How Do I Start Ubuntu From Initramfs?

While using your computer, you may encounter various issues not properly booting the operating system is one of them. There are various solutions to solve booting problems, some can get easily be repaired, and for some, you need to reinstall the entire operating system.

Ubuntu may also greet you will similar problems, and “initramfs” is one of them. It is a booting problem of Ubuntu and occurs because of bad blocks or bad sectors in the memory which do not allow operating system boot.

Your system contains many important files, so an error like this can definitely be a bit panicky. No need to worry; this write-up focuses on how to solve the “initramfs” issue and boot Ubuntu normally. So let’s begin:

How to fix the “initramfs” error in Ubuntu

If your screen displays an “initramfs” error, you are already in recovery mode, which means that you can type commands and perform different operations. The error would be like this:

You can type “exit” to get the detail of the error. Note that you may not get the error detail every time you type “exit.” As discussed above, that “initramfs” error occurs when your startup disk gets corrupted. You may have multiple disks attached to check them, use:

Or

The partitions can be viewed by the name of /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, or any other. Now to fix the “initramfs” error, we use the “fsck”  utility, also known as “file system consistency check,” which checks the filesystem issues and fixes them. Follow the below-mentioned syntax:

For instance, if my partition is by the name of “/dev/sdb,” then the command would be:

Press “Enter,” the command will automatically eliminate the bad sectors from memory. Press “y” upon getting prompt. To prevent prompts, simply use the “-y” option with the command:

If you have multiple partitions, you can check them using the above command; the command will not print anything if the partition is bad-sector-free. Now the system will take some time to analyze and repair the corrupted portion of the memory. Once it is done, type:

If a reboot does not work, type “exit.” Here we go; the error has been eliminated, and Ubuntu will be booted normally.

Conclusion

The “initramfs” error can affright you, but luckily this error has a very easy and straightforward solution. This error occurs when your memory got corrupted, especially the drive containing the operating system, and does not let it boot. To fix it, simply use the “file system consistency check” or “fsck” utility. This write-up thoroughly explains the process to eliminate the “initramfs” error to boot Ubuntu normally.