Read only system error

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DamianRa

Read only system error

Post by DamianRa »

I was attempting to open up FireFox, but then it told me it was already running but not responding, and I had to close the process or restart the system. I then tried to open up Chrome, but it said Couldn't save recent apps. Check if you have access to ~/linuxmint/mint/mintmenu.
([Errno 30] Read-only file system.
.
I tried to open up Steam, and the same thing occurred. I also couldn't use the menu (little thingy at the bottom left corner) after a while. It stayed frozen and wouldn't respond to my mouse, clicks, or keyboard. However, I could normally open up Discord with no problems, which I found a bit weird. I'm currently running Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia with MATE. I would try to restart, like how it told me to, but it has done this before, and last time it did it wouldn't let me boot up. Also, sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, I was torn between posting here or software.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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asinoro
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Re: Read only system error

Post by asinoro »

Can you modify files and folders?
Moonstone Man
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Re: Read only system error

Post by Moonstone Man »

asinoro wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:13 am Can you modify files and folders?
([Errno 30] Read-only file system..
Clearly not.
Moonstone Man
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Re: Read only system error

Post by Moonstone Man »

DamianRa wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:14 am ([Errno 30] Read-only file system.[/i].
Boot from a live medium and post the output of inxi -Fxz in a terminal. Copy/paste the text here, and use code </> tags around it. You'll see the icon when you reply.
asinoro
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Re: Read only system error

Post by asinoro »

Probably there is a problem with your HDD or SSD and the system remount's in read mode.
asinoro
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Re: Read only system error

Post by asinoro »

Of course if you have a system backup you can change the line of /etc/fstab
from

/ ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1

to

/ ext4 defaults 0 1

Your system will mount normally until the end of your hard drive’s life.
asinoro
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Re: Read only system error

Post by asinoro »

Of course if you have a system backup you can change the line of /etc/fstab
from

/ ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1

to

/ ext4 defaults 0 1

Your system will mount normally until the end of your hard drive’s life.
DamianRa

Re: Read only system error

Post by DamianRa »

Kadaitcha Man wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:18 am
DamianRa wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:14 am ([Errno 30] Read-only file system.[/i].
Boot from a live medium and post the output of inxi -Fxz in a terminal. Copy/paste the text here, and use code </> tags around it. You'll see the icon when you reply.

Code: Select all

System:
  Host: mint Kernel: 5.0.0-32-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.4.0 
  Desktop: MATE 1.22.2 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Dell product: Inspiron 20-3052 v: 3.11.0 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Dell model: 01R0P6 v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 3.11.0 
  date: 01/31/2018 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 53.2 Wh condition: 53.2/58.5 Wh (91%) 
  model: LGC-LGC3.95 DELL JNT6D62 status: Full 
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse Dell WM116 
  charge: 55% status: Discharging 
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech Wireless Keyboard Dell WK636 
  charge: 100% status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Pentium N3700 bits: 64 type: MCP 
  arch: Airmont rev: 3 L2 cache: 1024 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 12800 
  Speed: 599 MHz min/max: 480/2400 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 489 2: 530 
  3: 597 4: 616 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx 
  Integrated Graphics 
  vendor: Dell driver: N/A bus ID: 00:02.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.4 driver: fbdev unloaded: modesetting,vesa 
  resolution: 800x600~75Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 8.0 128 bits) v: 3.3 Mesa 19.0.8 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series 
  High Definition Audio 
  vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.0.0-32-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 / AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter 
  vendor: Dell driver: ath9k v: kernel port: f040 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Dell driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-3: Atheros type: USB driver: btusb bus ID: 1-5.2:9 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 480.50 GiB used: 102.9 MiB (0.0%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Toshiba model: MQ01ABF050 size: 465.76 GiB 
  temp: 33 C 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb type: USB model: SMI USB DISK size: 14.74 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 1.88 GiB used: 102.9 MiB (5.3%) fs: overlay source: ERR-102 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 52.0 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 10 
Info:
  Processes: 169 Uptime: 12m Memory: 3.77 GiB used: 777.7 MiB (20.2%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.4.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 
  inxi: 3.0.32 
hopefully this'll help. I'm running off of a live usb currently
Moonstone Man
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Re: Read only system error

Post by Moonstone Man »

DamianRa wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:13 pm
Kadaitcha Man wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:18 am
DamianRa wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:14 am ([Errno 30] Read-only file system.[/i].
Boot from a live medium and post the output of inxi -Fxz in a terminal. Copy/paste the text here, and use code </> tags around it. You'll see the icon when you reply.
hopefully this'll help. I'm running off of a live usb currently
Well, there's nothing there that jumps out. You could run sudo fsck -fv /dev/sdXY on the HDD partitions while you're running live. You will need to replace sdXY with the linux drive/partition designation. Use lsblk to get a list of drives and partitions. After running fsck, try to boot into your installation. If it fails, start the live medium again and apt install smartmontools, followed by sudo smartctl -a -d sat /dev/sdX, remembering to replace X with the linux drive designation. This will allow you to determine if the drive is dying.
greenpossum
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Re: Read only system error

Post by greenpossum »

What the previous responders have stated is essentially correct, however it'll be better to familarise yourself with linux mint system recovery boot mode. In this way non-technical users will not need to concern themselves with low level details such as partition names and what commands & command line arguments to use. Also, a linux installation may consist of multiple ext4 file systems, all of which need to be checked.
Why is my Linux filesystem read only?
Usually linux puts your filesystems in read only when errors occur, especially errors with the disk or the filesystem itself, errors like a wrong journal entry for example. You better check your dmesg for disk related errors.
It restricts the file system to read-only mode as a protective measure to prevent further corruption.

Users with a only a single bootable partition on their disks will not see the GRUB Boot Menu when they start their computer.

To invoke the menu at startup:
1. First determine the boot mode used by your primary boot device
Boot into your linux installation and enter the following command from the Terminal.
[ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "UEFI boot mode" || echo "Legacy BIOS boot mode"

2. How to Enter the GRUB Boot Menu when you startup your computer
How do I force GRUB menu on boot?
You can get GRUB to show the menu even if the default GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 setting is in effect:
1. If your computer uses legacy BIOS mode for booting, then hold down the <Shift> key as soon as you see the BIOS screen.
2. If your computer uses UEFI mode for booting, press the <Esc> key several times as soon as you see the BIOS screen.

Note: for computers supporting UEFI (those manufactured post 2011) you may need to use the <Esc> key if booting legacy BIOS mode as your computer will likely be running UEFI firmware with legacy BIOS mode emulation.

This topic discusses how to change the GRUB configuration if you want the menu to display each time you boot. viewtopic.php?t=256964

Now that you know how to invoke GRUB on boot, familarise yourself with the various Recovery Mode Options
1. Invoke GRUB on boot
2. Select 'Advanced Options for Linux Mint'
3. Select 'Linux Mint (Recovery Mode)'
linux_mint_recovery_options.jpg
linux_mint_recovery_options.jpg (8.42 KiB) Viewed 7005 times

Now that you have the Recovery Mode options at your disposal, select the 'fsck - Check all filesystems'
fsck is a linux file system utility that checks the integrity of an ext4 file system and repairs it if necessary. i.e. similar to 'CHKDSK' on Windows.
Examine fsck's screen output as in some cases it may not be able to recover the file system/s.
Note there's no harm in periodically booting into linux mint recovery mode and running fsck.

If you're still experiencing problems after running fsck then restore your linux installation from backup.
Assuming you've backed up your system using Timeshift, restore the last clean (known to be working) snapshot. Boot into Linux Mint Live DVD/USB and start Timeshift then restore the snapshot.

To examine your system log for file system related errors, enter this command from Terminal:

Code: Select all

dmesg
If you're still experiencing problems after restoring from backup then post the output of the dmesg command.

Are there any recent events that may have led to corruption on your boot drive? e.g. accidentally powering off your computer while it was running.
Make it a habit to recover your installation's file systems after your system suffers a 'hard' shutdown due to crashes, freezes or experiences hardware problems.
If you haven't experienced any of these type of failures then your HDD or SSD may be suspect/failing. Refer to the previous post for examining the drive's S.M.A.R.T stats.
You can also examine the stats using the 'Disks' program. Menu -> Accessories -> Disks; 'SMART Data & Self-tests' option (Ctrl+S).
Moonstone Man
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Re: Read only system error

Post by Moonstone Man »

greenpossum wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:43 pm What the previous responders have stated is essentially correct, however it'll be better to familarise yourself with linux mint system recovery boot mode. In this way non-technical users will not need to concern themselves with low level details such as partition names and what commands & command line arguments to use.
That will not assist the poster. The file system is read only. Booting into recovery isn't going to suddenly, magically fix that.

HTH
DamianRa

Re: Read only system error

Post by DamianRa »

Might I just say, after shutting off my system, I am once again not able to boot up into Linux Mint, and as I said in my original post, this has happened before, and turning off the pc has led to me not being able to boot up. However, after running boot repair from my live usb, I was successfully able to boot. viewtopic.php?f=46&t=314106 that's where you can see my issues. Does anybody recommend attempting to run boot-repair again, or should I try one of y'alls suggestions?
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