Target Filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init

[9047boy]

Hello.

I cannot boot my ubuntu 9.04. When it tries ti mount the filesystem at boot i get this error : Target Filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init .

I booted from a livecd and tried to mount the partition and i got this error :

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount -t ext4 -o rw /dev/sda2 /mnt
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda2,
missing codepage or helper program, or other error
In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try
dmesg | tail or so

dmesg|tail returns :

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ dmesg|tail
[ 249.564577] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 249.564581] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
[ 249.564624] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[ 249.564672] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 312581808 512-byte hardware sectors: (160 GB/149 GiB)
[ 249.564697] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 249.564701] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
[ 249.564742] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[ 249.564752] JBD: Failed to read block at offset 23189
[ 249.564761] JBD: recovery failed
[ 249.564765] EXT4-fs: error loading journal.

Tried an fsck also and this is what i get :

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fsck /dev/sda
fsck 1.41.4 (27-Jan-2009)
e2fsck 1.41.4 (27-Jan-2009)
fsck.ext2: Device or resource busy while trying to open /dev/sda
Filesystem mounted or opened exclusively by another program?

I'm stuck at this. Could someone tell me what to do ? If not to boot , at least to recover my data from the disk. Thank you.

[KhurramM]

use recovery mode on the grub.

It will auto-fix your issue.

This is the safest.

Else it might be ext4 issue.

Or n live mode see if it is mounted?

use:

cat /proc/mounts

if yes then umount it, or go into it if possible.

[9047boy]

Ok . I managed to fix the problem by checking the partition with the partition editor from the live cd , which is basically :

e2fsck -f -y -v /dev/sda2

This seems to have solved the problem .

[The Knight]

Just want to say that I had the same problem and that this worked for me too - so thank you :]

[9047boy]

Glad you could fix it

[spoolboyy]

This solution solved my problem as well on 10.04, boot failed and I didn't even make it to Grub.

I had the warning:

target filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init
No init found try passing init = bootarg

While booted into the live CD for 10.04, my boot drive wouldn't mount giving me some error I forgot to write down (sorry).

If anyone stumbles across this problem in the future, here's how to start gparted fromthe live CD for those who'd like to use this method:

sudo gparted

once there, you can select your hard disk from the drop down menu at the upper right corner of the software. As long as the drive/partition you are interested in repairing is unmounted, you can right click on it and select 'Check.' This has the effect of checking the disk and if possible, repairing any issues, (for those from the windows world its much like chkdsk).

I drilled down into the 'Details' view of the Check and it showed the exact same command that 9047boy used (except of course with my partition name instead of his):

e2fsck -f -y -v /dev/sdb1

Thanks a million 9047boy and I hope this helps others in the future!

-Adam

[nash108]

I also have the same problem .. it comes up with

mount: mounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/020c2c5b-59ec-49cf-a0d5-6bc9c1bee82f on /root failed: Invalid argument
mount: mounting /dev on /root/dev failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /sys on /root/sys failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /proc on /root/proc failed: No such file or directory
Target filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init.
No init found. Try passing init= bootarg
BusyBox v1.13.3 (Ubuntu 1:1.13.3-1ubuntu11) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands

How to solve this ? I don't have the live CD. if we use recovery mode on the grub. the thing is when I go to the grub menu .. which one do I choose ? on my grub menu I have ..

Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)
Memory test (memtest86+)
Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)

help me

[requimrar]

I also have the same problem .. it comes up with

mount: mounting /dev/disk/by-uuid/020c2c5b-59ec-49cf-a0d5-6bc9c1bee82f on /root failed: Invalid argument
mount: mounting /dev on /root/dev failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /sys on /root/sys failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /proc on /root/proc failed: No such file or directory
Target filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init.
No init found. Try passing init= bootarg
BusyBox v1.13.3 (Ubuntu 1:1.13.3-1ubuntu11) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands

How to solve this ? I don't have the live CD. if we use recovery mode on the grub. the thing is when I go to the grub menu .. which one do I choose ? on my grub menu I have ..

Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic
Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)
Memory test (memtest86+)
Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)

help me

Ok. First, I would like to ask you how you are writing this if you have an unbootable ubuntu. If it's from a dual boot Windows, then you can go to Ubuntu's site and download and burnit to CD or DVD and boot. If not, then you choose Memory Test first, as sometimes this is a memory problem. If memchk passes, use the latest recovery console(2.6.32-22) for yours. Else, I'm also stuck. I have a similar problem... also take note that you should NEVER format that liveCD of yours, no matter how old it is. I personally have every liveCD from 5.04 to 10.04. NEVER throw them away. sometimes old is reliable.

[Transmutable]

mount: mounting /dev on /root/dev failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /sys on /root/sys failed: No such file or directory
mount: mounting /proc on /root/proc failed: No such file or directory
Target filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init.
No init found. Try passing init= bootarg

BusyBox v1.13.3 (Ubuntu 1:1.13.3-1ubuntu11) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands

(initramfs)

I am getting this as well. I have a LiveCD of 10.04 but when I boot from that I just get the purple Ubuntu screen and the dots just keep changing from white to orange and back again. I have tried it on another computer and it will boot, so it's not the CD (it's brand new). I'm really stuck.

I haven't updated recently, but my laptop battery died this morning and when I plugged it in and restarted, that's when this started happening.

[Transmutable]

I made a CD of 8.10 (9.04 and 9.10 have some weirdness with my hardware) and that boots up fine. But I really don't know what to do from there...