Arch Linux

sv-cheats-1

Member

Registered: 2022-02-15

Posts: 46

/boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

Hi, I was in the process of updating my Arch installation with sudo pacman -Syyu and then a lightning struck nearby and tripped my breaker, powering down my house. After the storm have cleared I booted the system, but now I get this message:

error: file `/boot/intramfs-linux.img` not found.

And it doesn't go any further with booting past this. Any ideas how can I fix it all without re-installing Arch?

dimich

Member

From: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 254

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

Do you have "fallback initramfs" menu entry in bootloader? If yes, boot fallback and rebuild initramfs with

# mkinitcpio -p linux

sv-cheats-1

Member

Registered: 2022-02-15

Posts: 46

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

Do you have "fallback initramfs" menu entry in bootloader? If yes, boot fallback and rebuild initramfs with

# mkinitcpio -p linux

I do have this option under "Advanced options for Arch Linux", but it boots with the exact same message. I have a USB stick flashed with Arch, can I use it to fix the issue?

dimich

Member

From: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 254

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

I have a USB stick flashed with Arch, can I use it to fix the issue?

Yes, you can. Boot with USB stick, mount your rootfs, run arch-chroot to mount point of rootfs and rebuild initramfs. It's hard to provide exact commands without knowing your filesystems layout.

sv-cheats-1

Member

Registered: 2022-02-15

Posts: 46

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

I have a USB stick flashed with Arch, can I use it to fix the issue?

Yes, you can. Boot with USB stick, mount your rootfs, run arch-chroot to mount point of rootfs and rebuild initramfs. It's hard to provide exact commands without knowing your filesystems layout.

Thank you for a suggestion! Can you please link some Wiki page so that I can figure out what commands to use? I don't know what "roofs" is.

sv-cheats-1

Member

Registered: 2022-02-15

Posts: 46

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

Yes! It all worked! Here's a step-by-step guide for anyone who encounters the same issue:

1. Get a USB stick with Arch Linux on it
2. Boot into it
3. Run fdisk -l and figure out on what partition you have your linux installation
4. Mount this partition with: mount /dev/path/to/partition /mnt
5. arch-chroot into it: arch-chroot /mnt
6. Rebuild initramfs: mkinitcpio -p linux

Reboot and that's it!

JoeyCorleone

Member

Registered: 2022-01-22

Posts: 88

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

Glad you were able to solve your issue. It's also very thoughtful to add a step-by-step guide.

Consider marking your thread as [SOLVED] by editing the title.

fablb

Member

Registered: 2024-03-21

Posts: 1

Re: /boot/initramfs-linux.img not found after a reboot

I had to take a few extra steps which I want to document here for others having the same problem:

1. Get a USB stick with Arch Linux on it
2. Boot into it
3. Run fdisk -l and figure out on what partition you have your linux installation
3a. Also figure out what your EFI partition's name is.
4. Mount this partition with: mount /dev/path/to/partition /mnt
4.a After mounting your linux partition, mount the EFI partiton: mount /dev/path/to/EFI /mnt/boot
5. arch-chroot into it: arch-chroot /mnt
6. Rebuild initramfs: mkinitcpio -p linux

The additional steps were required for the new initramfs file to be installed properly to the EFI partition.

Also, in my case step 6 (mkinitcpio) failed because of unconsistent kernel versions.
This was easily fixed by running: pacman -S linux.

This installed the proper kernel version and also runs mkinitcpio as post installation hook.

After this, my problems were solved. Hope this may help anyone in the future.

Edit: typo

Last edited by fablb (2024-03-21 14:38:34)