This simple tutorial shows how to install the ‘Boot Repair’ application in all Ubuntu releases and their based systems.
Boot Repair is a free and open-source application for repairing OS boot issues! I use it regularly to recover access to Ubuntu & other Linux after trying out different operating systems that could break the boot-loader. Though, the app promotes itself that it also supports recovering access to Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and even RAID, LVM, Wubi, filesystem repair.
Boot Repair is available officially as CD image (.iso). However, I prefer to burn Ubuntu (or its based systems) into boot-able USB, then boot the live system, and finally install Boot-Repair as a software package.
If your machine has boot issues, such as ‘Grub Rescue‘, ‘No Bootable Device Found‘, or your system is just missing. And, you happened to have a boot-able USB installer for Ubuntu, Pop! OS, Linux Mint, Linux Lite etc, then you can boot the live system on that machine, and try installing boot-repair to fix the issue.
Install Boot Repair via Ubuntu PPA
For Linux Mint, Boot Repair is available out-of-the-box. Just search for and launch it from start menu.
For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.04, and their based systems, there’s an official PPA.
1. First, open terminal either from start menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
2. Then, run command to update system package index:
sudo apt update
3. Finally, install boot-repair package by running command:
sudo apt install boot-repair
Depends on your system, search for and launch the application either from start menu or ‘Activities’ overview.
For common boot issues, just click “Recommended repair” button and follow the on-screen prompt.
Or click “Advanced Options” to get custom options, such as repair file-systems, add Kernel option, repair Windows boot files, etc.
Uninstall Boot Repair
If you installed Boot Repair on live system boot from USB, then you don’t have to uninstall the package. It will be gone once powered off.
Or, you may remove the software package by running command in a terminal window:
sudo apt remove --autoremove boot-repair
Also remove the Ubuntu PPA by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
