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I've been using Ubuntu on a Windows dual-boot Sony Vaio VGN-CS390 laptop for more than five years now. Yesterday I made a fresh install of 14.04 LTS over 12.04 LTS. Everything worked fine, even after several shutdowns and boot-ups. Today, after booting up in Ubuntu, everything looked prime and proper, but my USB optical mouse wasn't working (it wasn't even recognized by the lsusb command). I tried a reboot.

But immediately after power on, before the GRUB screen or the Sony Vaio screen appeared (before any operating system was loaded), everything was slowed down by two orders of magnitude. The Sony Vaio screen appeared after 5 minutes (it should take 2 seconds), and the Grub screen, in which I selected Ubuntu, after 10 more minutes. I then waited an extra 10 minutes for the following to appear:

Gave up waiting for root device. Common problems:
-Boot args (cat /proc/cmdline)
    -Check rootdelay= (did the system wait long enough?)
    -Check root= (did the system wait for the right device?)
-Missing modules (cat /proc/modules; ls /dev
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/ceafd64e-e02d-403a-a558-ce5d8f748c3a does not exist. Dropping to a shell!

Busy Box v1.21.1 (Ubuntu 1:1.21.0-1ubuntu1) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs) _

I shut the laptop down with the power button (apparently shutdown isn't part of the ash shell).

I went on another computer and googled Gave up waiting for root device. Apparently, it has something to do with USB ports. Maybe something is wrong with the boot order, which I changed in the BIOS yesterday to "USB-first" in order to install Ubuntu.

I booted my computer up again, and this time it went fast, like it had done for years. I thought the USB key that was plugged in had something to do with it. But after rebooting 10 times with slight differences (mouse plugged in, mouse plugged out, USB key in, USB key out, etc.), I noticed that what makes the difference between a slow and a fast boot is the amount of time the laptop has been turned off. It takes 30 minutes to get to the Gave up waiting for root device screen IF (at boot time) the laptop has been powered off for less than 5 minutes. If I boot the laptop when it has been turned off for over 5 minutes, it boots normally and fast, but doesn't recognize my dear USB mouse.

So guys and gals, where do we start?

Pertinax
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  • Start unplugging usb devices (beginning with your USB mouse) to see if the problem disappears when you do a quick restart. – Minos Jan 12 '15 at 11:13
  • Try the answer from this similar question https://askubuntu.com/a/277253/26246 – user.dz Jan 13 '17 at 06:15
  • As it seems related to time, it may be related to some BIOS setup like in Dell, BIOS have two boot mode through or fast(minimum or quiet). If fast mode is set it will skip some boot up checks. auto means to choose depending time of last shutdown. – user.dz Jan 13 '17 at 06:23

2 Answers2

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I own an older laptop (8 years?) with some small defects (graphics adapter for example, but it works for office, programming etc.) and I have the following problem: When it gets warm after a few minutes of normal use (warm, maybe 40°C, not hot) and I try a restart, I get a white screen instead of BIOS display followed by GRUB and finally Ubuntu. After cooling down (if I blow air into the fan, it goes faster), it reboots normally.

As you mentioned your error depends on the time between shutdown and reboot, I would think heat is the problem. Maybe some of your hardware also has a light crash as mine and therefore can't handle the temperature? You could maybe try if cooling down the whole machine (put it in the fridge ;D, try an external fan, open the window, run it in the garden,...? - but be aware of humidity!) decreases the break time needed for a normal boot.

Have you tried your mouse in another machine, to verify it works there?

Greetings and good luck, BC

Byte Commander
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it does sound like the laptop is overheating. how is the fan working have you noticed if it is running more then normal or loader or if it isn't running at all? the other possibility is either the memory or processor is failing. I'd have the laptop check out and diagnosed for hardware problems.

Christopher J. Crandall
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