PC Won't Boot Grub

vfbsilva · 1 September 2020 00:18

I have a strange situation where my machine wont post grub. It happens randomly and just restarting the machine seems to solve it. I have a z390 pro mobo, Boot logs seem clear. Other times grub is extremely slow.

The machine does not experience any hangs nor crashes and I seem to be affected just on boot/reboot. I have found similar reports. Ideas?

System:    Kernel: 5.7.15-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.1.0 
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.7-x86_64 
           root=UUID=b841b317-5f27-4086-9390-595dff39a5c8 rw quiet apparmor=1 security=apparmor 
           udev.log_priority=3 
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.19.4 tk: Qt 5.15.0 wm: kwin_x11 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro Linux 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: Z390-A PRO (MS-7B98) v: 1.0 serial: <filter> 
           UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.80 date: 12/25/2019 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i5-9600K bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Kaby Lake family: 6 
           model-id: 9E (158) stepping: C (12) microcode: D6 L2 cache: 9216 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 44412 
           Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/4700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 
           6: 800 
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages 
           Type: l1tf status: Not affected 
           Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled 
           Type: meltdown status: Not affected 
           Type: spec_store_bypass 
           mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp 
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization 
           Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Full generic retpoline, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: 
           disabled, RSB filling 
           Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode 
           Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA TU106 [GeForce RTX 2070] driver: nvidia v: 440.100 
           alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1f02 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: nvidia display ID: :0 
           screens: 1 
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 81 s-size: 602x343mm (23.7x13.5") 
           s-diag: 693mm (27.3") 
           Monitor-1: DP-0 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 82 size: 598x336mm (23.5x13.2") 
           diag: 686mm (27") 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce RTX 2070/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 440.100 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel 
           v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:a348 
           Device-2: NVIDIA TU106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:10f9 
           Device-3: Logitech type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus ID: 1-1.3:4 
           chip ID: 046d:085b serial: <filter> 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.7.15-1-MANJARO 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k 
           port: efa0 bus ID: 00:1f.6 chip ID: 8086:15bc 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 912.89 GiB used: 76.74 GiB (8.4%) 
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required. 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 840 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB block size: 
           physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: DB6Q scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Kingston model: SA400S37480G size: 447.13 GiB block size: 
           physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 0102 scheme: GPT 
Partition: ID-1: / raw size: 154.16 GiB size: 150.74 GiB (97.78%) used: 76.71 GiB (50.9%) fs: ext4 
           dev: /dev/sdb1 
Swap:      Alert: No Swap data was found. 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 40 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 46% 
Info:      Processes: 268 Uptime: 3m Memory: 15.58 GiB used: 4.09 GiB (26.3%) Init: systemd v: 245 
           Compilers: gcc: 10.1.0 alt: 8/9 Packages: 1460 pacman: 1458 lib: 404 flatpak: 0 snap: 2 
           Shell: Bash v: 5.0.18 running in: konsole inxi: 3.1.05

P.S. I still cannot post links so I removed the https part.

Takei · 1 September 2020 00:33

What do you exactly mean by grub is extremely slow? Is it simply slow to load or laggy when using it?

vfbsilva · 1 September 2020 00:44

Both situations.

Takei · 1 September 2020 00:56

Could you post the output of sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda? Maybe the harddrive is ageing. I also remember a bug with the 840 Pro series where the information would not be correctly refreshed in the cells leading to failed reads, i.e. slower readspeeds. So it might be worthwhile to see if there are any firmware updates available for the drive.
Found some old articles on the issue.

vfbsilva · 1 September 2020 02:14

I think you discovered the issue:

sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
[sudo] senha para vfbsilva:
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-5.7.17-2-MANJARO] (local build)
Copyright © 2002-19, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke,

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Samsung based SSDs
Device Model: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB
Serial Number: S1DHNSAFA50716P
LU WWN Device Id: 5 002538 8a0767fa5
Firmware Version: EXT0DB6Q
User Capacity: 500.107.862.016 bytes [500 GB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4c
SATA Version is: SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Mon Aug 31 23:11:14 2020 -03
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: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
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: ( 6600) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x53) SMART execute Offline immediate.
Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
No Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
No 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: ( 110) minutes.
SCT capabilities: (0x003d) SCT Status supported.
SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
SCT Feature Control supported.
SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 1
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 095 095 000 Old_age Always - 21983
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 086 086 000 Old_age Always - 13444
177 Wear_Leveling_Count 0x0013 094 094 000 Pre-fail Always - 65
179 Used_Rsvd_Blk_Cnt_Tot 0x0013 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
181 Program_Fail_Cnt_Total 0x0032 100 100 010 Old_age Always - 0
182 Erase_Fail_Count_Total 0x0032 100 100 010 Old_age Always - 0
183 Runtime_Bad_Block 0x0013 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 0
187 Uncorrectable_Error_Cnt 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0032 068 036 000 Old_age Always - 32
195 ECC_Error_Rate 0x001a 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
199 CRC_Error_Count 0x003e 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
235 POR_Recovery_Count 0x0012 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 307
241 Total_LBAs_Written 0x0032 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 108418034174

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error

1 Short offline Completed without error 00% 23 -

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.

vfbsilva@rohan ~ $ sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdb
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-5.7.17-2-MANJARO] (local build)
Copyright © 2002-19, Bruce Allen,

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Phison Driven SSDs
Device Model: KINGSTON SA400S37480G
Serial Number: 50026B7782E08190
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0026b7 782e08190
Firmware Version: S1Z40102
User Capacity: 480.103.981.056 bytes [480 GB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 4
SATA Version is: SATA 3.2, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is: Mon Aug 31 23:12:56 2020 -03
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: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
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: ( 120) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x11) SMART execute Offline immediate.
No Auto Offline data collection support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
No Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
No Conveyance Self-test supported.
No Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0002) Does not save 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: ( 10) minutes.

SMART Attributes Vendor Specific ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 9 Power_On_Hours 12 Power_Cycle_Count 148 Unknown_Attribute 149 Unknown_Attribute 167 Write_Protect_Mode 168 SATA_Phy_Error_Count 169 Bad_Block_Rate 170 Bad_Blk_Ct_Erl/Lat 172 Erase_Fail_Count 173 MaxAvgErase_Ct 181 Program_Fail_Count 182 Erase_Fail_Count 187 Reported_Uncorrect 192 Unsafe_Shutdown_Count 194 Temperature_Celsius 196 Reallocated_Event_Count 199 SATA_CRC_Error_Count 218 CRC_Error_Count 231 SSD_Life_Left 233 Flash_Writes_GiB 241 Lifetime_Writes_GiB 242 Lifetime_Reads_GiB 244 Average_Erase_Count 245 Max_Erase_Count 246 Total_Erase_Count Data Structure revision number: 1
SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 100
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2132
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 68
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0000 100 100 010 Old_age Offline - 0/0
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 42
0x0022 030 055 000 Old_age Always - 30 (Min/Max 20/55)
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
0x0000 099 099 000 Old_age Offline - 99
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 880
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 1186
0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 3969
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 13
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 25
0x0000 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 6556

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]

Selective Self-tests/Logging not supported

Takei · 1 September 2020 03:04

I wasn’t exactly sure if the revision was the firmware version. But that version should be the latest available.
And it’s running fine for me.
Same with the age problem. The SMART data suggests not reallocated sectors. Albeit your wear leveling is a bit bad.
With about 50 TB written that should still not pose any problems yet though.
I’m not exactly sure where else though problem could still right now though.

vfbsilva · 1 September 2020 03:20

No worries it is not a major issue. Can you please point me to the wear number so I can take a decision about replacing it?

Takei · 1 September 2020 12:44

Wear_Leveling_Count. And that number just describes the difference of writes between the most written cell and the least written cell. For you that would be 65 writes. Which is a bit higher than normal, but not concerning.
You also had no Reallocated_Sectors yet so the drive should be in decent order for another 50TB atleast.