So, I recently installed Arch Linux (via the Zen Installer) and all went well. Well, until I removed the USB the OS was installed from and rebooted, that is…
Plug the USB stick back in and the system would boot normally. Checked FSTAB and it looked entirely valid and was, since the system was in running state when I did.
O.k., let’s try this again but this time check the journal (journalctl -xb) to see what’s happening.
jul 14 21:37:42 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: Starting File System Check on /dev/sdb1…
jul 14 21:37:42 [REDACTED] systemd-fsck[463]: /dev/sdb1: 17 files, 12139/130807 clusters
jul 14 21:37:42 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: Started File System Check on /dev/sdb1.
jul 14 21:37:42 [REDACTED] audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg=’unit=systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1 comm=”systemd” exe=”/usr/lib/systemd/systemd” hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success’
jul 14 21:37:42 [REDACTED] kernel: audit: type=1130 audit(1563133062.173:11): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg=’unit=systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1 comm=”systemd” exe=”/usr/lib/systemd/systemd” hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success’
jul 14 22:19:49 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1.service: Succeeded.
jul 14 22:19:49 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: Stopped File System Check on /dev/sdb1.
jul 14 22:19:49 [REDACTED] audit[1]: SERVICE_STOP pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg=’unit=systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1 comm=”systemd” exe=”/usr/lib/systemd/systemd” hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success’
jul 14 22:19:49 [REDACTED] kernel: audit: type=1131 audit(1563135589.643:55): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg=’unit=systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1 comm=”systemd” exe=”/usr/lib/systemd/systemd” hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success’
jul 14 22:21:44 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: dev-sdb1.device: Job dev-sdb1.device/start timed out.
jul 14 22:21:44 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: Timed out waiting for device /dev/sdb1.
jul 14 22:21:44 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: Dependency failed for File System Check on /dev/sdb1.
jul 14 22:21:44 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1.service: Job systemd-fsck@dev-sdb1.service/start failed with result ‘dependency’.
jul 14 22:21:44 [REDACTED] systemd[1]: dev-sdb1.device: Job dev-sdb1.device/start failed with result ‘timeout’.
Well, that didn’t help too much, save to tell me that fsck can’t load a dependency. Wait a minute… It can’t be… Can it?
Ctrl+Alt+F1 to open the terminal. Nano’ed fstab. Changed all of the sdb to sda (since the usb was no longer plugged in) and rebooted. It worked.
So, here’s what was happening:
When the USB drive was plugged in, the HDD drive was /dev/sdb. When the USB was not plugged in, it was no longer /dev/sda but the HDD was now /dev/sda.
The ultimate work-around to prevent this from happening again? Use the UUIDs instead of the non-static drive assignments, as the kernel’s name descriptors are not persistent. (See the Arch Linux Wiki for more details.)
Obligatory desktop screenshot? Obligatory desktop screenshot.
