, as should be the performance. The main caveat here is that the hardware may be initialized in different ways depending on your boot mode, and if the Linux drivers make assumptions about how the hardware is initialized, one way or the other may work better.

 

[Alexzee]

Unless you're dual booting with windows, you certainly don't want that, I would be inclined to completely clean and reformat the drive, and start again by reinstalling Mint

I completely agree:-

 

[Jerry-Linux]

After some reading Bitlocker Encryption is used on hard drives that run a Windows 10 or Windows 11 os.

Yes, I purchased this drive used, which was likely pulled from a Windows machine. When I installed Linux I chose the option to delete the drive and install Linux, but that obviously did not delete Bitlocker.

Do you have G-parted installed on your Asus Zenbook in your Linux Mint installation?

I just installed GParted. When that program opens I see only 2 partitions. Can I use that program to delete the Bitlocker partition?

 

[Jerry-Linux]

Unless you're dual booting with windows, you certainly don't want that, I would be inclined to completely clean and reformat the drive, and start again by reinstalling Mint

I want to single boot Linux with this drive. Once I figure out how to delete Bitlocker I will reinstall Mint and see if that solved the error I get.

 

[Jerry-Linux]

Along with @Brickwizard has said I usually turn off UEFI and use Legacy boot if your BIOS will let you - you do not need UEFI to run Linux

Thank you. This is helpful.

 

[Condobloke]

4 Ways to Remove or Disable BitLocker Drive Encryption on Windows 10

 

[Jerry-Linux]

Update: I ran GParted with Live Boot and deleted all partitions. I reinstalled Linux Mint but unfortunately I still get the error: "failure writing sector 0x149db800 to 'hd0'"

I reran the fsck command to see if the Bitlocker partition was deleted, and it seems that it is. (See screenshot)

At this point I am wondering if the drive is bad. Linux works after I get the error. But I am thinking about buying another ssd to see if that gets the same error.

 

[Brickwizard]

Once I figure out how to delete Bitlocker

Was this the method you used with G-parted? [you need to do this running a recovery program or your mint installation pen-drive in a "live" situation not installed]

• Using parted: in the terminal
  1. Run parted /dev/sda.
  2. Use print free to check the partition table's contents.
  3. Use mktable msdos to create a new partition table.
  4. Use mkpart primary fat32 1 100% [to create a new partition]
  5. Exit parted with quit.

 

[Alexzee]

Yes, I purchased this drive used, which was likely pulled from a Windows machine. When I installed Linux I chose the option to delete the drive and install Linux, but that obviously did not delete Bitlocker.


I just installed GParted. When that program opens I see only 2 partitions. Can I use that program to delete the Bitlocker partition?

Thanks for the details on purchasing a used HDD.

The screenshot that you posted of GParted is /dev/sda.
The device that's was marked "BitLoc2" is /dev/sdb.

Darik's Boot & Nuke wipe drives for me in the past and it was successful.

Darik's Boot and Nuke

Download Darik's Boot and Nuke for free. A hard drive disk wipe and data clearing utility. Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot image that securely wipes hard disk drives (HDDs). DBAN is appropriate for personal use, bulk data destruction, or emergency data destruction for...

sourceforge.net

Also: see Condobloke's link in post #50:

4 Ways to Remove or Disable BitLocker Drive Encryption​