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I have Ubuntu 18.04 running on my desktop. It has been working fine for months, but crashed today while playing a video game.

Now when I try to boot it gets stuck at the purple screen before the ubuntu logo or the login screen. Indeed I can't even boot in recovery mode! When I try to do so it freezes, and there is nothing particularly revealing (as far as I can tell) in the output before it freezes.

I can give more hardware/software details if needed. I do have a Nvidia graphics card and running Nvidia drivers, but they have been working perfectly up to this point.

Any help greatly appreciated.

tombird
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2 Answers2

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Lets first check your file system for errors.

To check the file system on your Ubuntu partition...

  • boot to the GRUB menu
  • choose Advanced Options
  • choose Recovery mode
  • choose Root access
  • at the # prompt, type sudo fsck -f /
  • repeat the fsck command if there were errors
  • type reboot

If for some reason you can't do the above...

  • boot to a Ubuntu Live DVD/USB
  • start gparted and determine which /dev/sdaX is your Ubuntu EXT4 partition
  • quit gparted
  • open a terminal window
  • type sudo fsck -f /dev/sdaX # replacing X with the number you found earlier
  • repeat the fsck command if there were errors
  • type reboot
heynnema
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  • I cannot boot (normally or into recovery mode), or even "try ubuntu without installing" from a USB. When I try and boot from USB there is some output but then it freezes, much like when I try and boot into recovery mode. The last two lines in the output before it freezes are "MODSIGN: Couldn't get UEFI db list" and then "Couldn't get size: ".

    So I can't really even start to do the instructions you listed :(

     – tombird Nov 08 '18 at 19:50
  • Sounds like you've got a hardware problem. How much RAM do you have, in what configuration? Try booting the Ubuntu Live DVD/USB again, and see if you can start memtest. Run it for at least one complete pass. Report back to @heynnema – heynnema Nov 08 '18 at 19:53
  • I have 1x8GB stick of RAM. There is no memtest option on either my normal GRUB menu or the Ubuntu USB. There is a "check disk for defects" but that results in the same freezing that happens when I try and run Ubuntu from USB. In fact I get the same problem when I try and install Ubuntu from USB, so I can't even reinstall it at this point! – tombird Nov 08 '18 at 20:04
  • @tombird Do you have another RAM stick that you could install? If not, try resetting your BIOS back to factory settings (you may need to come back later and turn off Secure Boot) and see if there's any change. – heynnema Nov 08 '18 at 20:16
  • I don't have another RAM stick. The closest option to resetting my BIOS was "Load customised defaults", so I did that. Nothing has changed though. I had changed very little in the BIOS (maybe secure boot), so don't think resetting it changed that much. The only things I have within my control are the GRUB terminal, and changing the load parameters of Ubuntu (ie by pressing e at the GRUB menu). Is there something I could do there to help? – tombird Nov 08 '18 at 20:31
  • sorry I meant "Load optimized defaults" – tombird Nov 08 '18 at 20:36
  • @tombird go to GRUB (e)dit mode, find the line that has "quiet splash" and change it to "quiet splash nomodeset", continue booting, and see what happens. – heynnema Nov 08 '18 at 20:37
  • that did not change anything. If I delete the $vt_handoff parameter though, it shows some errors rather than just a purple screen. The last one is "PKCS#7 signature not signed with a trusted key". Is that helpful? – tombird Nov 08 '18 at 21:18
  • It might be nvidia related. See https://askubuntu.com/questions/1031375/pkcs-signature-error-warnings-running-dmesg-on-ubuntu-mate-18-04 – heynnema Nov 08 '18 at 21:27
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The story (sudden halt while gaming) sounds like it might be a hardware or temperature related problem.

Linux crashing for software reasons is extremely rare in my experience. Especially since 18.04 is of the high quality LTS variety, I think it unlikely.

You might want to start with cleaning the fans or just charging the battery or do some other hardware related maintenance.

If all else fails, try to see if booting a https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD works.

Henk van der Laak
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