Arch Linux

JohnColeman

Member

From: Glasgow, Scotland

Registered: 2013-01-21

Posts: 12

[SOLVED] Mount /boot/efi fails after linux-....pkg.tar.xz upgrade

Can anyone help with this please?  Sorry if it's a well known issue and I have just failed to find the solution, but I have searched for one.

I use yaourt -Syu regularly, and generally it's great.
BUT - every time linux-3.17...-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz is upgraded the system fails to reboot!  Throwing something like:

Nov 17 16:09:49 cart systemd[1]: boot-efi.mount mount process exited, code=exited status=32
Nov 17 16:09:49 cart systemd[1]: Failed to mount /boot/efi.
Nov 17 16:09:49 cart systemd[1]: Unit boot-efi.mount entered failed state.
Nov 17 16:09:49 cart mount[232]: mount: unknown filesystem type 'vfat'
...

After much struggling I have discovered a workaround, but I don't understand it - or like it.  This is what I do:

1. Boot from an archiso image cd in UEFI mode
2. Mount the correct partitions on / /home and /boot
3. # arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
4. # cd /var/cache/pacman/pkg
5. # pacman -U linux-3.16.3-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz  (or whatever is the latest upgrade)

Then, when I exit and reboot all is well again.

I use the rEFInd boot manager to choose between ArchLinux and ,reluctantly, Windows 8.1 - I suspect that might have something to do with my problem but I don't know what.

If anyone can tell what I am doing wrong, please explain.

Thanks

John

Last edited by JohnColeman (2014-11-18 15:58:51)

mrunion

Member

From: Jonesborough, TN

Registered: 2007-01-26

Posts: 1,938

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Mount /boot/efi fails after linux-....pkg.tar.xz upgrade

It sounds like when you boot the machine, the /boot folder is NOT the proper one you are booting from -- the EFI/$ESP. What is happening seems to be that when you install a new Kernel, /boot is getting updated, but that is NOT the /boot where the $ESP is. You should find out where the ACTUAL $ESP is an mount that to /boot.

Last edited by mrunion (2014-11-17 20:42:19)

---

Matt

"It is very difficult to educate the educated."

JohnColeman

Member

From: Glasgow, Scotland

Registered: 2013-01-21

Posts: 12

Re: [SOLVED] Mount /boot/efi fails after linux-....pkg.tar.xz upgrade

Hi Matt,
I think you've done it - thanks a lot.

I changed this line in my /etc/fstab :
  UUID=0E51-F605          /boot/efi     vfat ...
to
  UUID=0E51-F605          /boot     vfat ...
and I think that's done the trick. 
I did pacman -U linux-3.16.3-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz again without booting from an archiso image cd in UEFI mode, which would previously have failed - and it didn't.

I look forward to the next actual upgrade of linux-3...

Thanks again,  I can't remember how, or why, I went wrong in fstab but I won't do it again.

John

mrunion

Member

From: Jonesborough, TN

Registered: 2007-01-26

Posts: 1,938

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Mount /boot/efi fails after linux-....pkg.tar.xz upgrade

Glad you got it fixed!

If you don't mind, edit your first post in this thread and add "[SOLVED]" to the topic line.

---

Matt

"It is very difficult to educate the educated."