GRUB Rescue — Detailed Recovery from grub rescue> Prompt

Step-by-step guide to recovering from the GRUB rescue prompt, finding your Linux partition, loading kernel modules, and fully reinstalling GRUB bootloader. This guide covers everything you need to know about this topic, including common causes, step-by-step solutions, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Here are the key things to understand: grub rescue> prompt appears when GRUB cannot find its configuration or modules. This is a minimal GRUB shell with only basic commands: ls, set, insmod, normal. Common trigger: deleted or moved Linux partition, corrupted GRUB files, Windows update overwriting MBR. The rescue shell can manually load GRUB modules and boot Linux to perform a full repair. UEFI and BIOS systems have different GRUB installation procedures. Understanding these fundamentals will help you diagnose and resolve this issue more effectively.

The most common reasons this occurs include: GRUB modules directory (/boot/grub/) deleted, corrupted, or on an unmounted partition. Partition table modified (resized, moved, or deleted partitions). Windows update or installation overwriting the MBR or EFI boot entry. GRUB installed for BIOS but system booting in UEFI mode (or vice versa). Disk device name changed (sda became sdb) after adding or removing a drive. Identifying the root cause is the first step toward finding the right solution.

To resolve this, follow these recommended steps: At grub rescue>, list partitions: ls to see available devices. Find the Linux partition: ls (hd0,gpt2)/ (try each partition until you see Linux files). Set root and prefix: set root=(hd0,gpt2) and set prefix=(hd0,gpt2)/boot/grub. Load normal module: insmod normal then type normal to get the full GRUB menu. Boot Linux and reinstall GRUB: sudo grub-install /dev/sda (BIOS) or sudo grub-install --target=x86_64-efi (UEFI). Update GRUB config: sudo update-grub to regenerate grub.cfg. If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider consulting additional resources or a qualified professional.

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