Please someone respond to let me know if this message got to the Debian User group.
On 2025 October 09 I opened for use a desktop computer which had not been used for six months. On the evening of October 14 I closed it in the usual way. The next morning I expected to reopen it also in the usual way. Instead I saw on the monitor a long list of 'failure messages' partially shown in the attachments to this message.
At the end of the list is the statement "you are in emergency mode" and a series of instructions ostensibly to eliminate the failures. Unfortunately I could use them because the computer was not responding to any attempt in any way to access it. I consequently decided not to try to determine what is causing each failure. Instead I will try what I expect will be a quicker way to restore the computer: to reinstall the OS.
For this purpose I used a CD-R disk Netinstall, "amd 64,12.7.0 Bookworm", the same one I used for the first OS installation in this computer. (It was I all had.) All went well until almost the end, when I received this disconcerting message: "'Executing' 'grub-install dummy' failed". I take this phrase to mean that neither grub nor EFI were ever installed. (Since 'sarge', when I first installed a Debian OS, I have never received such a message, nor indeed experienced such failures.)
Further research will require a computer or an equivalent. As my only available computer is now unusable, I will have to find a suitable substitute. After some thought I decided that my tablet will have to do. So I spent intermittently the last three months learning what it can do for me and, perhaps more importantly, what it cannot. Luckily it can do emails going and coming, such as this one.
I started by searching on line such titles as Debian, Debian wiki@gmail.com and DebianNetall grub. In short I was unable to match anything I found there to my situation. I did however ascertain that what I needed is some way to install grub etc. independent of what is already in the computer.
Among my researches I however did find the following mentions: "rEFInd rescue media" and "Using Debian installer in rescue mode". Both of them seem to anticipate some sort of activity respecting grub and perhaps EFI. Since I have access to debian installer in rescue mode I scrutinized it. There I found a series of obtuse, at least to me, lines which may be relevant. If so, this neophyte is incapable of interpreting them.
Consequently I have abandoned attempts to resolve alone this computer failure. I am now seeking assistance from the Debian-user group to help me.
I will be grateful for any assistance from those in the group can help me.