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#1 2021-09-07 15:22:07

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

similar to this issue

I'm currently on my laptop and cannot boot what-so-ever. At the moment, I'm at school so I only have access to this device and my phone, which I am typing this on. I only have a single kernel installed, and no USBs with linux on me.

When attempting to boot, the boot freezes at "loading initial ramdisk"

I've tried removing 

quiet

and adding 

loglevel=7

to the kernel parameters, with no additional output. Loading fallback initramfs does nothing either.

I've also tried adding 

nomodeset i915.modeset=0 nouveau.modeset=0

as per the thread I linked, but with no additional output.

From my very uneducated guess, I believe this has something to do with the intel ucode stuff, but I'm unsure.

My laptop specs out (roughly) as follows:

  • 3rd gen intel i7 (forget exact model. Mobile cpu.)

  • NVIDIA Quadro K2000M (or something like that, could be wrong)

I am running, either the latest kernel version, or one below the latest kernel version.

Sorry for bad formatting, I'm on mobile.

Last edited by solonovamax (2021-09-07 15:38:31)

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#2 2021-09-07 15:46:02

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Note: system was working perfectly fine (albeit a bit slow, but that's expected because it's an old laptop) prior to the reboot.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#3 2021-09-09 11:33:44

rep_movsd
Member
Registered: 2013-08-24
Posts: 133

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

The best option is to make a bootable arch USB and then diagnose your system from within that

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#4 2021-09-09 11:48:54

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

rep_movsd wrote:

The best option is to make a bootable arch USB and then diagnose your system from within that

What would I do to diagnose things?
Because I'm not really sure what the issue is.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#5 2021-09-09 12:53:18

seth
Member
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 51,017

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Integrity of the boot partition, the initramfs and the kernel image.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Smart and perhaps chroot into the installed system, mount the boot partition and update the kernel package.
A possible cause is that /boot is full, esp. if there's a parallel windows.

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#6 2021-09-09 13:59:25

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

seth wrote:

Integrity of the boot partition, the initramfs and the kernel image.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Smart and perhaps chroot into the installed system, mount the boot partition and update the kernel package.
A possible cause is that /boot is full, esp. if there's a parallel windows.

Boot is not full, it has 256 megs of space and has 189 megs free.
How would I go about checking integrity of the initramfs? I have a chroot into it right now.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#7 2021-09-09 14:07:56

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Update:
Once chrooted into it, I ran 

mkinitcpio

and it output:

ERROR: '/lib/modules/5.13.12-arch1-1' is not a valid kernel module directory

Running 

ls /lib/modules

Outputs

5.13.13-arch1-1

The difference being, it's looking in 5.13.12-arch1-1 instead of 5.13.13-arch1-1

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#8 2021-09-09 14:08:33

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Note, the 12 vs the 13 is not a typo

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#9 2021-09-09 14:11:09

seth
Member
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 51,017

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Because you booted the .12 kernel and crooted from there, that's not a problem.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Mkinit … generation

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#10 2021-09-09 14:13:59

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Update v2: did something and it booted. Will figure out what that "something" was and update.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#11 2021-09-16 18:30:57

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Update v3:
I have done a lot more fiddling around, and here's the results:

  • This was caused by me being stupid and not having 

    /boot/

    set to mount in my fstab, because for some reason when I genned it, it wasn't mounted. Because of this, upgrading my kernel caused it to not properly save the initramfs to the boot sector.

  • I don't actually think it had anything to do with the intel-ucode package as I said before.

  • In an attempt to fix this, I have done the following:

    • Properly added 

      /boot

      to my fstab.

    • Removed any files saved to my root partition in 

      /boot/

      from when it attempted to (but didn't) save the initramfs of a new kernel.

    • Reinstall the current version of linux, and linux-headers while in chroot, with /boot actually mounted in an attempt to update the ramfs.

    • Get an ethernet port to update the kernel to the latest version.

    • Boot into a grub command line, then execute each of the proper commands, in order, in an attempt to boot.

    None of these managed to fix the problem. But, I did figure out, that after 

    initrd /initramfs-linux.img

    is invoked, it immediately returns. So, that means it's not hanging, but instead it's failing to start.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#12 2021-09-16 19:32:22

Raynman
Member
Registered: 2011-10-22
Posts: 1,539

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Did you try

GRUB manual wrote:

Command: boot
Boot the OS or chain-loader which has been loaded. Only necessary if running the fully interactive command-line (it is implicit at the end of a menu entry)

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#13 2021-09-16 19:56:21

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Raynman wrote:

Did you try

GRUB manual wrote:

Command: boot
Boot the OS or chain-loader which has been loaded. Only necessary if running the fully interactive command-line (it is implicit at the end of a menu entry)

Oh.

I'll try that in a bit, when I get out of class

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#14 2021-09-16 20:08:04

Raynman
Member
Registered: 2011-10-22
Posts: 1,539

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Well, that would probably just get you from "failing to start" to the same "stuck at ...", if the commands are the same as the menu entry. I was basically trying to say that immediately returning and not automatically booting seems to be the expected behavior.

Edit: You mentioned intel-ucode before and it's not in the initrd command. I don't know if that could cause something like this, but did you try with ucode as well?

Last edited by Raynman (2021-09-16 20:13:14)

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#15 2021-09-16 20:27:24

seth
Member
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 51,017

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Boot into a grub command line, then execute each of the proper commands, in order, in an attempt to boot.

What exactly are you executing there, what does /boot/grub/grub.cfg look like and what's the output of "lsblk -f"?

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#16 2021-09-18 03:57:49

kaos77
Member
Registered: 2013-04-26
Posts: 10

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

I'm experiencing the same issues with stuck at 'Loading initial ramdisk'. 

I went through all of the standard troubleshooting methods utilizing a boot disk.  Nothing worked.  Finally removed linux, linux-headers, mkinitcpio, grub and anythign related to the boot process and purged the configuration files.  I then cleared the pacman pkg cache in /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ and installed everything back.  Still had the same issue. 

Then I figured, let's try linux-lts and see what happens.  Installed linux-lts and linux-lts-headers, ensured mkinitcpio -P was fine, generated a new grub cfg file, exited chroot and rebooted.  Bam, came right up. 

Back to the install/chroot environment, remove lts, clean install linux (latest) again, and again stuck.

This appears to be a touchy version, though I can't see what it might be enough to potentially file a bug.  Any pointers on what to look for or what logs to provide for something like that?

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#17 2021-09-19 04:42:43

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

Raynman wrote:

Edit: You mentioned intel-ucode before and it's not in the initrd command. I don't know if that could cause something like this, but did you try with ucode as well?

I've tried both with and without intel-ucode installed. Neither boot.

seth wrote:
Boot into a grub command line, then execute each of the proper commands, in order, in an attempt to boot.

What exactly are you executing there

I'm executing the list of commands from my grub.cfg to see if it printed "ERROR: HERE IS THE SPOT WHERE YOU FUCKED UP" at any point.
Here's what I'm running:

load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set root='hd0,gpt1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ] ; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahcio,gpt1 64G4-4FAE; else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE; fi
linux /vmlinuz-linux-lts root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
initrd /initramfs-linux.im
seth wrote:

what does /boot/grub/grub.cfg look like

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
   set default="${next_entry}"
   set next_entry=
   save_env next_entry
   set boot_once=true
else
   set default="0"
fi

if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
  menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
  menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
  set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
    saved_entry="${chosen}"
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function load_video {
  if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
    insmod all_video
  else
    insmod efi_gop
    insmod efi_uga
    insmod ieee1275_fb
    insmod vbe
    insmod vga
    insmod video_bochs
    insmod video_cirrus
  fi
}

if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
   font=unicode
else
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt3'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt3 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt3 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt3  c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331
else
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331
fi
    font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi

if loadfont $font ; then
  set gfxmode=auto
  load_video
  insmod gfxterm
  set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
  set lang=en_US
  insmod gettext
fi
terminal_input console
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
  set timeout_style=menu
  set timeout=5
# Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
# unavailable.
else
  set timeout=5
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch Linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
	load_video
	set gfxpayload=keep
	insmod gzio
	insmod part_gpt
	insmod fat
	set root='hd0,gpt1'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  64F4-4FAE
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE
	fi
	echo	'Loading Linux linux-lts ...'
	linux	/vmlinuz-linux-lts root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
	echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
	initrd	/intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux-lts.img
}
submenu 'Advanced options for Arch Linux' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
	menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux-lts' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-lts-advanced-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
		load_video
		set gfxpayload=keep
		insmod gzio
		insmod part_gpt
		insmod fat
		set root='hd0,gpt1'
		if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  64F4-4FAE
		else
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE
		fi
		echo	'Loading Linux linux-lts ...'
		linux	/vmlinuz-linux-lts root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
		echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
		initrd	/intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux-lts.img
	}
	menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux-lts (fallback initramfs)' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-lts-fallback-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
		load_video
		set gfxpayload=keep
		insmod gzio
		insmod part_gpt
		insmod fat
		set root='hd0,gpt1'
		if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  64F4-4FAE
		else
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE
		fi
		echo	'Loading Linux linux-lts ...'
		linux	/vmlinuz-linux-lts root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
		echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
		initrd	/intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux-lts-fallback.img
	}
	menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-advanced-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
		load_video
		set gfxpayload=keep
		insmod gzio
		insmod part_gpt
		insmod fat
		set root='hd0,gpt1'
		if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  64F4-4FAE
		else
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE
		fi
		echo	'Loading Linux linux ...'
		linux	/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
		echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
		initrd	/intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux.img
	}
	menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux (fallback initramfs)' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-fallback-c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331' {
		load_video
		set gfxpayload=keep
		insmod gzio
		insmod part_gpt
		insmod fat
		set root='hd0,gpt1'
		if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  64F4-4FAE
		else
		  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE
		fi
		echo	'Loading Linux linux ...'
		linux	/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet
		echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
		initrd	/intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
	}
}

### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
menuentry 'UEFI Firmware Settings' $menuentry_id_option 'uefi-firmware' {
	fwsetup
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
  source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
seth wrote:

what's the output of "lsblk -f"?

Here's the output when booted into an arch usb:

NAME   FSTYPE   FSVER            LABEL       UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
loop0  squashfs 4.0
sda
├─sda1 vfat     FAT32                        64F4-4FAE                             141.6M    44% /boot
├─sda2 swap     1                            f60f815d-0cf9-4db0-8167-ccd888122431
└─sda3 ext4     1.0                          c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331    372G    12% /
sdb    iso9660  Joliet Extension ARCH_202109 2021-09-01-11-25-35-00
├─sdb1 iso9660  Joliet Extension ARCH_202109 2021-09-01-11-25-35-00
└─sdb2 vfat     FAT16            ARCHISO_EFI 3719-544C
sr0
kaos77 wrote:

I'm experiencing the same issues with stuck at 'Loading initial ramdisk'.

I went through all of the standard troubleshooting methods utilizing a boot disk.  Nothing worked.  Finally removed linux, linux-headers, mkinitcpio, grub and anythign related to the boot process and purged the configuration files.  I then cleared the pacman pkg cache in /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ and installed everything back.  Still had the same issue.

Then I figured, let's try linux-lts and see what happens.  Installed linux-lts and linux-lts-headers, ensured mkinitcpio -P was fine, generated a new grub cfg file, exited chroot and rebooted.  Bam, came right up.

Back to the install/chroot environment, remove lts, clean install linux (latest) again, and again stuck.

This appears to be a touchy version, though I can't see what it might be enough to potentially file a bug.  Any pointers on what to look for or what logs to provide for something like that?

I've attempted to install and boot from linux-lts, but it didn't work for me.
I've also made sure to regen the grub.cfg afterwards.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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#18 2021-09-19 07:17:01

seth
Member
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 51,017

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

You wrote:

initrd /initramfs-linux.im

your grub.cfg wrote:

initrd    /intel-ucode.img /initramfs-linux.img

You also wrote:

if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ] ; then search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahcio,gpt1 64G4-4FAE; else search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F4-4FAE; fi

You further wrote:

linux /vmlinuz-linux-lts root=UUID=c45d0521-6e2b-4488-8429-9762598b4331 rw  loglevel=3 quiet

So there's an obvious set of typos and you have to be correct here.
Also the initramfs doesn't match the kernel (lts ./. non-lts) and every kernel command line contains "loglevel=3 quiet" but not "nomodeset"

=> For efforts to use the grub shell, fix the typos and use the proper kernel/initramfs combo
In any event add "nomodeset" and ramp up the debug level, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Genera … bug_output

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#19 2021-09-19 18:16:03

solonovamax
Member
Registered: 2020-05-04
Posts: 49

Re: Boot error - stuck at "Loading initial ramdisk"

At this point, I'm just gonna reinstall and hope that it goes away.

But also, the command list I was running I grabbed from the grub.cfg before I installed linux-lts and intel-ucode, and the grub.cfg I gave you here is from after I installed it and rebuilt the grub.cfg. That's the reason for the differences.

As for the "nomodeset", it was never in the grub.cfg that was generated by grub, which is why I didn't have it. But, after I reinstall, I'll update if this still occurs.

Thanks for your time,
solonovamax

https://github.com/solonovamax

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