Arch Linux

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Cannot mount boot partition

I was updating Arch and suddenly hdd hung so I cannot boot into Arch anymore.
Now I am trying to repair it by performing and Arch-chroot as discussed here.

When I try to mount my boot partition I get this error.

Any ideas why it is happening?

jasonwryan

Anarchist

From: .nz

Registered: 2009-05-09

Posts: 30,426

Website

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

Your disk is dying/dead.

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loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 19,009

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

The disk appears to have sustained damage.  Do you have a backup?
I would suggest running a S.M.A.R.T. self test on the device then posting the output of  smartctl -a /dev/<device>
Also if you do not have a backup I would avoid writing to that disk.

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

The disk appears to have sustained damage.  Do you have a backup?
I would suggest running a S.M.A.R.T. self test on the device then posting the output of  smartctl -a /dev/<device>
Also if you do not have a backup I would avoid writing to that disk.

No, I have not any backup... Is there any program to read linux home partition from Windows and then do a backup of my files in that partition?

Ok, I am going to do a self test on the device then posting the output here.

If I buy a new disk, is it possible to clone this damaged disk into the new one? or Will I have to install Arch from the scratch in the new disk?

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,693

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

No need.  You can mount a removable disk from inside of a chroot, then use a tool such as rsync to archive all the files and their attributes.

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toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

No need.  You can mount a removable disk from inside of a chroot, then use a tool such as rsync to archive all the files and their attributes.

Ok, I understand so I may use rsync tool to backup my files in home partition to any removable disk and also for cloning the damaged disk into the new one (there is no need to install Arch from the scratch to the new disk).

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

The disk appears to have sustained damage.  Do you have a backup?
I would suggest running a S.M.A.R.T. self test on the device then posting the output of  smartctl -a /dev/<device>
Also if you do not have a backup I would avoid writing to that disk.

Finally I have been able to mount the boot partition. I have fixed the errors in this partition by using a GParted Live USB and boot into it. From GParted I Right click the boot partition, then I have selected the “check” option. After selecting “check”, I have clicked the checkmark to start the process. It seems GParted has fixed the error in the boot partition. Afterwards from GParted terminal, I remove bad blocks using fsck by typing below command:

# sudo -s
# fsck /dev/sdb2 -y

Then I reboot and I boot from the boottable Arch iso in the USB. Now I can mount /dev/sdb2 on /mnt/boot without problems. No error messages appear.

References: How To Fix A Bad Hard Drive On Linux

Last edited by toni (2019-12-31 20:10:04)

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

Your disk is dying/dead.

Finally I have been able to mount the boot partition. See my answer to loqs.

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 19,009

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

What was the output from smartctl -a /dev/<device>?

SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

Does not mean the drive should be trusted if the detailed attributes indicate otherwise.

Last edited by loqs (2019-12-31 20:14:40)

mxfm

Member

Registered: 2015-10-23

Posts: 166

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

When I try to mount my boot partition I get this error.

Any ideas why it is happening?

The error may be caused (if running long test in smartctl gives nothing!) by poor connection of drive. Do you often disassembly your laptop/desktop?

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 77,445

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

Stop using that disk and perform a backup of your valuable data (on the entire disk, all partitions)
You did not "remove bad blocks" but ran a destructive filesystem check, ie. whenever there was a contradiction in the filesystem it was resolved as good as possible, pot. deleting files or leaving corrupt versions behind.

The entire scenario (damaged superblock, filesystem errors) *STRONGLY* supports Jasons and loqs initial assessment and in that case, the more you use the disk, the more havoc you will cause and by this increase the chance to harm valuable data.

The SMART data as requested by loqs in comment #9 will allow us to provide a more informed verdict, but you should not ignore these conditions.

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toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

The disk appears to have sustained damage.  Do you have a backup?
I would suggest running a S.M.A.R.T. self test on the device then posting the output of  smartctl -a /dev/<device>
Also if you do not have a backup I would avoid writing to that disk.

I have done a short test (long test takes 137 minutes) by typing below command:

# smartctl -t short /dev/sdb2

After test completes, I have executed below command:

# smartctl -a /dev/sdb2

Here are the results:

smartctl 7.0 2018-12-30 r4883 [x86_64-linux-5.3.13-arch1-1] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-18, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Toshiba 2.5" HDD MK..52GSX
Device Model:     TOSHIBA MK3252GSX
Serial Number:    98C5CI3VT
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 143502409
Firmware Version: LV010M
User Capacity:    320,072,933,376 bytes [320 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 2.6, 1.5 Gb/s
Local Time is:    Wed Jan  1 01:32:25 2020 UTC
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:      ( 112)	The previous self-test completed having
					the read element of the test failed.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection: 		(  120) 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: 	 ( 137) minutes.
SCT capabilities: 	       (0x0039)	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     0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Always       -       1649
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       5718
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       772
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   066   066   000    Old_age   Always       -       13914
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0033   213   100   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       5222
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       170
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       1195
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   074   074   000    Old_age   Always       -       266536
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       32 (Min/Max 9/51)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       37
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       2
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       9
220 Disk_Shift              0x0002   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       8257
222 Loaded_Hours            0x0032   072   072   000    Old_age   Always       -       11520
223 Load_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
224 Load_Friction           0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
226 Load-in_Time            0x0026   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       321
240 Head_Flying_Hours       0x0001   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 50 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
	CR = Command Register [HEX]
	FR = Features Register [HEX]
	SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
	SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
	CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
	CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
	DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
	DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
	ER = Error register [HEX]
	ST = Status register [HEX]
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 50 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 13913 hours (579 days + 17 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 0f 29 18 10 40  Error: UNC 15 sectors at LBA = 0x00101829 = 1054761

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 10 28 18 10 40 00      00:06:54.565  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 20 18 10 40 00      00:06:50.276  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 20 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.953  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 18 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.952  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.943  READ DMA EXT

Error 49 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 13913 hours (579 days + 17 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 05 23 18 10 40  Error: UNC 5 sectors at LBA = 0x00101823 = 1054755

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 08 20 18 10 40 00      00:06:50.276  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 20 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.953  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 18 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.952  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.943  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 20 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:40.686  READ DMA EXT

Error 48 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 13913 hours (579 days + 17 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 03 25 18 10 40  Error: UNC 3 sectors at LBA = 0x00101825 = 1054757

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 08 20 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.953  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 18 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.952  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:44.943  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 20 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:40.686  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 00 18 10 40 00      00:06:40.678  READ DMA EXT

Error 47 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 13913 hours (579 days + 17 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 03 25 18 10 40  Error: UNC 3 sectors at LBA = 0x00101825 = 1054757

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 20 08 18 10 40 00      00:06:40.686  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 00 18 10 40 00      00:06:40.678  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 1b 00 40 00      00:06:40.677  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 40 20 18 00 40 00      00:06:40.677  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 20 00 18 00 40 00      00:06:40.653  READ DMA EXT

Error 46 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 13913 hours (579 days + 17 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 e3 25 18 10 40  Error: UNC 227 sectors at LBA = 0x00101825 = 1054757

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  25 00 f8 10 18 10 40 00      00:08:22.462  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 18 10 40 00      00:08:22.462  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 00 18 10 40 00      00:08:22.455  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 08 08 1b 00 40 00      00:08:22.455  READ DMA EXT
  25 00 a0 18 1b 00 40 00      00:08:22.454  READ DMA EXT

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed: read failure       00%     13914         571424
# 2  Short offline       Completed: read failure       00%     13914         570064
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     13855         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     13805         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     13603         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     11881         -
# 7  Extended offline    Interrupted (host reset)      10%     11844         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     11831         -
# 9  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     11490         -
#10  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     11351         -
#11  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     11105         -
#12  Short offline       Completed without error       00%         0         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    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.

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

Stop using that disk and perform a backup of your valuable data (on the entire disk, all partitions)
You did not "remove bad blocks" but ran a destructive filesystem check, ie. whenever there was a contradiction in the filesystem it was resolved as good as possible, pot. deleting files or leaving corrupt versions behind.

The entire scenario (damaged superblock, filesystem errors) *STRONGLY* supports Jasons and loqs initial assessment and in that case, the more you use the disk, the more havoc you will cause and by this increase the chance to harm valuable data.

The SMART data as requested by loqs in comment #9 will allow us to provide a more informed verdict, but you should not ignore these conditions.

I will take into account.

Please see smart data provided from my hdd in the reply to loqs.

toni

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 437

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

When I try to mount my boot partition I get this error.

Any ideas why it is happening?

The error may be caused (if running long test in smartctl gives nothing!) by poor connection of drive. Do you often disassembly your laptop/desktop?

This is an external 2.5 hard drive connected via USB to my laptop. Arch is installed in that external hdd, not in the internal hdd of my laptop. Arch has always been installed on the same external hdd (I have never migrated it to a different external hdd)

No, I have not disassembled my laptop yet. It keeps the same internal hdd since I bought my laptop.

Last edited by toni (2020-01-01 12:27:26)

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 77,445

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       772
…
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       37
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       2

# 1  Short offline       Completed: read failure       00%     13914         571424
# 2  Short offline       Completed: read failure       00%     13914         570064

Unless there's been a major incident (disk dropped off the table while spinning, what's a problem anyway), the disk is dying.
Backup all valuable data. NOW.
Losing a HDD sucks, but losing your data is an actual problem.

Stop trusting the disk, you can discard it as movie carrier where you copy movies to play them from your Tv or whatever, but it's no longer a trustworthy storage.

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mxfm

Member

Registered: 2015-10-23

Posts: 166

Re: Cannot mount boot partition

When I try to mount my boot partition I get this error.

Any ideas why it is happening?

The error may be caused (if running long test in smartctl gives nothing!) by poor connection of drive. Do you often disassembly your laptop/desktop?

This is an external 2.5 hard drive connected via USB to my laptop. Arch is installed in that external hdd, not in the internal hdd of my laptop. Arch has always been installed on the same external hdd (I have never migrated it to a different external hdd)

No, I have not disassembled my laptop yet. It keeps the same internal hdd since I bought my laptop.

I also have similar error message and also have Arch on external USB. However, in my case I do not have read errors mentioned in smartctl output which indicate disk failure.