Ubuntu asks me to do fsck on every boot

Question

I recently installed Ubuntu and on every boot I see this:

    /dev/sda2: UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY.
        (i.e., without -a or -p options)
fsck exited with status code 4
The root filesystem on /dev/sda2 requires a manual fsck

After running fsck manually Ubuntu boots normally clean, however after boot, I see the lock icon on all folders in my system and none of the apps run. I also started seeing issues with my web browser: Firefox is already running, but is not responding

I'm not sure what's wrong here. I have been running fsck manually and booting.

Results of sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda :

smartctl 6.5 2016-01-24 r4214 [x86_64-linux-4.8.0-36-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Western Digital Blue
Device Model:     WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0
Serial Number:    WD-WMAYUA594803
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 0586a1865
Firmware Version: 15.01H15
User Capacity:    500,107,862,016 bytes [500 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat May 13 13:39:32 2017 UTC
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x82) Offline data collection activity
                    was completed without error.
                    Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                    without error or no self-test has ever 
                    been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:        ( 8580) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:            (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                    Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                    Suspend Offline collection upon new
                    command.
                    Offline surface scan supported.
                    Self-test supported.
                    Conveyance Self-test supported.
                    Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                    power-saving mode.
                    Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                    General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:    (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (  87) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (   5) minutes.
SCT capabilities:          (0x3037) SCT Status supported.
                    SCT Feature Control supported.
                    SCT Data Table supported.
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x002f   200   200   051    Pre-fail  Always       -       5736
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   144   143   021    Pre-fail  Always       -       3800
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1690
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   194   194   140    Pre-fail  Always       -       116
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x002e   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   086   086   000    Old_age   Always       -       10733
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1665
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       141
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       1548
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   103   094   000    Old_age   Always       -       40
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   110   110   000    Old_age   Always       -       90
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       10
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       1
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0008   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       188
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
No self-tests have been logged.  [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t]
SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

Since I was doing fsck /dev/sda2

Results of sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda2 :

smartctl 6.5 2016-01-24 r4214 [x86_64-linux-4.8.0-36-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Western Digital Blue
Device Model:     WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0
Serial Number:    WD-WMAYUA594803
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 0586a1865
Firmware Version: 15.01H15
User Capacity:    500,107,862,016 bytes [500 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat May 13 13:46:14 2017 UTC
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x82) Offline data collection activity
                    was completed without error.
                    Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                    without error or no self-test has ever 
                    been run.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:        ( 8580) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:            (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                    Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                    Suspend Offline collection upon new
                    command.
                    Offline surface scan supported.
                    Self-test supported.
                    Conveyance Self-test supported.
                    Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                    power-saving mode.
                    Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                    General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:    (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (  87) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (   5) minutes.
SCT capabilities:          (0x3037) SCT Status supported.
                    SCT Feature Control supported.
                    SCT Data Table supported.
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x002f   200   200   051    Pre-fail  Always       -       5736
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   144   143   021    Pre-fail  Always       -       3800
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1690
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   194   194   140    Pre-fail  Always       -       116
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x002e   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   086   086   000    Old_age   Always       -       10733
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       1665
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       141
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       1548
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   102   094   000    Old_age   Always       -       41
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   110   110   000    Old_age   Always       -       90
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       10
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       1
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0008   200   200   000    Old_age   Offline      -       188
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
No self-tests have been logged.  [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t]
SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY error message:

Results of running fsck from a live USB:


ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fsck /dev/sda2
fsck from util-linux 2.27.1
e2fsck 1.42.13 (17-May-2015)
/dev/sda2 contains a file system with errors, check forced.
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Inodes that were part of a corrupted orphan linked list found.  Fix<y>? yes
Inode 1060186 was part of the orphaned inode list.  FIXED.
Inode 1060191 was part of the orphaned inode list.  FIXED.
Inode 1060193 was part of the orphaned inode list.  FIXED.
Inode 1060200 was part of the orphaned inode list.  FIXED.
Deleted inode 1060223 has zero dtime.  Fix<y>? yes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Error reading block 4202608 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read) while reading directory block.  Ignore error<y>? yes
Force rewrite<y>? yes
Directory inode 1048767, block #0, offset 0: directory corrupted
Salvage<y>? yes
Missing '.' in directory inode 1048767.
Fix<y>? yes
Setting filetype for entry '.' in ??? (1048767) to 2.
Missing '..' in directory inode 1048767.
Fix<y>? yes
Setting filetype for entry '..' in ??? (1048767) to 2.
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
'..' in /home/faisal/.cache/logrotate (1048767) is <The NULL inode> (0), should be /home/faisal/.cache (1048583).
Fix<y>? yes
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Inode 2 ref count is 23, should be 24.  Fix<y>? yes
Inode 1048583 ref count is 19, should be 18.  Fix<y>? yes
Unattached inode 1060211
Connect to /lost+found<y>? yes
Inode 1060211 ref count is 2, should be 1.  Fix<y>? yes
Pass 5: Checking group summary information
Block bitmap differences:  -(79757831--79757834) -(79757837--79757840) -(85494803--85494806) -(85524993--85525000)
Fix<y>? yes
Free blocks count wrong for group #2434 (21451, counted=21459).
Fix<y>? yes
Free blocks count wrong for group #2609 (6147, counted=6151).
Fix<y>? yes
Free blocks count wrong for group #2610 (29311, counted=29319).
Fix<y>? yes
Free blocks count wrong (105800045, counted=105799995).
Fix<y>? yes
Inode bitmap differences:  -1060186 -1060191 -1060193 -1060200 -1060223
Fix<y>? yes
Free inodes count wrong for group #129 (4724, counted=4729).
Fix<y>? yes
Free inodes count wrong (28871737, counted=28871728).
Fix<y>? yes
/dev/sda2: ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
/dev/sda2: 578512/29450240 files (0.4% non-contiguous), 11994565/117794560 blocks

I would suspect a hard disk failure, as you say the requests for manual fsck are appearing repeatedly. Please [edit] your question and add the output of sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda to your question, which contains the SMART health report and attributes of your hard disk. — Byte Commander, May 12 '17 at 17:58
Cant find smartctl when I try to sudo apt-get install smartmontools it doesnt install with several error which says read only file system. — Faisal Memon, May 12 '17 at 18:20
I'd suggest you to boot an Ubuntu live system (e.g. from the DVD or USB drive you used to install Ubuntu) and perform the check from there. And in case it really turns out to be a hardware failure, make sure you have a backup of your important files - or make one while you still can. — Byte Commander, May 12 '17 at 19:40
@ByteCommander I have updated the question after executing smartctl. Please take a look. — Faisal Memon, May 13 '17 at 13:49
Any chance you can include all the output from your fsck? Better question, could you fsck the disk from a Live USB and see what happens? — Thomas Ward, May 13 '17 at 15:44
@ThomasWard : I have updated the answer with entire fsck error screenshot - https://i.imgur.com/CQdIeVo.jpg
and output of running fsck from live USB : https://pastebin.com/gg4S2F9Y — Faisal Memon, May 13 '17 at 17:43
@FaisalMemon When you boot back to the system, does it work, or does it fail? It seems like it's trying to check itself which causes issues, but the USB seems to have been able to run fsck on the drive. — Thomas Ward, May 13 '17 at 19:25
After I run fsck and restart it works. But when I restart again, it asks me to do fsck again :(
I was facing this issue earlier too -> https://askubuntu.com/questions/910218/sbin-init-no-such-file-or-directory-not-able-to-boot-ubuntu-desktop .. Then I formatted and reinstalled last week since I was not able to fix it. But unfortunately I see this occur again :( — Faisal Memon, May 14 '17 at 04:40
Does this answer your question? fsck error on boot: /dev/sda6: UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY — karel, Feb 03 '23 at 03:17

Himanshu Patel · Answer 1 · 2021-10-11T02:15:45.567

0

I had a similar problem the reason was the bad health of HDD, as soon I replaced it with new SSD and made a clean install of ubuntu the problem is gone.

If was due to bad sectors on HDD, this I verified from a windows tool Hard Disk Sentinal. As far I know the bad sector can not be removed everytime sometime it's due to physical damage to disk. Also my HHD was 5+ year old and reached it's life time writes.

In my new SSD I made a clean install of ubuntu 21.04 and it's works smooth.

I hade given same answer in Unix Stack Exchange.

edited Oct 11 '21 at 02:15

answered Oct 10 '21 at 17:39

Himanshu Patel

121

1

Spinrite can mark bad sectors so that they aren't used, worth a try - although you might have to pay for it. – Greenonline Oct 11 '21 at 03:38

die_wolf · Answer 2 · 2017-10-29T08:24:58.633

0

type fsck /dev/sda2 and press enter whenever the terminal asks for input.

Now after the process finishes, type: reboot

After rebooting, open the terminal. Make sure you have internet connectivity and type:
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get updrade

Now, your system will start normally from now on.

edited Oct 29 '17 at 08:24

answered Oct 29 '17 at 05:10

die_wolf

123

1

You may want to make it fsck /dev/sda2 -y. Sometimes there are a hundred+ prompts. – spark Oct 29 '17 at 09:05
Yeah, it'll will also help..:) – die_wolf Oct 29 '17 at 10:00

Ubuntu asks me to do fsck on every boot

2 Answers2

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