Arch Linux

RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

[UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

Hi all,
When I boot my system, I get

Starting version 246.6-1-arch
/dev/sc3: clean, .../... files .../... blocks
mount: /new_root: unknown filesystem type 'ext4'
sh: can't access tty: job control turned off
rootfs#

So far, I've already booted to an installation USB and reinstalled the base "linux" package and rebuilt the initramfs and redid "genfstab".

I installed arch for UEFI so my /boot folder is a separate FAT partition that's mounted to root. I made sure the boot partition was mounted in root when I redid the initramfs.

I disabled all the other mount points for my other two drives when a redid the fstab so they aren't a factor.

I performed an fsck on all the drives and they all check out so I can't tell where the unknown filesystem error is coming from.

I'm really baffled.

Last edited by RobinLikesToCode (2020-11-12 23:09:34)

icar

Member

From: Catalunya

Registered: 2020-07-31

Posts: 523

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

How are you booting? Bootloader? efibootmgr?

Share your boot parameters

Last edited by icar (2020-11-12 00:52:49)

RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

How are you booting? Bootloader? efibootmgr?

Share your boot parameters

I use GRUB.

my kernel parameters are:

loglevel=3 quiet nvidia-drm.modset=1 resume=UUID=blahblahblah

I'm certain the kernel parameters aren't the problem. The errors aren't related to video cards.

Another weird detail is that the ext4 driver for Windows can't load my root partition now. It used to work fine in the past.

GaKu999

Member

From: US/Eastern

Registered: 2020-06-21

Posts: 696

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

From archiso, mount root and boot, then try:

lsinitcpio /boot/initramfs-linux.ing | grep ext

Is the fallback image derped as well?
Also post the mkinitcpio.conf

If using a pastebin, preferably use a plaintest pastebin like ix.io

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RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

From archiso, mount root and boot, then try:

lsinitcpio /boot/initramfs-linux.ing | grep ext

Is the fallback image derped as well?
Also post the mkinitcpio.conf

If using a pastebin, preferably use a plaintest pastebin like ix.io

The only two lines on my configuration file that do anything are,

MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modset nvidia-uvm nvidia_drm)
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard consolefont fsck resume filesystem)

My fallback image has the same error.
grep-ing ext with both the normal and the fallback images outputs,

usr/bin/fsck.ext2
usr/bin/fsck.ext3
usr/bin/fsck.ext4
usr/lib/libext2fs.so.2

Is it possible I'm missing a "libext4fs.so"?

Last edited by RobinLikesToCode (2020-11-12 02:53:21)

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 18,335

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

usr/lib/modules/5.9.8-arch1-1/kernel/fs/ext4/ext4.ko.xz is not in the initrd?

RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

usr/lib/modules/5.9.8-arch1-1/kernel/fs/ext4/ext4.ko.xz is not in the initrd?

No, apparently not, because grep would have picked it up from the lsinitcpio output.

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 18,335

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

Boot live media, chroot in,  then what is the output of:

pacman -Qkk linux
mkinitcpio -v -p linux

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,431

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

what do you have in /lib/modules/ in the initramfs?

Edit: nevermind, I see the problem. You have a typo in your hooks, it's filesystems, not filesystem.

Last edited by Scimmia (2020-11-12 05:21:39)

RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

what do you have in /lib/modules/ in the initramfs?

Edit: nevermind, I see the problem. You have a typo in your hooks, it's filesystems, not filesystem.

The typo was actually with my post here. "filesystems" is used in the HOOKS section (otherwise it would yell at me that "filesystem" wasn't found).

The mystery continues!

RobinLikesToCode

Member

Registered: 2016-10-04

Posts: 50

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

Last update, I backed up the home directory and wiped + reinstalled.
The problem's gone now.
The one explanation I could think of was that the actual filesystem for the root partition was corrupted at some point and became unrecognizable.

GaKu999

Member

From: US/Eastern

Registered: 2020-06-21

Posts: 696

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

Use [SOLVED] if you gave up, at this point since you wiped that and erased whatever was wrong...

If you consider this thread to be of no further use for the forums due to its obscure nature and inconclusive issue/solution, request deletion to a mod with the magic words using report on the first post.

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fukawi2

Ex-Administratorino

From: .vic.au

Registered: 2007-09-28

Posts: 6,231

Website

Re: [UNSOLVED] boot failure with "unknown filesystem type ext4"

Please do not use [CLOSED] - that is for the forum to indicate administratively closed threads.

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