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I power down my PC and take a day off every week. Last week when I rebooted I had a problem of "unable to find root device" and I followed forum posts and also found this FAQ: After updating my system, I get a "unable to find root device" error after rebooting and my system will no longer boot and I did the "chroot and re-generate initramfs image" procedure and then I think it failed still to boot once and then it just booted and worked.
Anyhow this week when I rebooted I got the same "unable to find root device" problem and even though I didn't think it was necessary, I did that procedure again. Then I just rebooted into my main system four times in a row until it worked. First three time I got the same error.
This is not a software problem. I mean, I'm no genius, but I think my PC has a problem "finding" the hard drive.
My fstab I don't think is necessary relevant but it's
#
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
#
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
UUID=29c67a48-7636-4599-affc-e826225b49c2 /home ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=3f211853-11a0-4ac9-9332-cad016b3b521 /boot ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=4ca1a48e-fbd3-4756-8340-d533f6c968b8 / ext4 defaults 0 1
UUID=849fbafc-f8a9-4750-8efe-ceb434f735e0 /srv ext4 defaults 0 1
/dev/sda2 /mnt/sda2 ext3 defaults 0 1
/dev/sda3 /mnt/sda3 ext3 defaults 0 1
/dev/sda4 swap swap defaults 0 0
I have an old system in /dev/sda and my main system is on /dev/sdb and referred to by the UUIDs. What happens is that it starts to boot and finds /dev/sda fine AFAICT and then it fails when it can't find /dev/sdb
Short term solution is never reboot again!!!
Next idea is to make a fresh install on /dev/sda and make that my main one and then who cares about /dev/sdb
But the real question is, what can I do about this? Seems like since it's intermittent it's hard to debug. Furthermore my hardware dealer (who I like and I trust) I think is good at what he does but he only knows Windows so I'm not sure how much he could help.
I don't know how to try to determine if it's the drive or the mobo or the cable or what.
Any ideas are appreciated.
Last edited by CaptainKirk (2012-11-24 19:22:42)
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Are you using Grub2 or Syslinux?
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
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I guess grub2 as I have a grub directory in /boot
I ran S.M.A.R.T. tests now but they're good:
$ sudo smartctl -l selftest /dev/sdb
smartctl 6.0 2012-10-10 r3643 [x86_64-linux-3.6.6-1-ARCH] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-12, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
# 1 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 5262 -
# 2 Short offline Completed without error 00% 5261 -
Full results also look good I think:
$ sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdb
smartctl 6.0 2012-10-10 r3643 [x86_64-linux-3.6.6-1-ARCH] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-12, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: SAMSUNG SpinPoint F3
Device Model: SAMSUNG HD502HJ
Serial Number: S20BJ90B983233
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0024e9 206255b87
Firmware Version: 1AJ10001
User Capacity: 500,107,862,016 bytes [500 GB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: 7200 rpm
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 6
SATA Version is: SATA 2.6, 3.0 Gb/s
Local Time is: Sat Nov 10 23:53:51 2012 IST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed
without error or no self-test has ever
been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 4800) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
No Conveyance Self-test supported.
Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 80) minutes.
SCT capabilities: (0x003f) SCT Status supported.
SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
SCT Feature Control supported.
SCT Data Table supported.
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 100 100 051 Pre-fail Always - 0
2 Throughput_Performance 0x0026 056 056 000 Old_age Always - 4378
3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0023 083 082 025 Pre-fail Always - 5358
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 69
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 252 252 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002e 252 252 051 Old_age Always - 0
8 Seek_Time_Performance 0x0024 252 252 015 Old_age Offline - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 5263
10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0032 252 252 051 Old_age Always - 0
11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 69
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate 0x0022 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0022 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0002 064 062 000 Old_age Always - 25 (Min/Max 12/38)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered 0x003a 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0030 252 252 000 Old_age Offline - 0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0036 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x002a 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
223 Load_Retry_Count 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 0
225 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 69
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
# 1 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 5262 -
# 2 Short offline Completed without error 00% 5261 -
SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 0
Note: revision number not 1 implies that no selective self-test has ever been run
SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
1 0 0 Completed [00% left] (0-65535)
2 0 0 Not_testing
3 0 0 Not_testing
4 0 0 Not_testing
5 0 0 Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.
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Okay, I am thinking that BIOS / Grub2 are not always mapping the drives the same way from boot to boot.
Could you post your /boot/grub/grub.cfg file? Either that, or pastebin it and provide a link.
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
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Could you post your /boot/grub/grub.cfg file?
I'm afraid not:
$ sudo ls /boot/grub -al
total 416
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Feb 24 2012 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 1024 Nov 10 21:02 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 13728 Aug 8 2011 e2fs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 11824 Aug 8 2011 fat_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10592 Aug 8 2011 ffs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10592 Aug 8 2011 iso9660_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12800 Aug 8 2011 jfs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1583 Feb 24 2012 menu.lst
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10592 Aug 8 2011 minix_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14624 Aug 8 2011 reiserfs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 512 Aug 8 2011 stage1
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 147440 Aug 8 2011 stage2
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 147440 Aug 8 2011 stage2_eltorito
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10996 Aug 8 2011 ufs2_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10080 Aug 8 2011 vstafs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14856 Aug 8 2011 xfs_stage1_5
$ sudo find / -name grub.cfg
/var/abs/extra/grub2/grub.cfg
However today xscreensaver wouldn't let me back in--said my password failed. That never happened before. So I made a new session and then later it worked fine.
Seems clear this disk is having problems.
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Ah Ha! (facepalm) You are using legacy Grub.
Please post your /boot/menu.lst
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way
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Yes, a trip down memory lane, eh?
Here you are sir:
$ more /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst
# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
#
# Linux Grub
# -------------------------
# /dev/fd0 (fd0)
# /dev/sda (hd0)
# /dev/sdb2 (hd1,1)
# /dev/sda3 (hd0,2)
#
# FRAMEBUFFER RESOLUTION SETTINGS
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024
# ----+--------------------------------------------
# 256 | 0x301=769 0x303=771 0x305=773 0x307=775
# 32K | 0x310=784 0x313=787 0x316=790 0x319=793
# 64K | 0x311=785 0x314=788 0x317=791 0x31A=794
# 16M | 0x312=786 0x315=789 0x318=792 0x31B=795
# +-------------------------------------------------+
# for more details and different resolutions see
# https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#Framebuffer_resolution
# general configuration:
timeout 5
default 0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue
# boot sections follow
# each is implicitly numbered from 0 in the order of appearance below
#
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
#
#-*
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb2 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb2 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
# (2) Windows
#title Windows
#rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#makeactive
#chainloader +1
#
#
title old 32 bit Arch
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda2 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
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Specify your root partition by UUID:
root=UUID=4ca1a48e-fbd3-4756-8340-d533f6c968b8
Steven [ web : git ]
GPG: 327B 20CE 21EA 68CF A7748675 7C92 3221 5899 410C
Do not email: honeypot@stebalien.com
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That ^^^
In other words, edit your /boot/menu.lst and change the lines :
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdb2 ro
to
kernel /vmlinuz-linuxroot=UUID=4ca1a48e-fbd3-4756-8340-d533f6c968b8 ro
(I think that format is correct, YMMV)
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way
Online
OK I will try that and see what happens. I won't be rebooting until I get everything backed up anyhow.
Okay, I am thinking that BIOS / Grub2 are not always mapping the drives the same way from boot to boot.
Is there any reason to suggest that recent changes in Arch could cause this? I installed this disk and this system in January. This issue never happened until last week. I reboot at least once a week....
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I would not think so. The behavior at a cold boot might be different than from a warm boot. It likely has to do with whichever drive goes ready first. It could be a sign that one of your drives is starting to age and could be taking longer than it has been to go ready.
Edit: Regardless, that is why one uses UUID. It reduces the ambiguity factor to practically zero.
Last edited by ewaller (2012-11-11 18:09:13)
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way
Online
A power outage caused a hard reboot and now the drive doesn't appear at all. I installed a fresh Arch on /dev/sda and it's fine. I had to boot into a CD and USB several times before I got the install to work and once or twice I did see /dev/sdb in lsblk but mostly not.
It appears in the PC's Bios display if I choose that to select boot device.
I have some files there I would like to get if possible.
Any ideas how I can convince Arch that that disk exists?
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what I meant is that I used the UUID but it still says it can't find that device (and lists it by its UUID). I figured out a workaround--I just rebooted into the USB stick repeatedly (because that's the fastest way to get a shell) until lsblk did show the 2nd disk. Now I am copied over the files I would like to have.
I suppose I can't actually be certain if this intermittent error is on the disk or the mobo or the cable without more experimenting....
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Appears clear, after further testing, that it's the SATA port as I switched it and now it seems OK. Thanks for the help.
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