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grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem

Posted on October 5, 2018

Hi All,

We’re running ubuntu 16.04 on a couple of large droplets and running into an apt-get issue. Whenever apt-get [install/upgrade] is run, it tries to remove older packages marked for removal. Specifically, it’s trying to remove older kernels. Doing so triggers grub to run updates, which fails with the following error:

...
Removing linux-image-4.4.0-128-generic (4.4.0-128.154) ...
Examining /etc/kernel/postrm.d .
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postrm.d/initramfs-tools 4.4.0-128-generic /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-128-generic
update-initramfs: Deleting /boot/initrd.img-4.4.0-128-generic
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postrm.d/x-grub-legacy-ec2 4.4.0-128-generic /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-128-generic
Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub
Searching for default file ... found: /boot/grub/default
Testing for an existing GRUB menu.lst file ... found: /boot/grub/menu.lst
Searching for splash image ... none found, skipping ...
Found kernel: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-134-generic
Found kernel: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-130-generic
Found kernel: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-134-generic
Found kernel: /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-130-generic
Updating /boot/grub/menu.lst ... done

run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postrm.d/zz-update-grub 4.4.0-128-generic /boot/vmlinuz-4.4.0-128-generic
Generating grub configuration file ...
grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem.
run-parts: /etc/kernel/postrm.d/zz-update-grub exited with return code 1
Failed to process /etc/kernel/postrm.d at /var/lib/dpkg/info/linux-image-4.4.0-128-generic.postrm line 330.
dpkg: error processing package linux-image-4.4.0-128-generic (--remove):
 subprocess installed post-removal script returned error exit status 1
...

Specifically, I think the issue is due to

Generating grub configuration file ...
grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem

As a workaround, I’ve tried marking the above packages as install instead of deinstall using dpkg --set-selections, but they immediately get reset on the next apt-get call.

Cheers.



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Hello,

The issue might be related to a configuration mistake, or an outdated package causing the problem. I would recommend trying the following steps:

  1. First, ensure that your system is up-to-date by running: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
  2. If the issue persists, I would recommend removing the problematic package manually and then purging the configuration files. However, be cautious to not remove the current active kernel. You can run: sudo apt-get remove --purge linux-image-4.4.0-128-generic
  3. After that, update GRUB manually using: sudo update-grub
  4. Finally, update your system again and then reboot the droplet.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, you might want to consider migrating to a newer version of Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04, as Ubuntu 16.04 is nearing its end of life.

For more information on working with kernels, you can refer to the DigitalOcean documentation: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/how-to/kernel/

Hope that this helps!

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