[SOLVED] error 'failure to mount /etc/fstab' won't boot ubuntu 18 except text mode
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error 'failure to mount /etc/fstab' won't boot ubuntu 18 except text mode
I have two hard drives in my laptop, and have been booting to the original drive (ubuntumate 18). I added an entry in the fstab for the other hard drive (mounted in placeof the CD/DVD drive). and then find that it won't boot into the first drive, except it gives me a chance to get into that drive in text mode., I can also boot into the second drive in an older version of linux that was installed there before.
From the second drive terminal mode I did 'sudo update-grub', hoping to get it to include the first drive, but it doesn't include a direct link, instead it refers me to the EFI, but that gets me back to a procedure that only lets me get into text mode on the first drive.
in that procedure, it led me to a journal long file where I noticed two errors (in red letters)as follows>: '/do-IRQ: 155 No irq handler for vector' (that error occurred three times in quick succession followed by '2', and then '3'.
and the other error farther down in the journal: 'failed to mount /etc/fstab'
I don't know whether the fstab file is the root of the problem, or perhaps it is a problem with the EFI, or something else. I'm not shut completely out, but it is an inconvenience.
Here's the result of blkid. The drive that was booting from the grub.cfg is /dev/sdc7. I don't know how to get to the fstab on that drive except in 'maintenance mode and maintenance mode won't let me save it where I can reach it, ir if it will, I don't know how. I did go in there yesterday in Maintenece mode, and add the name of the partition.
How did you edit fstab? Is there a privileges/ownership problem which means startup cannot read the file? How did you reverse the changes? This is a root file. Did you su into root or sudo? (more likely the latter I am guessing)
The drive that was booting from the grub.cfg is /dev/sdc7. I don't know how to get to the fstab on that drive except in 'maintenance mode and maintenance mode won't let me save it where I can reach it, ir if it will, I don't know how.
Yet in post #4 you claim to have reversed the change to fstab.
This is not being at all helpful. From Linux, go here do as it says and post the complete file it generates. Then we'll have something to work with. Don't go changing anything in the interim.
I don't know how to get to the fstab on that drive except in 'maintenance mode and maintenance mode won't let me save it where I can reach it, ir if it will, I don't know how.
This is confusing. If you can run blkid, surely you can also run cat /etc/fstab?
Or if this is not the fstab in question, just mount the correct drive and find fstab there. For example, assuming your fstab is on /dev/sdc7:
Code:
mkdir /mnt/sdc7
mount /dev/sdc7 /mnt/sdc7
cat /mnt/sdc7/etc/fstab
If you don't know the correct partition, just try all partitions with an ext4 filesystem.
I The changes that I had made to fstab, I made using the text mode (maintenance) which I can get into. In fact I tried to find an example to go by to write the fstab line, but didn't find it, so I went
back in (maintenance mode, and tried a suggestion that I found, but it didn't work. The drive still will not boot properly. But here is the fstab in question as it now stands.
Woops/ this the wrong one.
I'll go back toll I fine it with the OS that is working'
Last edited by littlejoe5; 03-19-2019 at 01:53 PM.
Reason: I had posted the wrong fstab.
This is the fstab that I edited. I did make some changes before you suggested sending it without changes, but it still doesn't work, and gives me the same routine. I can get into that OS, but only in 'maintenance mode",
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=35d2524e-535d-4255-9281-62e3c42d08b1 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /boot/efi was on /dev/sdb1 during installation
UUID=5D1B-6090 /boot/efi vfat umask=0077 0 1
# /home was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=6ea1d596-f424-41bf-8dfc-7acfb7d15d9f /home ext4 defaults 0 2
# /sdb7 was on /dev/sdb7 during installation
UUID=ec587145-87b5-4921-a6d6-a8944a409d72 PARTLABEL=sdb7-old ext4 defaults 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=e0711da6-89c6-48a3-aa73-c6b15c5e2022 none swap sw 0 0
Last edited by littlejoe5; 03-23-2019 at 01:46 PM.
Getting no answers that help There's always an answer. I finally just reinstalled, the OS. That did it of course, but all my adjustments and extran installs are gone, and need to be done over. So mI guess, I solved it, and will mark it accordingly.
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