# Reboot loop during filesystem check [Solved]

## hepta_sean

Hello!

I've got a bit of a problem during boot. Sometimes/Often/Most often the system suddenly reboots during the filesystem check (I've got reiser3 partitions only). I do not get any error messages (or at least I can't read them before reboot happens). Logically, there is nothing in /var/log/messages and /var/log/dmesg, 'cause that isn't mounted read-write before the checkfs init script.

When I boot into a LiveCD (2004.3) and do

```
mount -t reiserfs /dev/hde3 /mnt/gentoo

touch /mnt/gentoo/fastboot

reboot
```

the filesystem check is omitted and everything works perfectly (no corrupt files, nothing unusual, I doubt it is a hardware problem).

This happened with gentoo-dev-sources-2.6.9-r5, -2.6.9-r6 and -2.6.8-r10. After remerging reiserfsprogs (3.6.19) it still happened with 2.6.9-r6, but 2.6.8-r10 came up fine (twice now, don't know what happens next time).

Interesting thing is IIRC, the kernel and reiserfsprogs where working happily for over a month before that started. Only slightly related thing that changed was that I unmerged reiser4progs and libaal, because I don't use reiser4 (I was planning to try it, but I was too lazy). But they do not have any interdependencies with reiserfsprogs, so that shouldn't matter.

Didn't find anything really related, except this post describing a reboot loop, but I think it is a little earlier and I do not have problems mounting with the latest LiveCD, and this post on LinuxQuestions.org describing a reboot loop with kernel 2.6.9 and reiser.fsck, but it has no answers and I do not know, if it is my problem (I did not notice anything like `Wrong amount of blocks used`).

Any ideas, what to do?

Thanks and greetings,

seanLast edited by hepta_sean on Tue Dec 07, 2004 3:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## Blubbmon

Could you try to compile a kernel with reiserfs debug mode on? I don't know if this helps, but i really think it's a hardware problem  :Sad: 

At least now is the right time to make a backup if you have not done them before  :Wink: 

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## hepta_sean

 *Blubbmon wrote:*   

> Could you try to compile a kernel with reiserfs debug mode on?

 

Did that. Where does this put the debug messages? Didn't find anything.

I found out that the system comes up with all kernels (2.6.8-r10, 2.6.9-r6. and 2.6.9-r6 with CONFIG_REISERFS_CHECK) if I put a 3 second sleep just before the filesystem checks. If I do not only 2.6.8-r10 succeeds. Mysterious!

 *Quote:*   

> I don't know if this helps, but i really think it's a hardware problem 

 

Somehow it doesn't taste like a hardware problem. The fscks do not find anything in any case - they just cause reboots in some circumstances. No other problems, ...

 *Quote:*   

> At least now is the right time to make a backup if you have not done them before 

 

"Backups sind für Babies und Kommunisten!"  :Cool: 

No, I just did one of /etc and the most important things in my home. Normally I delay it until I have cleaned up my home directory (read forever  :Wink: ).

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## Blubbmon

 *Quote:*   

>  Where does this put the debug messages? Didn't find anything. 
> 
> 

 

Per default your syslog should write anything to /var/log/messages, but you can stop it and read the messages in your first terminal  :Wink: 

(/usr/src/linux/fs/reiserfs/prints.c)

```
void reiserfs_debug (struct super_block *s, int level, const char * fmt, ...)

{

#ifdef CONFIG_REISERFS_CHECK

....

      printk (KERN_DEBUG "ReiserFS: %s: %s\n",

....

#endif

}

```

As a first step you should try to turn this problem into a deterministic one   :Confused: 

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## hepta_sean

This thread solved it for me:

Downgrading to module-init-tools-3.0-r2 and masking version 3.1 stopped the random reboots with both kernels I currently have installed (2.6.8-gentoo-r10 and 2.6.9-gentoo-r9).

Thanks for your ideas!

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