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Solved! Invalid Partition Table on New Install

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MikeE
Posts: 8
Joined: 2017-09-21 12:44

Solved! Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#1 Post by MikeE »

I have been trying to install Debian 9.1 on a 64GB USB pen drive on my PC. Downloaded the install image, and burned it to a 4GB pen drive. I then booted from the Debian installer and installed Debian to one partition on the 64GB USB pen drive. When asked if I wanted to update Grub on my hard drive (which has Windows and Ubuntu already installed) to add a boot to Debian option I clicked no, install Grub to the 64GB pen drive. I want to leave my hard drive as it is. The install went without problems, but when I came to boot from the newly installed Debian image, I got the message "invalid partition table". I repeated the process with the same result.

Can anyone help me get my Debian image working?
Last edited by MikeE on 2017-09-25 13:11, edited 1 time in total.

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GarryRicketson
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Joined: 2015-01-20 22:16
Location: Durango, Mexico

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#2 Post by GarryRicketson »

Well, don't you think it would help us answer if you at least showed us
what the partition table is on this ? then maybe some one can see what
is wrong with it.
If you don't know how to do that:
How to see what the partition table is on Debian
1 hit of many : https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-vie ... sk-parted/

Show us the output of this command:
(# indicates you must be root or use "sudo")

Code: Select all

# fdisk -l 

MikeE
Posts: 8
Joined: 2017-09-21 12:44

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#3 Post by MikeE »

OK, this is what fdisk -l gives me:

Disk /dev/sdc: 57.3 GiB, 61505273856 bytes, 120127488 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x19a5efee

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdc1 2048 86767615 86765568 41.4G 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2 86769662 120125439 33355778 15.9G 5 Extended
/dev/sdc5 86769664 120125439 33355776 15.9G 82 Linux swap / Solaris

MikeE
Posts: 8
Joined: 2017-09-21 12:44

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#4 Post by MikeE »

It appears that sdc2 is overlapping sdc5. I don't even know what sdc2 is for. Can I just delete it?

MikeE
Posts: 8
Joined: 2017-09-21 12:44

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#5 Post by MikeE »

I'm using legacy mode boot. That should support an MBR partition table?

TonyT
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Joined: 2006-09-04 11:57

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#6 Post by TonyT »

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdc1 2048 86767615 86765568 41.4G 83 Linux
/dev/sdc2 86769662 120125439 33355778 15.9G 5 Extended
/dev/sdc5 86769664 120125439 33355776 15.9G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
I would reinstall onto the drive and when the partitioner loads delete all existing partitions and manually create 2 new primary partitions, one for linux and one for swap. You don't need an extended partition at all if the thumb drive is used only for running linux. Or create 3 primary partitions: 15GB for / (bootable), 40GB /home & 2GB swap. (/ and /home formatted at ext4)

p.H
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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#7 Post by p.H »

Some (too many) buggy BIOSes require that the boot device has a partition table with a primary partition which has the "boot" flag activated. So I would try to activate the boot flag on the primay partition sdc1.

Code: Select all

fdisk /dev/sdc

Code: Select all

command : a (toggle boot flag)
partition : 1
command : p (print table)
command : w (write table to disk)
command : q (quit)

MikeE
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Joined: 2017-09-21 12:44

Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#8 Post by MikeE »

OK. I manually partitioned the drive - a swap partition of 4GB, the rest as an ext3 bootable partition. I don't get the partition table error now, but the PC won't boot - doesn't do a thing. The file system is readable. What I have done wrong this time?

Disk /dev/sdb: 57.3 GiB, 61505273856 bytes, 120127488 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x19a5efee

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 112314368 120125439 7811072 3.7G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb2 * 2048 112314367 112312320 53.6G 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order.

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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#9 Post by p.H »

How did you install the boot loader ?

MikeE
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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#10 Post by MikeE »

Through the Debian installer package. The install routine gave me the option of installing on the hard drive or on the Flash drive. I chose the flash drive. I can see /boot and /boot/grub directories

MikeE
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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#11 Post by MikeE »

Is there a way of manually installing the bootloader?

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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#12 Post by p.H »

Did you select the MBR of the flash drive and not any partition ?

Yes you can manually install the boot loader. You can do so by starting the installer in rescue mode, launch a shell on the installed system root and run

Code: Select all

grub-install /dev/sdX
with /dev/sdX being the flash drive.

MikeE
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Re: Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#13 Post by MikeE »

Success! At last! I reinstalled Grub from the shell and it booted. Thanks very much all who helped me out.

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Re: Solved! Invalid Partition Table on New Install

#14 Post by p.H »

Good job.
Can you provide the output of the following command ?

Code: Select all

debconf-show grub-pc 2>/dev/null | grep install_devices
It prints the device you asked the Debian installer to install GRUB on.

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