[SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

ephan · 2012-05-28 19:55:54

On boot (both Normal and Fallback) I get:

Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-uuid/d3c4f22d-65c6-4e06-bcc1-752db552061
ERROR: device '/dev/disk/by-uuid/d3c4f22d-65c6-4e06-bcc1-752db552061' not found
Skipping fsck

And then it drops to a shell, and I need to use "exit" to run, but it requires me to choose a boot partition (I tried exit /dev/sda1 and others but it says invalid number).

I know there are many posts on that, but since I believe this is a specific issue (I updated kernel last night with -Syyu'd), I decided to make my own.

Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

Last edited by ephan (2012-06-01 18:46:28)

hesse · 2012-05-28 20:10:13

I decided to make my own

kernel?
Looks like you need to update your GRUB menu.lst file to point to the right partition (the right UUID in this case). If I remember correctly you should be able to this from GRUB upon booting, just press 'e' on the entry to edit menu.lst.

ephan · 2012-05-28 20:26:33

Make my own post*

Where should I press E? On the shell? That just enters an 'e' :S

jasonwryan · 2012-05-28 20:46:53

ephan wrote:

Where should I press E? On the shell? That just enters an 'e' :S

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Gr … er_mode.29

This is all well-documented in the wiki...

DSpider · 2012-05-28 21:17:02

Q: After updating my system, I get a "unable to find root device" error after rebooting and my system will no longer boot.

Yeah... Don't use -Syyu. Forcing stuff is never a good idea unless (for some unknown reason) you explicitly need to. Also, don't install using "pacman -Sy foo". If you did it before, stop it. Only use -S, preferably after a full system update (-Syu). This will also work: "pacman -Syu foo".

Last edited by DSpider (2012-05-28 21:21:56)

Pres · 2012-05-28 21:27:11

Nothing should be wrong with pacman -Syyu (did you mean -Syuf?). -Syyu just tells pacman to refresh the packages databases even if the local version is up to date.

ephan · 2012-05-29 21:17:27

DSpider wrote:

Q: After updating my system, I get a "unable to find root device" error after rebooting and my system will no longer boot.
Yeah... Don't use -Syyu. Forcing stuff is never a good idea unless (for some unknown reason) you explicitly need to. Also, don't install using "pacman -Sy foo". If you did it before, stop it. Only use -S, preferably after a full system update (-Syu). This will also work: "pacman -Syu foo".

# mkdir /mnt/arch
# mount /dev/sdaX /mnt/arch (your root partition)
# cd /mnt/arch
# mount -t proc proc proc/
# mount -t sysfs sys sys/
# mount -o bind /dev dev/
# mount /dev/sdaX boot/ (your /boot partition) #This step is not needed if you do not have a separate boot partition
# chroot .
# pacman -Syu udev mkinitcpio
# mkinitcpio -p linux

Afterwards, unmount and reboot.

About that, I have some questions...

1. How long can it take?
2. How dangerous is it?
3. Is it really what I need?
4. Can I lose files? Since I can't boot, is there a way to save them?
5. In order to find out what my root partition is, can I use Gparted?
5.1. Can I not use an Arch Live CD and use Ubuntu for example? It's much easier to do it.
6. How do I know if I have a separate boot partition? I have all /dev/sda's, and one of them is boot I think. Don't we all have?
7. "Afterwards unmount and reboot", unmount what?

Sorry and thank you!

Also, and I want to make this clear, I did *not* use force on pacman, I never do.

So, what caused?

I just updated it normally, like I always do, was it some arch error everybody else experienced?

Last edited by ephan (2012-05-29 21:33:57)

Pres · 2012-05-29 21:40:57

1. Couple of minutes at most.
2. No real danger
3. Most likely
4. If you want to backup, just boot into a live environment and copy everything you need (or create a dd backup).
5. You should know this since you set up Arch. Just take a look at the files on the partition after you mount it to make sure you mounted the correct one.
5. How is Ubuntu easier for this?
6. Again, you set this up. Worst case if you cant remember: just mount them and look at the contents.

Terminator · 2012-05-29 21:46:46

edit: I'm way too slow

ephan wrote:

# mkdir /mnt/arch
# mount /dev/sdaX /mnt/arch (your root partition)
# cd /mnt/arch
# mount -t proc proc proc/
# mount -t sysfs sys sys/
# mount -o bind /dev dev/
# mount /dev/sdaX boot/ (your /boot partition) #This step is not needed if you do not have a separate boot partition
# chroot .
# pacman -Syu udev mkinitcpio
# mkinitcpio -p linux
About that, I have some questions...
1. How long can it take?
2. How dangerous is it?
3. Is it really what I need?
4. Can I lose files? Since I can't boot, is there a way to save them?
5. In order to find out what my root partition is, can I use Gparted?
5.1. Can I not use an Arch Live CD and use Ubuntu for example? It's much easier to do it.
6. How do I know if I have a separate boot partition? I have all /dev/sda's, and one of them is boot I think. Don't we all have?
Sorry and thank you!
Also, and I want to make this clear, I did *not* use force on pacman, I never do.
So, what caused?
I just updated it normally, like I always do, was it some arch error everybody else experienced?

1) The time to boot the live cd, type the commands and like 30 seconds for mkinitcpio.
2) lol, not dangerous
3) Since it's in the Q&A: most probably.
4) You can always lose files. Just boot a live cd, mount the partitions you want to save and the partition you want to save it to and copy (or rsync).
5) I don't think so, unless you gave your partitions a descriptive label. Just mount partitions until you find the root.
5.1) I don't think so.
6) If you find your root partition: if /boot is empty, you have a separate boot partition. You can check your fstab to see which one.

What caused? dunno
Was it something everybody experienced: no

Good luck! Just follow the instructions, it's not that hard.

Last edited by Terminator (2012-05-29 21:47:43)

ephan · 2012-05-30 17:24:08

I installed Arch Linux Core x64 using Unetbootin on a USB drive, but it gave me the SAME error. I booted from USB, yes, and it said "Waiting 30 seconds for USB Disk /..." (not exactly these words), and it doesn't find the device, and it drops me to a shell.

Same thing happening with CD with Arch Linux Core. What can I do now? :S

DSpider · 2012-05-30 17:54:13

It's not "the SAME error". The OP's problem wasn't about booting from a USB stick. That error comes up because it can't find a drive labeled "ARCH_201108". So you can either try to re-label your drive "ARCH_201108" and hope for the best, or try some other method or program: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US … tion_Media

My favourite method is Boot the entire ISO from RAM.

And stay away from Unetbootin. The "talk" page proposed removing it a long time ago because it had various problems (which apparently still does).

Last edited by DSpider (2012-05-30 17:59:45)

ephan · 2012-05-30 20:52:08

OK, dd rocks, thank you!

However, I'm getting a new problem.

I booted the Arch Live USB, and started the bash code:

mkdir /mnt/arch
mount /dev/sda3

I think sda3 is my root partition, and I'm mounting it. However, it says "mount: can't find /dev/sda3 in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab".

I tried other sdaX's, but it didn't work.

Also, this is an old code I saved:

[root@davidarch david]# mount | column -t
proc       on  /proc     type  proc      (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
/sys       on  /sys      type  sysfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
/dev       on  /dev      type  devtmpfs  (rw,nosuid,relatime,size=2006452k,nr_inodes=501613,mode=755)
/run       on  /run      type  tmpfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,mode=755)
/dev/sda3  on  /         type  ext4      (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
devpts     on  /dev/pts  type  devpts    (rw,relatime,mode=600,ptmxmode=000)
shm        on  /dev/shm  type  tmpfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime)
/dev/sda4  on  /home     type  ext4      (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
/dev/sda1  on  /boot     type  ext2      (rw,relatime,errors=continue)
[root@davidarch david]#

Also, do you think, from reading that code, that /dev/sda3 is the root partition?

Last edited by ephan (2012-05-30 20:59:15)

Pres · 2012-05-30 21:28:14

What does fdisk -l show? It's probably named something else (/dev/sdb).

ephan · 2012-05-30 21:45:34

It's a tty, I can't paste the whole output, but it has some /dev/mapper and /dev/sdb1 disks.

The /dev/sdb disk is 4041MB-large, so I doubt that's my main disk, it's my USB drive (which is 4 Gigabytes big).

I can't read anything above that (which probably talks about sda's), it's a tty.

jasonwryan · 2012-05-30 21:59:24

ephan wrote:

It's a tty, I can't paste the whole output..

Yes you can. If you want help, you need to post error messages or other relevant information, not guesses and interpretations.

There is a page on the wiki with pastebin clients. You can also scroll up in a TTY with Shift-PgUp.

chamber · 2012-05-30 22:46:26

Should it not be

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/arch

as opposed to just

mount /dev/sda3

ephan · 2012-05-31 06:56:23

chamber wrote:

Should it not be
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/arch
as opposed to just
mount /dev/sda3

Indeed, good point, I shall edit the wiki. Now, according to the following snippet, is /dev/sda3 my root partition?

[root@davidarch david]# mount | column -t
proc       on  /proc     type  proc      (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
/sys       on  /sys      type  sysfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
/dev       on  /dev      type  devtmpfs  (rw,nosuid,relatime,size=2006452k,nr_inodes=501613,mode=755)
/run       on  /run      type  tmpfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,mode=755)
/dev/sda3  on  /         type  ext4      (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
devpts     on  /dev/pts  type  devpts    (rw,relatime,mode=600,ptmxmode=000)
shm        on  /dev/shm  type  tmpfs     (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime)
/dev/sda4  on  /home     type  ext4      (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
/dev/sda1  on  /boot     type  ext2      (rw,relatime,errors=continue)
[root@davidarch david]#

chamber · 2012-05-31 07:55:41

Yes.

/dev/sda3 is your root partition.

ephan · 2012-05-31 21:13:04

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pa … onger_boot

There, where it says "Afterwars, unmount and reboot."

Unmount what? And how?

Thank you.

I'm currently in /mnt/arch on my live Arch Linux drive.

Thank you!

EDIT:
Everything else above worked just fine, this is hopefully my last issue

Last edited by ephan (2012-05-31 21:13:31)

chamber · 2012-05-31 21:21:06

You use

umount /dev/sdaX

To unmount drives. You will need to unmount what has previously been mounted.

Last edited by chamber (2012-05-31 21:21:59)

ephan · 2012-05-31 21:26:35

Well yes chamber, I know how to unmount something using umount, but which partition? The boot or the root one?

Terminator · 2012-05-31 21:29:29

You only need to unmount drives if you have mounted them after doing the chroot. Drives that you have mounted before are unmounted automatically.

Last edited by Terminator (2012-05-31 21:30:04)

ephan · 2012-05-31 21:33:36

Ok, then I ran all this with success:

# mkdir /mnt/arch
# mount /dev/sdaX /mnt/arch (your root partition)
# cd /mnt/arch
# mount -t proc proc proc/
# mount -t sysfs sys sys/
# mount -o bind /dev dev/
# mount /dev/sdaX boot/ (your /boot partition) #This step is not needed if you do not have a separate boot partition
# chroot .
# pacman -Syu udev mkinitcpio
# mkinitcpio -p linux

I didn't need to unmount anything, since I didn't mount anything after chroot. Then, from the USB Arch Live I ran "shutdown -h 0", and I shut down.

Afterwards, I booted from hard disk (removed USB drive) and I still get the same original error:

Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-uuid/d3c4f22d-65c6-4e06-bcc1-752db552061
ERROR: device '/dev/disk/by-uuid/d3c4f22d-65c6-4e06-bcc1-752db552061' not found
Skipping fsck
And then it drops to a shell, and I need to use "exit" to run, but it requires me to choose a boot partition (I tried exit /dev/sda1 and others but it says invalid number).

Any ideas?

chamber · 2012-05-31 21:36:38

ephan wrote:

Well yes chamber, I know how to unmount something using umount

Sorry about that, but,

ephan wrote:

Unmount what? And how?

Suggested you wanted help. You should be good to go.

ephan · 2012-05-31 21:50:22

chamber wrote:

ephan wrote:
Well yes chamber, I know how to unmount something using umount
Sorry about that, but,
ephan wrote:
Unmount what? And how?
Suggested you wanted help. You should be good to go.

I don't quite understand your last post, I'm sorry. What do you mean? I asked for help with unmount the partition, because I didn't know how to. And then you taught me how to use umount, and then you taught me which one I needed to unmount, in this case any because I do chroot.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-05-28 19:55:54

[SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#2 2012-05-28 20:10:13

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#3 2012-05-28 20:26:33

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#4 2012-05-28 20:46:53

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#5 2012-05-28 21:17:02

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#6 2012-05-28 21:27:11

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#7 2012-05-29 21:17:27

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#8 2012-05-29 21:40:57

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#9 2012-05-29 21:46:46

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#10 2012-05-30 17:24:08

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#11 2012-05-30 17:54:13

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#12 2012-05-30 20:52:08

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#13 2012-05-30 21:28:14

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#14 2012-05-30 21:45:34

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#15 2012-05-30 21:59:24

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#16 2012-05-30 22:46:26

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#17 2012-05-31 06:56:23

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#18 2012-05-31 07:55:41

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#19 2012-05-31 21:13:04

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#20 2012-05-31 21:21:06

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#21 2012-05-31 21:26:35

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#22 2012-05-31 21:29:29

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#23 2012-05-31 21:33:36

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#24 2012-05-31 21:36:38

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

#25 2012-05-31 21:50:22

Re: [SOLVED] Can't boot computer (device not found)

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