Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

LithoUser · 2026-04-11 15:44:58

Hello!

About two or three weeks ago, I started the Arch update on my laptop. It seemed to go smoothly (there were no error messages), but when I restarted the system, it wouldn't boot. Usually, since my /home partition is encrypted, I’m prompted to enter the decryption password. That’s no longer the case: now, right after startup, I get the following error messages:

::running early hook [udev]
Starting systemd-udevd version 259.5-1-arch
:: running hook [udev]
:: Triggering uevents...
:: running hook [keymap]
:: Loading keymap...done.
:: running hook [encrypt]
Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-uuid/ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a ...
Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root ...
Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root ...
ERROR: device '/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root' not found. Skipping fsck.
:: mounting '/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root' on real root
mount: /new_root: fsconfig() failed: /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root: Can't lookup blockdev.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
ERROR: Failed to mount '/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root' on real root
You are now being dropped into an emergency shell.
sh: can't access tty: job control turned off
[rootfs ~]#

I ran a chroot session using a USB drive, and restarted the creation of the initial ramdisk environment:

mkinitcpio -P

But that didn't change anything. I'm not sure what information I need to provide so that someone can help me...

Thank you in advance for your help!

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-12 08:55:53)

Scimmia · 2026-04-11 18:26:50

What laptop are we talking about? You may be running into this: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=312403

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 08:14:04

Thanks for your help! I think that’s actually the problem: my laptop is an HP Stream 13, with a 32 GB eMMC card instead of a hard drive.

So I `chroot`, then edited my `/etc/mkinitcpio.conf` file by changing the line at the beginning of the file to this:

MODULES=(ufs ufshcd-pci)

Then I ran `mkinitcpio -P`. But it seems that mkinitcpio isn’t including the necessary modules in the generated image, so after the next reboot, nothing has changed: my partitions still aren’t detected. What can I do?

seth · 2026-04-12 08:23:31

Forgot to mount the boot partition?

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 08:53:52

Hmm... I just tried again, but no, I think I had set up the boot partition correctly.

Here's exactly what I do after booting from a Linux USB drive (my /home directory is encrypted):

loadkeys fr-pc

lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,UUID,MOUNTPOINT
NAME                          FSTYPE      LABEL                        UUID                                                          MOUNTPOINT
loop0                           squashfs                                                                                                            /run/archiso/airootfs
sda                               iso9660     ARCH_202603        2026-03-01-10-44-11-00
└─sda1                       iso9660     ARCH_202603        2026-03-01-10-44-11-00                  /run/archiso/bootmnt
└─sda2                       vfat             ARCHISO_EFI           69A4-187B
mmcblk0
└─mmcblk0p1         vfat                                                   561E-902F
└─mmcblk0p2         crypto_LUKS                                  ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a
mmcblk0boot0
mmcblk0boot1

cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/mmcblk0p2 lvm
Enter passphrase for /dev/mmcblk0p2: 

mount /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root /mnt/
mount /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_home /mnt/home/
mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/boot/

arch-chroot /mnt
nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

Here is the contents of the file:

MODULES=(ufs ufshcd-pci)
BINARIES=()
FILES=()
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap block encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck)

Then:

[root@archiso /]# mkinitcpio -P
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'default'
==> Using configuration file: ':etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
   -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Starting build: '6.19.6-arch1-1'
   -> Running build hook: [base]
   -> Running build hook: [udev]
   -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
   -> Running build hook: [microcode]
   -> Running build hook: [modconf]
   -> Running build hook: [kms]
   -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
   -> Running build hook: [keymap]
   -> Running build hook: [block]
   -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qat_6xxx'
   -> Running build hook: [lvm2]
   -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
   -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-linux.img'
   -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'fallback'
==> Using configuration file: ':etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
   -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img -S autodetect
==> Starting build: '6.19.6-arch1-1'
   -> Running build hook: [base]
   -> Running build hook: [udev]
   -> Running build hook: [microcode]
   -> Running build hook: [modconf]
   -> Running build hook: [kms]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'ast'
   -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
   -> Running build hook: [keymap]
   -> Running build hook: [block]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'bfa'
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'aic94xx'
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qla2xxx'
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qla1280'
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qed'
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'wd719x'
   -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qat_6xxx'
   -> Running build hook: [lvm2]
   -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
   -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img'
   -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful

exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-12 20:13:10)

Scimmia · 2026-04-12 09:03:36

Does the fallback initramfs work?

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 09:07:26

Sorry, how can I test that ?

seth · 2026-04-12 13:29:14

You select it at the boot loader (eg. grub)

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 14:00:34

My grub has two entries only:

Arch Linux
Reboot Into Firmware Interface

seth · 2026-04-12 14:35:30

cat /boot/grub.cfg

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#G … d_grub.cfg

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 14:57:02

My bad; it's not grub, it's systemd-boot.

seth · 2026-04-12 15:02:27

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System … ng_loaders

5hridhyan · 2026-04-12 15:03:40

MODULES=(ufs ufshcp-pci)

a typo of `ufshcd_pci`??

seth · 2026-04-12 15:08:12

Question is where (it's correct in #3 and there're no warnings in #5)
Dash and underscore are equivalent, filename is actually ufshcd-pci.ko.zst

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 15:35:36

I double-checked: I do indeed have the correct version ("ufshcd-pci") in my /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file.

# nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf

title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options cryptdevice=UUID=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a:lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw

So I've added:

title Arch Linux (fallback initramfs)
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
options cryptdevice=UUID=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a:lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw

Now, only the second entry appears at startup:

Arch Linux (fallback initramfs)
Reboot Into Firmware Interface

But this entry doesn't work either:

Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-uuid/ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a ...
Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root ...
Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root ...
etc, etc...

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-12 15:36:46)

seth · 2026-04-12 19:44:07

Usually, since my /home partition is encrypted, I’m prompted to enter the decryption password. That’s no longer the case

kmskeyboard

I assume that's supposed to be "kms keyboard"?
And apparently the hooks seem to run, but that's clearly not your actual mkinictpio.conf then.
Boot the install iso, make sure you've internet, chroot into the system and

grep -r . /etc/mkinitcpio.conf* | curl --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'

LithoUser · 2026-04-12 20:23:09

I assume that's supposed to be "kms keyboard"?

Unfortunately, yes... Another typo, sorry.

grep -r . /etc/mkinitcpio.conf* | curl --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'

The result is here.

seth · 2026-04-12 20:40:02

And the actual file is unfortunately fine

Does it help to switch from busybox to sytemd?
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=310004

LithoUser · 2026-04-13 04:50:59

So I booted from usb, chrooted, and then edited /etc/mkinitcpio.conf (I underline my changes):

HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole block sd-encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck)

Then I edited /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf:

options rd.luks.name=UUID=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a=lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw

Then I ran `mkinitcpio -P`(no particular error, except from the usual warnings "possibly missing firmware..."), exited from arch-root and rebooted.

Now I have:

[ OK ] Finished Virtual Console Setup.
A start job is running for /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root (...s / 1min 30s)

Then it goes into emergency mode.

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-13 04:54:56)

seth · 2026-04-13 07:08:21

So still no password query?
Is there a delay when you'd expect to see the PW request (ie. you're likely being asked but don't get to see that)?
Did you try to establish a cryptkey or TPM configuration? (Though I don't think that would even work w/o kernel parameter and the busybox setup)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-cry … crypt_hook
Do you have another keyboard?

LithoUser · 2026-04-13 07:37:26

So still no password query?

Unfortunately, no. In fact, it doesn't even succeed to go into emergency mode:

[ TIME ] Timed out waiting for device /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for File System Check on /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for /sysroot.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for Initrd Root File System.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for Mountpoints Configured in the Real Root.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for Initrd Root Device.
[  OK  ] Stopped Dispatch Password Requests to Console Directory Watch.
[  OK  ] Stopped target Basic System.
[  OK  ] Reached target Initrd File Systems.
[  OK  ] Stopped target System Initialization.
[  OK  ] Started Emergency Shell.
[  OK  ] Reached target Emergency Mode.
You are in emergency mode. After logging in, type "journalctl -xb" to view
system logs, "systemctl reboot" to reboot, or "exit"
to continue bootup.

Cannot open access to console, the root account is locked.
See sulogin(8) man page for more details.

Press Enter to continue.

If I press Enter, it keeps displaying the following messages:

Reloading system manager configuration.
Starting initrd.target
You are in emergency mode. After logging in, type "journalctl -xb" to view
system logs, "systemctl reboot" to reboot, or "exit"
to continue bootup.

Cannot open access to console, the root account is locked.
See sulogin(8) man page for more details.

Press Enter to continue.

Maybe the eMMC card is just shot? The battery hasn't been working for a while now... My laptop isn't very old (7 or 8 years, I'd say), but maybe there's a hardware issue after all?

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-13 07:38:09)

seth · 2026-04-13 07:44:24

Emergency console is b/c of systemd.

Maybe the eMMC card is just shot?

You're loading the kernel and initramfs from it and you can decrypt and access the partition offline.

About two or three weeks ago, I started the Arch update on my laptop.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_L … cific_date though you could also just test the LTS kernel.

sharow · 2026-04-13 12:05:33

LithoUser wrote:

So I booted from usb, chrooted, and then edited /etc/mkinitcpio.conf (I underline my changes):
...
options rd.luks.name=UUID=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a=lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw
...

It appears that rd.luks.name does not support "UUID=" notation.
https://man.archlinux.org/man/core/syst … rator.8.en

It should be like this.

options rd.luks.name=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a=lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw

LithoUser · 2026-04-13 13:43:23

Thank you for your answer sharow!

I had hope...but now I have two start jobs instead of one:

(1 of 2) A start job is running for /dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root
(2 of 2) A start job is running for /dev/disk/by-uuid/ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a

seth wrote:

you could also just test the LTS kernel.

Edit:
So I chroot, then establish network connection, then:

# pacman -Syy
pacman -S linux-lts linux-lts-headers

nano /boot/loader/entries/arch-lts.conf

arch-lts.conf wrote:

title Arch Linux (LTS)
linux /vmlinuz-linux-lts
initrd /initramfs-linux-lts.img
options rd.luks.name=ff0c6936-f2c3-49dc-905d-45754eed8e4a=lvm root=/dev/mapper/vgroup-lv_root rw

Then I exit chroot, umount -R /mnt, reboot, select "Arch Linux (LTS)"... and nothing has changed. I still have the two "A start job is running for..." above.

Last edited by LithoUser (2026-04-13 14:05:04)

seth · 2026-04-13 15:06:37

seth wrote:

Did you try to establish a cryptkey or TPM configuration? … Do you have another keyboard?

Arch Linux

#1 2026-04-11 15:44:58

Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#2 2026-04-11 18:26:50

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#3 2026-04-12 08:14:04

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#4 2026-04-12 08:23:31

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#5 2026-04-12 08:53:52

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#6 2026-04-12 09:03:36

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#7 2026-04-12 09:07:26

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#8 2026-04-12 13:29:14

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#9 2026-04-12 14:00:34

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#10 2026-04-12 14:35:30

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#11 2026-04-12 14:57:02

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#12 2026-04-12 15:02:27

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#13 2026-04-12 15:03:40

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#14 2026-04-12 15:08:12

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#15 2026-04-12 15:35:36

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#16 2026-04-12 19:44:07

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#17 2026-04-12 20:23:09

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#18 2026-04-12 20:40:02

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#19 2026-04-13 04:50:59

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#20 2026-04-13 07:08:21

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#21 2026-04-13 07:37:26

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#22 2026-04-13 07:44:24

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#23 2026-04-13 12:05:33

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#24 2026-04-13 13:43:23

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

#25 2026-04-13 15:06:37

Re: Since a recent update, Arch no longer boots on my laptop

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