RecoveryMode

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 8. If prompted, enter the root password for your machine, and you should then see a prompt like this: {{{
root@yourmachine:~#}}}
 9. If the system displays error messages instead of the prompt, or if you have forgotten your root password, please try the procedure outlined in LivecdRecovery instead.

If your system fails to boot for whatever reason, it may be useful to boot it into RecoveryMode. This mode just loads some basic services and drops you into command line mode. You are then logged in as root (the superuser) and can repair your system using command line tools. If booting into RecoveryMode does not work you can still use your installation CD (if it is a live cd) as described in LivecdRecovery.

Booting into recovery mode

  1. Switch on your computer
  2. Wait until the BIOS finishes loading (you will probably see a logo of your computer manufacturer)

  3. The following messages will show up:

    Grub loading stage1.5

Grub loading, please wait...

Press ESC to enter the menu
  4. Quickly press the Escape key, which will bring up a boot menu. (If you see the Ubuntu logo, you've

  5. Select the line ending with '(recovery mode)', probably the second line, something like: 

    Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
  6. Press enter and your machine will begin the boot process.
  7. After a few moments, your workstation should display a menu with a number of options. One of the options (you may need to scroll down to the bottom of the list) will be "Drop to root shell prompt".

NOTE: Users of Ubuntu Karmic (9.10) and higher will need to press and hold the left Shift key instead of Escape in step 4, and may not see the "Grub loading, please wait..." message in step 3.

See also