Arch Linux

Flapper

Member

Registered: 2019-02-10

Posts: 44

[SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

I'm reinstalling Arch following the unexpected demise of my HDD, and I have got to the boot loader section.

I'm using systemd boot, but unfortunately, I can't remember how to set up the /loader/entries/arch.conf.

title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options root=UUID=df3c6326-c002-4eb6-8ee1-eba4ce1e1465 rw rootfstype=ext4 

In the "options root=UUID=" statement, which is 'root'? Does it mean the / partition or the /boot partition?
The Arch wiki says "The file path parameters are relative to the root of your EFI system partition", which suggests it should be the UUID of /boot, but I would like to make sure!

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Flapper (2025-08-19 21:03:30)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,064

Re: [SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

The options line needs to be the UUID of your root partition (you tell the kernel image -- vmlinuz-linux -- that the root partition it looks for is present at partition UUID so and so and that's what should be mounted as /)

The sentence for "relative to the root of the ESP" is for the file paths to the linux and the initramfs-linux.img, so assuming you mount your ESP to /boot and the kernel image is at /boot/vmlinuz-linux /boot/initramfs-linux.img from the perspective of systemd-boot that needs to be /vmlinuz-linux /initramfs-linux.img (because the "root" of systemd-boot is the ESP that it launches from)

so in summary: the linux and initrd line need to assume the ESP as the "root filesystem" which is why the path is /vmlinuz-linux and not /boot/vmlinuz-linux). The options line is passed to said linux image and tells it where the actual root partition is located, so it needs the UUID of what you've designated as the root partition.

Last edited by V1del (2025-08-19 13:51:35)

Flapper

Member

Registered: 2019-02-10

Posts: 44

Re: [SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

I did as you indicated, but when I tried to reboot I'm getting pages of errors, which I'm only able to note down little bits of.
Starting with
[OK] Reached target swaps

Call Trace:
<TASK>
_raw_spin_lock = 0x29/0x30
idempotent_init_module
Tainted: [D]=DIE, [L]=SOFTLOCKUP

The block of messages starting <TASK> seems to repeat over and over.

searching online the last message may be due to memory errors.
I'm installing to an SSD, which i have never tried before.
If none of these messages make any sense I may try 'archinstall'.

Flapper

Member

Registered: 2019-02-10

Posts: 44

Re: [SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

Tried booting again, and I also saw "oops general protection fault" early on in the error messages.

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,064

Re: [SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

You probably want to run a memtest over night/for a couple of  hours (10+, the more the better) to verify it isn't actually your RAM that's hosed (iirc the ISO comes with a relevant option/entry).

Other than that for more targeted help, if in a working live environment and mounting the partitions like you think they are logically correct, what's the output of

lsblk -f

Last edited by V1del (2025-08-19 16:23:45)

Flapper

Member

Registered: 2019-02-10

Posts: 44

Re: [SOLVED] Systemd boot setup

I removed and reseated the memory boards, and installed linux-lts (I had managed to get linux 6.16.1 installed).
It booted up straight away.