Computer won't start, IO error, dropped to initramfs

Question

I was just starting my computer, I have version 2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.4 and I keep getting this what should I do?

Answer 1

This is not a problem. This is the GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) menu screen. It's Ubuntu's default bootloader. Its function is to load and start the Linux kernel and some needed parts of the system.

This very useful when you have more than one operating system in your computer.

If it's not your case, you can hide this screen by running the following commands in an Ubuntu terminal:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Find the GRUB_TIMEOUT line and change its value from whatever it is to 0. Save the file and exit. Again, in a terminal run:

sudo update-grub

When it finishes, reboot to see if you still get the menu.

Answer 2

You have either a file system problem or a failing hard drive.

First boot from a live media to confirm exactly what the issue is.

Check SMART status of the drive to see if it's failing

If you have critical data on the drive you and you don't have a backup you should create a backup image on an external drive before continuing.

Boot from Live media and open a terminal and run fsck /dev/sdXY (where X is the drive designator {it appears to be a in your case} and Y is the suspect partition number) to attempt to repair the filesystem. The answer to Fix? is Y

If any of this is unclear please edit your question to include what you tried and the results and leave me a comment.