Latest kernel update, 5.4.0-45.49, won't boot

[jrwatts]

A couple of days ago Discover told me I had updates, and I went ahead and installed the new kernel version, 5.4.0-45.49. When I tried to boot the following day, the system stayed at the Kubuntu logo for a long time, then dumped me out to a prompt saying "(initramfs)". Tried recovery mode, no difference. Booting the previous kernel version, 5.4.0-42, works just fine.

Any ideas on how I should start troubleshooting this?

[jglen490]

When you say you went ahead and installed 5.4.0-49, what method did you use to do that? Discover? apt?

Not having that problem, I would recommend letting us have some info about your machine. In konsole, enter

inxi -Fxxx

then copy the output and paste it into a CODE box (the # button) in your reply here. If you don't have inxi, then install it

sudo apt install inxi

.

And, welcome to KFN

[jlittle]

My 20.04 has 5.4.0-45-generic, and has been booting fine since it arrived a week ago.

Getting "dumped" out at initramfs IME means something is missing, like the kernel. I'd check the /boot directory to see if there's something obvious missing, and also maybe the logs of the update in /var/log/apt (though I can't say that's ever got me anywhere). I wonder if reinstalling the updates (apt install --reinstall) might achieve something.

[GreyGeek]

Just did the update which included the 45-generic kernel a few minutes ago. It rebuilt my dkms, nvida stuff and the rest without any problems. Booted up fine. Running fine.

[jrwatts]

When you say you went ahead and installed 5.4.0-49, what method did you use to do that? Discover? apt?

Not having that problem, I would recommend letting us have some info about your machine. In konsole, enter

inxi -Fxxx

then copy the output and paste it into a CODE box (the # button) in your reply here. If you don't have inxi, then install it

sudo apt install inxi

.

And, welcome to KFN

Thanks. I used

sudo apt update; sudo apt -y full-upgrade

to install the updates (as usual). Here's the output of inxi:

$ inxi -Fxxx           
System:    Host: DoctorDonna Kernel: 5.4.0-42-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.18.5 
        tk: Qt 5.12.8 info: latte-dock wm: kwin dm: SDDM Distro: Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (Focal Fossa) 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: A320M-HDV R4.0 serial: <superuser/root required> UEFI: American Megatrends 
        v: P1.00 date: 11/22/2018 
Battery:   Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse MX Master serial: 4041-53-6a-6d-61 
        charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen rev: 1 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
        flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm bogomips: 76646 
        Speed: 1375 MHz min/max: 1550/3200 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1375 2: 1375 3: 1375 4: 1375 5: 1375 
        6: 1375 7: 1375 8: 1375 9: 1375 10: 1375 11: 1375 12: 1374 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 3GB] vendor: ZOTAC driver: nvidia v: 440.100 bus ID: 26:00.0 
        chip ID: 10de:1c02 
        Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa compositor: kwin_x11 
        resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz, 1440x900~60Hz 
        OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1060 3GB/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 440.100 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: NVIDIA GP106 High Definition Audio vendor: ZOTAC driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 26:00.1 
        chip ID: 10de:10f1 
        Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
        bus ID: 28:00.3 chip ID: 1022:1457 
        Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-42-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel port: f000 
        bus ID: 25:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
        IF: enp37s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 70:85:c2:bd:67:7b 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 6.88 TiB used: 3.98 TiB (57.9%) 
        ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: HP model: SSD EX900 500GB size: 465.76 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 
        serial: HBSE38450200837 rev: R0802B0 scheme: MBR 
        ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST4000NC001-1FS168 size: 3.64 TiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 5900 rpm 
        serial: Z300XZPQ rev: CN02 temp: 32 C scheme: GPT 
        ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Seagate model: ST33000650NS size: 2.73 TiB speed: 3.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
        serial: Z2904VJT rev: RA05 temp: 34 C 
        ID-4: /dev/sdc type: USB vendor: Lexar model: Echo size: 59.75 GiB serial: AA5P91PAB2RVT584 rev: 1100 scheme: MBR 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 122.42 GiB used: 20.10 GiB (16.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6 
        ID-2: /home size: 1.79 TiB used: 1.24 TiB (69.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 38.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 49 C 
        Fan Speeds (RPM): fan-1: 1298 fan-2: 1620 fan-3: 0 fan-4: 0 fan-5: 0 gpu: nvidia fan: 60% 
Info:      Processes: 336 Uptime: 6m Memory: 15.63 GiB used: 3.82 GiB (24.4%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
        gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 7/8/9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: konsole inxi: 3.0.38

/var/log/apt shows nothing unusual, just a standard update with no issues.

[jglen490]

The only real difference between yours and mine is you have an AMD 5 1600 and I have an Intel i5-9400F. You might try to re-install the kernel though Synaptic or apt, just in case something didn't come in during the update.

[oldgeek]

I initially had trouble with the computer freezing after doing the kernel update via apt. It took forever to delete the Nvidia .ko files (presumably while deleting the 5.4.40 kernel) so while waiting I booted into Firefox. Things would run for awhile, then freeze, even when I booted to the previous kernel. I ended up rolling back to the pre-update snapshot, then tried the update a little later, and since then things have worked fine. What I suspect in my case is that the electrical system was producing less power to homes than before, as occasionally happens during this pandemic (I live in Lima Peru) due to the increase in domestic use and perhaps lack of maintenance.

[jrwatts]

The only real difference between yours and mine is you have an AMD 5 1600 and I have an Intel i5-9400F. You might try to re-install the kernel though Synaptic or apt, just in case something didn't come in during the update.

I tried reinstalling the updates (sudo apt install --reinstall linux-modules-extra-5.4.0-45-generic linux-headers-5.4.0-45-generic linux-modules-5.4.0-45-generic linux-headers-5.4.0-45 linux-image-5.4.0-45-generic), but it still won't boot. This time, I cleared the graphic Ubuntu logo so I could see any errors that came up, and there were repeated

Buffer I/O error on dev sr0, sector 0 up 0x0:(READ) flags 0x0 phys_seg 1 prio class 0
blk_update_request: I/O error, dev sr0, logical bock 0, async page read

errors, where the sector and logical block changed for each error. These repeated hundreds of times untill about 100 seconds had passed, then it dumped me to the "(initramfs)" prompt. So, it kept trying and failing to read the (music) CD in my DVD-ROM drive?

Guess I'd better try booting with the drive empty and see what happens...

Edit: OK, booted with the DVD-RW drive empty, and, while all those I/O errors went away, I still got left at the "(initramfs)" prompt. I couldn't clear the Kubuntu logo screen before it reached that prompt (which happened noticeably quicker without the CD in the drive), so I have no idea if there were any other errors to help explain what's happening. It seems like it can't read the SSD drive that GRUB was just run from!

[jlittle]

Did the reinstall run update-initramfs? I would expect it to. If it didn't, might be worth a try.

I usually keep up these struggles way beyond the point where abandoning an install would save time and effort. Every time I resolve to cut my losses early next time.

[jrwatts]

Yes, the reinstall ran both dkms and update-initramfs.

[jrwatts]

Okay, now I'm seriously concerned...I just installed 5.4.0.47, and it has the same issue. So, how do I A) file a bug report about this, and B) ensure 5.4.0.42 doesn't get removed on the next kernel update?

[Kokoo]

This may indeed be a problem with detecting the NVMe SSD properly, see the following recent bug report:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...x/+bug/1894378

Do you see nvme0n1 under /dev in the initramfs shell, or only nvme0? If you don't, then I guess this is the reported problem.

[jrwatts]

Sure enough, I only see "nvme0" under /dev. Looks like the same bug. Thanks for the help!