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After upgrading Ubuntu 13.10 to 14.04, grub failed to load Ubuntu and threw the error symbol 'grub_term_highlight_color' not found. I followed the solution offered in the Bug Report but this failed for me, throwing the error failed to get canonical path of /cow.

Now, I'm trying to install Boot-Repair to fix this problem on a live pen-drive, using these commands.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && (boot-repair &)

But after adding and updating the repositories, it shows ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair 404 Not Found error.

W: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu/dists/trusty/main/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not Found

Is this problem solvable or is there an alternative PPA for Boot-Repair?

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  • did you face any problem by following the accepted answer? Apr 18, 2014 at 16:31
  • Not at all, it might not be the most elegant solution but it works perfectly and it is the quickest solution.
    – Joren
    Apr 18, 2014 at 16:34
  • The PPA doesn't have a package ready for Trusty. Just mail the maintainers.
    – Braiam
    Apr 18, 2014 at 21:07
  • 1
    After upgrade from 13.10 to 14.04 I was left with unbootable computer. My Configuration is Toshiba P875 laptop with Windows 8 preinstalled. Using bootable boot-repair.iso (sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd) worked for me to. May 12, 2014 at 7:59

4 Answers 4

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Update: The PPA currently offers updated packages for 14.04 and above.

Workaround: install packages for an older release

It showed a 404 not found error because the PPA was not updated for the newer release (trusty). To install boot-repair in Ubuntu 14.04, run the below commands on terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
codename="$(lsb_release -cs)"
sudo sh -c "sed -i 's/$codename/saucy/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yannubuntu-boot-repair-$codename.list"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && (boot-repair &)

Now use the recommended repair option to repair your grub and restart after boot-repair finished repairing.

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  • 1
    Please, post the reason for downvotes. Apr 18, 2014 at 16:16
  • 5
    why would some one down vote this! worked for me, thanks man! Apr 18, 2014 at 17:27
  • after the last step (install -y boot repair) cmd reach "/usr/share/boot-sav/gui-g2slaunch.sh: line 33: hash: gksudo: not found /usr/share/boot-sav/gui-g2slaunch.sh: line 35: hash: gksu: not found" and displays a boot repair window saying "scanning systems(os-prober).This may take several minutes" ... :( But doesnt end ..Why ? :( Apr 20, 2014 at 9:52
  • Now this answer was added to the boot-repair community page. Apr 23, 2014 at 8:07
  • I think that those downvotes are because of "using saucy packages on trusty is bad, bebebe". Just ignore them. I got a downvote on another answer because of that reason. Fortunately I had no upvotes, so just deleted it.
    – Danatela
    May 12, 2014 at 8:03
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Update: There is a bug report on lp - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1289977

From the above bug report,

-Boot (14.04) from a pendrive -Mount my root file system (where /boot is)

sudo mount /dev/sdaX /mnt

/dev/sdaX is the location of your /boot directory

-run: "sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt//boot /dev/sdX"

The exact command depends on if you have a separate boot partition

Separate /boot partition

sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt /dev/sda

No separate /boot partition

grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sda

Then reboot with HDD

Three options:

  1. Wait for the maintainer of the ppa to build a package for 14.04 . This is probably the slowest and least practical.

  2. File a bug report with the against boot-repair asking for a 14.04 package. Will possibly be a bit faster.

  3. Boot an older version of Ubuntu, 13.10, and run boot-repair. You will probably be just fine with an older version.

I suppose there is a 4th option - debug grub manually, what error message are you getting and tell us about your installation.

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  • Thank you for your answer. After upgrading from 13.10 to 14.04 I got the grub error error symbol 'grub_term_highlight_color' not found. And when I try to make changes to grub from the terminal I get the message error: failed to get canonical path of /cow'.
    – Joren
    Apr 18, 2014 at 15:10
  • What about manually changing trusty to saucy? Yes, it isn't a clean method at all but should work.
    – jobin
    Apr 18, 2014 at 15:10
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  • @Jobin - I would consider that on a live CD. There is a bug report and fix available as above.
    – Panther
    Apr 18, 2014 at 15:18
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The first workaround mentioned in this bug report worked for me:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/boot-repair/+bug/1267702

Basically, you have to manually install three .deb packages: glade2script, boot-sav and then boot-repair (in this order). Use the most recent ones (the ones for saucy).

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Had the same error "symbol 'grub_term_highlight_color' not found", stuck at Grub rescue. Tried boot-repair (recommended option), but didn't work!

Solution: Downloaded bootable boot-repair.iso (http://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/) and made a bootable usb disk. Booted from it and connected to internet and started "Recommended Repair", then followed the instructions in a few steps (manually delete/uninstall grub and then re-install a new version), which worked!

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