Not able to launch Ubuntu after upgrade with 12.04 in VirtualBox

Question

I am using VirtualBox 4.1.2 & installed Ubuntu 10.04. I saved so much data in it. Recently I started upgrading it to 12.04. During the middle of installing 12.04 packages, I shutdown my VirtualBox. On next restart it got struck at Ubuntu loading page itself. Not able to see login page and further process.

Please help me on how to recover my old files.

Answer 1

Three issues here:

1. 10.04 desktop reached EOL, upgrades to 12.04 will then only work for the server edition.

   • http://meta.askubuntu.com/questions/6645/eol-notice-hardy-oneiric-lucid-desktop-are-now-end-of-life?cb=1

   • How to install software or upgrade from an old unsupported release?

2. You may have to upgrade Virtual Box to a more recent version to fully support newer kernel and Xorg.

   • How do I install the VirtualBox version from Oracle to install an Extension Pack?

3. your upgrade is incomplete because it was interrupted.

   • Lost power during upgrade, how do I recover?
   • Resuming an upgrade to 12.04 which got stuck on reconfiguring dropbox

Answer 2

You can try installing Ubuntu 12.04/12.10/13.04 directly onto the partition of your corrupt installation with a LiveDVD. Ubiquity now can handle upgrades from an old release to a new one while effectively preserving your data and, on the maximum attempt, your packages and system settings.

Remember to make a backup of your VM!