Scribd
Upload
84 views

Unable To Mount Root Fs

This document provides instructions for fixing the "unable to mount root fs on an unknown block" error when booting a GNU/Linux system. The error occurs when the initramfs is missing for the current kernel. To resolve it, one must boot into the system from an alternate method like a live USB or older kernel, then mount the necessary partitions and chroot into the install to run commands to rebuild the initramfs and fix Grub configuration issues. Running the listed commands should allow the system to boot normally again after rebooting.

Uploaded by

Sheru billa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
84 views

Unable To Mount Root Fs

This document provides instructions for fixing the "unable to mount root fs on an unknown block" error when booting a GNU/Linux system. The error occurs when the initramfs is missing for the current kernel. To resolve it, one must boot into the system from an alternate method like a live USB or older kernel, then mount the necessary partitions and chroot into the install to run commands to rebuild the initramfs and fix Grub configuration issues. Running the listed commands should allow the system to boot normally again after rebooting.

Uploaded by

Sheru billa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Fix: unable to mount root fs on an unknown block

By Kevin Arrows June 28, 2018 0 2 minutes read

Since the arrival of an unable to mount root fs on an unknown block error portends
you being unable to boot your GNU/Linux installation, it can be a rather concerning
error to get. You�ll most often see it after an update has gone wrong or some other
kind of system irregularity has interfered with the normal operation of your
kernel.

Many users would prefer to not have to work with the Linux kernel, since it can be
rather annoying to do so. Fortunately, though, this is an easy enough problem to
fix provided that you can either boot your machine using another kernel stored on
it or have access to a different computer to make a bootable thumb drive.
Remounting and Repairing the initramfs Module

This error usually happens because you�re missing the initramfs for the kernel
you�re working with. Since you can�t boot your system properly, you have two
options to get to a shell. You�ll have noticed it as part of a black screen with
either a few lines or many lines of text when you�re trying to boot. The system
will appear hung after you get it.

Kernel Panic

Reboot and then try pushing shift right after you see the BIOS or UEFI logo when
you turn your machine on. If you see the Grub menu come up, then you can select the
Advanced Options setting and try an older kernel. You might be able to get into
your system this way.

Should this not have worked, then you�ll need to boot from a live CD, USB or SD
card. You can make one by downloading the install media for your distribution on
another machine as, unfortunately, you can�t get in if the Grub boot menu didn�t
help.

Either way, once you�re booted open up a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T regardless of the
method you used to start your machine. List the partitions you have on your machine
with sudo fdisk -l and look for the one that�s your root file system. Once you find
it, then type sudo mkdir /mnt/fs; sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/fs, though you�ll
naturally have to replace /dev/sda1 with the right partition name if that�s not it.
That should be the root partition on many Linux Mint, Debian and Ubuntu systems,
however.

You�ll need to mount your EFI partition if you have one. Assuming that you�re using
a legacy installation booting from an MBR partitioned disk, you won�t have to do
this. If you do have an EFI system, then run sudo mkdir /mnt/boot/efi; sudo
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/boot/efi while again replacing /dev/sda2 with the right
partition number. The previous fdisk command should have listed all of the
partitions.

Now you�ll need to run a list of commands to get what they call chroot access into
your install. You�ll see these posted many times, as this is a common error, but
things might differ slightly due to future updates. It seems that the following
commands should work:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/dev/pts; sudo mount -o bind /dev /mnt/dev


sudo mount -o bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts
sudo mkdir /mnt/sys; sudo mount -t sysfs /sys /mnt/sys
sudo mkdir /mnt/proc; sudo mount -t proc /proc /mnt/proc
sudo chroot /mnt
Run dpkg �list | grep linux-image to find which Linux image you�re running, and
then run update-initramfs -u -k 4.10.0-38-generic, making sure to replace the label
with what you�re actually running. We used the name from a test installation of
Xubuntu we were running, but your image might be very different. Once you�re done,
run update-grub; exit and you�ll be back at your first prompt. Try sudo umount
/mnt/boot/efi if you were on any kind of UEFI system.

You don�t have to do that if you�re on a legacy system, though. In any case, you
will want to run sudo umount /mnt; reboot and then boot like normal.

If everything has gone well, then you�ll be completely back to normal. It might
seem like a lot of playing around, but if these commands work you won�t have to
actually adjust any configuration files or anything like that. You�ll simply need
to run them and reboot to get a working system again.

Once you�ve gotten things working again, you may wish to update with the new
kernel.

You might also like