Good morning everyone,
after installing a clean copy of Zorin OS 17 on an Intel Pentium D, I came across this strange problem: the first boot always fails, blocking at the Zorin message while the following one works correctly. If I try to restart or shut down it freezes again and then restarts on the next boot. Basically it alternates between failed and good boots. Can you help me understand and solve the problem?
Thanks in advance!
Luke
Hi, and welcome!
The first place that comes to mind that I would check is the boot logs, and see if something reports as not OK. You can read it by running the following on a terminal window:
sudo cat /var/log/boot.log
If it's a laptop, try to remove the battery entirely and try again without it. Batteries are among the first components to fail so it's possible it's causing the problems, although it's strange that it happens with the same consistency.
You can also try to boot from an external live USB drive and see if that works. This would bypass the hard drive, and so it may be a sign that something is wrong there if you can boot normally via this method.
Thanks for the quick response!
The PC is a desktop, not a notebook and, before installing the OS, I booted numerous times with the Live USB and never had any freezes. The problem only appeared after installing the OS on HDD. I'm not at home at the moment so I can't check the logs you indicated but I'll definitely do it tonight and paste here the result.
Thanks again for the support!
Here I am, I ran the indicated command (sudo cat /var/log/boot.log) and pasted the output. The first block (20:15) is the boot that crashed while the second (20:16) is the boot completed correctly. I don't notice any obvious errors but I have no experience analyzing this type of data so maybe I'm wrong.
Thanks in advance for the support.
------------ Tue Mar 05 20:15:12 CET 2024 ------------
/dev/sda2: clean, 327800/30498816 files, 6359963/121965056 blocks
Mounting Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System...
[ OK ] Finished Set console font and keymap.
[ OK ] Finished Tell Plymouth To Write Out Runtime Data.
[ OK ] Mounted Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System.
[ OK ] Finished Uncomplicated firewall.
[ OK ] Reached target Preparation for Network.
[ OK ] Finished Set Up Additional Binary Formats.
[ OK ] Finished Create Volatile Files and Directories.
Starting Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer...
Starting Network Name Resolution...
Starting Network Time Synchronization...
Starting Record System Boot/Shutdown in UTMP...
[ OK ] Finished Record System Boot/Shutdown in UTMP.
[ OK ] Started Network Time Synchronization.
[ OK ] Reached target System Time Set.
[ OK ] Started Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer.
[ OK ] Started Network Name Resolution.
[ OK ] Reached target Host and Network Name Lookups.
[ OK ] Finished Load AppArmor profiles.
Starting Load AppArmor pro…managed internally by snapd...
[ OK ] Finished Load AppArmor pro…s managed internally by snapd.
[ OK ] Reached target System Initialization.
[ OK ] Started ACPI Events Check.
[ OK ] Started CUPS Scheduler.
[ OK ] Started Start whoopsie on …n of the /var/crash directory.
[ OK ] Started Trigger anacron every hour.
[ OK ] Started Daily apt download activities.
[ OK ] Started Daily apt upgrade and clean activities.
[ OK ] Started Daily dpkg database backup timer.
[ OK ] Started Periodic ext4 Onli…ata Check for All Filesystems.
[ OK ] Started Discard unused blocks once a week.
[ OK ] Started Refresh fwupd metadata regularly.
[ OK ] Started Daily rotation of log files.
[ OK ] Started Daily man-db regeneration.
[ OK ] Started Message of the Day.
[ OK ] Started Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories.
[ OK ] Reached target Path Units.
[ OK ] Listening on ACPID Listen Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack Activation Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on CUPS Scheduler.
[ OK ] Listening on D-Bus System Message Bus Socket.
Starting Socket activation for snappy daemon...
[ OK ] Listening on UUID daemon activation socket.
[ OK ] Listening on Socket activation for snappy daemon.
[ OK ] Reached target Socket Units.
[ OK ] Reached target Basic System.
Starting Accounts Service...
[ OK ] Started ACPI event daemon.
[ OK ] Started Run anacron jobs.
Starting Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack...
[ OK ] Started Regular background program processing daemon.
[ OK ] Started D-Bus System Message Bus.
Starting Network Manager...
[ OK ] Started Save initial kernel messages after boot.
Starting Remove Stale Onli…t4 Metadata Check Snapshots...
[ OK ] Reached target Login Prompts.
Starting Detect the availa…eal with any system changes...
Starting Record successful boot for GRUB...
[ OK ] Started irqbalance daemon.
Starting Dispatcher daemon for systemd-networkd...
Starting NVIDIA Persistence Daemon...
Starting Authorization Manager...
Starting Power Profiles daemon...
Starting System Logging Service...
[ OK ] Started Userspace listener for prompt events.
[ OK ] Reached target Preparation for Logins.
Starting Snap Daemon...
Starting Switcheroo Control Proxy service...
Starting User Login Management...
Starting Thermal Daemon Service...
[ OK ] Started Touchégg Daemon.
Starting Disk Manager...
Starting WPA supplicant...
[ OK ] Started NVIDIA Persistence Daemon.
[ OK ] Finished Record successful boot for GRUB.
Starting GRUB failed boot detection...
[ OK ] Finished GRUB failed boot detection.
[ OK ] Started System Logging Service.
[ OK ] Finished Detect the availa… deal with any system changes.
[ OK ] Removed slice Slice /system/modprobe.
[ OK ] Stopped target Preparation for Logins.
[ OK ] Stopped target Sound Card.
[ OK ] Stopped target Timer Units.
[ OK ] Stopped Trigger anacron every hour.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily apt upgrade and clean activities.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily apt download activities.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily dpkg database backup timer.
[ OK ] Stopped Periodic ext4 Onli…ata Check for All Filesystems.
[ OK ] Stopped Discard unused blocks once a week.
[ OK ] Stopped Refresh fwupd metadata regularly.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily rotation of log files.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily man-db regeneration.
[ OK ] Stopped Message of the Day.
[ OK ] Stopped Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories.
[ OK ] Stopped Download data for …ailed at package install time.
[ OK ] Stopped Check to see wheth…w version of Ubuntu available.
[ OK ] Stopped target System Time Set.
[ OK ] Closed Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status /dev/rfkill Watch.
Stopping ACPI event daemon...
Stopping Save/Restore Sound Card State...
Stopping NVIDIA Persistence Daemon...
Stopping Hostname Service...
Stopping Load/Save Random Seed...
Stopping Time & Date Service...
[ OK ] Stopped target Login Prompts.
Stopping Modem Manager...
Stopping Accounts Service...
Stopping Regular background program processing daemon...
Stopping Make remote CUPS printers available locally...
Stopping GNOME Display Manager...
Stopping irqbalance daemon...
Stopping Tool to automatic…mit kernel crash signatures...
Stopping Dispatcher daemon for systemd-networkd...
[ OK ] Stopped OpenVPN service.
Stopping Power Profiles daemon...
Stopping System Logging Service...
[ OK ] Stopped Wait until snapd is fully seeded.
Stopping Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer...
Stopping Thermal Daemon Service...
Stopping Touchégg Daemon...
Stopping Disk Manager...
Stopping Unattended Upgrades Shutdown...
[ OK ] Stopped Regular background program processing daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped irqbalance daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped Dispatcher daemon for systemd-networkd.
[ OK ] Stopped System Logging Service.
[ OK ] Stopped Hostname Service.
[ OK ] Stopped Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer.
[ OK ] Stopped Hold until boot process finishes up.
[ OK ] Stopped Save/Restore Sound Card State.
[ OK ] Stopped Power Profiles daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped Time & Date Service.
[ OK ] Stopped Tool to automatica…ubmit kernel crash signatures.
[ OK ] Stopped target Host and Network Name Lookups.
Stopping Switcheroo Control Proxy service...
[ OK ] Stopped Switcheroo Control Proxy service.
[ OK ] Stopped Accounts Service.
[ OK ] Stopped Touchégg Daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped NVIDIA Persistence Daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped ACPI event daemon.
[ OK ] Stopped Disk Manager.
[ OK ] Stopped Modem Manager.
Stopping Authorization Manager...
[ OK ] Stopped Authorization Manager.
[ OK ] Stopped Unattended Upgrades Shutdown.
Stopping User Login Management...
[ OK ] Stopped Load/Save Random Seed.
[ OK ] Stopped User Login Management.
[ OK ] Stopped Thermal Daemon Service.
------------ Tue Mar 05 20:16:47 CET 2024 ------------
/dev/sda2: recovering journal
/dev/sda2: clean, 327808/30498816 files, 6360040/121965056 blocks
Mounting Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System...
[ OK ] Finished Set console font and keymap.
[ OK ] Mounted Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System.
[ OK ] Finished Set Up Additional Binary Formats.
[ OK ] Finished Uncomplicated firewall.
[ OK ] Reached target Preparation for Network.
Starting Load Kernel Module efi_pstore...
[ OK ] Finished Load Kernel Module efi_pstore.
[ OK ] Finished Create Volatile Files and Directories.
Starting Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer...
Starting Network Name Resolution...
Starting Network Time Synchronization...
Starting Record System Boot/Shutdown in UTMP...
[ OK ] Finished Record System Boot/Shutdown in UTMP.
[ OK ] Started Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer.
[ OK ] Started Network Time Synchronization.
[ OK ] Reached target System Time Set.
[ OK ] Started Network Name Resolution.
[ OK ] Reached target Host and Network Name Lookups.
[ OK ] Finished Load AppArmor profiles.
Starting Load AppArmor pro…managed internally by snapd...
[ OK ] Finished Load AppArmor pro…s managed internally by snapd.
[ OK ] Reached target System Initialization.
[ OK ] Started ACPI Events Check.
[ OK ] Started CUPS Scheduler.
[ OK ] Started Start whoopsie on …n of the /var/crash directory.
[ OK ] Started Trigger anacron every hour.
[ OK ] Started Daily apt download activities.
[ OK ] Started Daily apt upgrade and clean activities.
[ OK ] Started Daily dpkg database backup timer.
[ OK ] Started Periodic ext4 Onli…ata Check for All Filesystems.
[ OK ] Started Discard unused blocks once a week.
[ OK ] Started Refresh fwupd metadata regularly.
[ OK ] Started Daily rotation of log files.
[ OK ] Started Daily man-db regeneration.
[ OK ] Started Message of the Day.
[ OK ] Started Daily Cleanup of Temporary Directories.
[ OK ] Reached target Path Units.
[ OK ] Listening on ACPID Listen Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack Activation Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on CUPS Scheduler.
[ OK ] Listening on D-Bus System Message Bus Socket.
Starting Socket activation for snappy daemon...
[ OK ] Listening on UUID daemon activation socket.
[ OK ] Listening on Socket activation for snappy daemon.
[ OK ] Reached target Socket Units.
[ OK ] Reached target Basic System.
Starting Accounts Service...
[ OK ] Started ACPI event daemon.
[ OK ] Started Run anacron jobs.
Starting Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack...
[ OK ] Started Regular background program processing daemon.
[ OK ] Started D-Bus System Message Bus.
Starting Network Manager...
[ OK ] Started Save initial kernel messages after boot.
Starting Remove Stale Onli…t4 Metadata Check Snapshots...
[ OK ] Reached target Login Prompts.
Starting Detect the availa…eal with any system changes...
Starting Record successful boot for GRUB...
[ OK ] Started irqbalance daemon.
Starting Dispatcher daemon for systemd-networkd...
Starting NVIDIA Persistence Daemon...
Starting Authorization Manager...
Starting Power Profiles daemon...
Starting System Logging Service...
[ OK ] Started Userspace listener for prompt events.
[ OK ] Reached target Preparation for Logins.
Starting Snap Daemon...
Starting Switcheroo Control Proxy service...
Starting User Login Management...
Starting Thermal Daemon Service...
[ OK ] Started Touchégg Daemon.
Starting Disk Manager...
Starting WPA supplicant...
[ OK ] Started Run anacron jobs.
[ OK ] Started NVIDIA Persistence Daemon.
[ OK ] Finished Record successful boot for GRUB.
Starting GRUB failed boot detection...
[ OK ] Finished GRUB failed boot detection.
[ OK ] Started System Logging Service.
[ OK ] Finished Detect the availa… deal with any system changes.
Have you tried using the nomodeset parameter?
Hello and thanks for the reply.
I currently tried these two kernel parameters without success:
Non of them have fixed the issue.
This evening I'll try to set the "nomodeset" to see if it works.
Thanks again!
Unfortunately I'm also not experienced reading this type of error logs but it's always good to check, as sometimes the error is spelled out clearly if you look closely. In this case however I'm not sure what could be the issue...
Hi,
I read it all and didn't find any errors, the bad log simply stops before completing the boot sequence.
I also checked with the journalctl -b and journalctl -1 -b commands and then compared them line by line. There too I have not identified anything that highlights what the problem could be, at least in my eyes. However, if it could help resolve the issue, I may post them both this evening.
The second log shows "recovery journal" at the very beginning which seems to indicate that the filesystem has recovered from a bad state. The fact that it continues to fail on the next boot suggests that something else is causing the issue, maybe during the shutdown process.
In addition to the suggestion from Aravisian above I would also run a filesystem check. This marked solution shows two ways of doing that (ZorinOS is based on Ubuntu so the steps are equivalent):
If after trying this the issue persists, I would consider re-installing ZorinOS, since you mention that this is already a fresh install and so (I assume) you don't yet have committed too much time into this system. Why would this have failed in the first place, I don't know, but the good old method of "turn it off and back on again" works far more often than it should in an ideal world 
If you do go this route make sure to double check the ISO file for correctness as well, just in case.
Hi,
I honestly thought that the recovery journal status was normal on the second boot since, by freezing on the first boot, I am forced to turn it off forcibly.
Tonight I will try some of the suggestions you have given me and if I am not successful I will try to reinstall it on a new disk even if I am not convinced that this alternation of failed and successful boots can be caused by the disk.
PS: the ISO was checked during the installation phase and did not give any errors.
HI,
I tried setting the "nomodeset" parameter but nothing changed. I then tried to do a File System Check but I wasn't able to complete it as it always gave me the mounted partition error (even trying to run it live from the pendrive). So I decided to follow the last suggested route: a complete reinstallation. To also exclude any problems with the disk, I used a new one and finally everything works normally. I haven't yet managed to configure everything exactly as before but I'm sure that even with subsequent tuning the problem will be definitively resolved. I thank everyone for the support you have given me and, in case I manage (I hope not) to replicate the problem, I will write it here for information purposes.
Never ever run fsck on a Mounted partition.