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Thread: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    13

    Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    upgraded from 9.10 to 10.04 (old IBM R51 laptop, dual boot XP w/grub loader). If I boot "normal" I receive the following:

    'init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process: unable to execute no such file or directory'
    followed by splash screen, then blank screen, unresponsive machine.

    After hard boot, chose "recovery" option received same error but made it into recovery menu. pretty much tried everything in that menu and discovered that I could get a normal looking boot by choosing the safe graphics mode. So at least at this point I have a work around.

    did some digging around in /etc/init and looked at the sreadahead.conf
    found that it was pointing to /sbin for a file called sreadahead.
    at this point the error makes sense as there is no sreadahead in /sbin BUT there is a ureadahead. So I open terminal, navigate to /sbin then:

    sudo cp ureadahead sreadahead

    on reboot (normal option) i now get:
    'init:sreadahead main process (270) terminated status 1'

    My work around is still good and returns the same (new) error. So i delete the sreadahead that i created above.

    Any ideas on where to get a copy of the correct sreadahead file that goes in /sbin ? Any other way to get around this? I can't boot without going into the recovery mode and selecting low graphics; but if I do, it all seems good. It strikes me however that this really has nothing to do with my graphics or display. It makes me think I must have messed something up in the upgrade cuz I can't find any new posts about init or sreadahead
    Please help.

    BTW- The init error messages might be a little off, they don't flash for that long, I tried to copy them down as best I could.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    1

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    What graphical desktop environment do you use? During the upgrade process kde packages for example are upgraded too. And I believe, that some valuable kde packages are not reinstalled. I got the same error and I installed manually the following packages: kdebase, kdeadmin, kde-apps, kdegraphics, kdeutils. You can do it from console using apt-cache and apt-get or you can run startx and then press Alt-F2 and call synaptic (although the screen is black and there's no desktop screen graphical applications are executed normally using Alt-F2 in my situation).
    Hope this will help you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Paris France
    Beans
    213
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    sreadahead is useless now it is replaced by ureadahead
    see descrition in Synaptic
    sreadahead has been replaced by ureadahead, this package ensures
    that you are transitioned over and may be safely removed.


    Code:
    sudo apt-get --purge remove sreadahead

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    13

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    Quote Originally Posted by grandtoubab View Post
    sreadahead is useless now it is replaced by ureadahead
    see descrition in Synaptic
    sreadahead has been replaced by ureadahead, this package ensures
    that you are transitioned over and may be safely removed.


    Code:
    sudo apt-get --purge remove sreadahead
    I used the code indicated and received the following output:

    Reading package lists... Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information... Done
    Package sreadahead is not installed, so not removed
    0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

    When I reboot, still have same "init: fail to spawn...."
    So since my machine doesn't "think" sreadahead is installed I am going to remove /etc/init/sreadahead.conf

    HOPEFULLY, I will be back in a minute or too to post my results.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    13

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    So I thought that I would be tricky and use

    sudo mv sreadahead.conf ~/desktop

    from inside /etc/inti thereby moving the file to my desktop rather than deleting it right off. Or so I thought... Now I can't find it. Not a big file, not a big concern other than not knowing where it went.

    oh well off to reboot...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    13

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    It didn't go as I had hoped. Have managed to rid myself of the "init: failed to spawn..." but I still have to use my work around (ie recovery from grub and then failsafe graphics mode" to get into a gnome session.

    currently if I try a normal boot, it seems to go OK until the ubuntu logo and dot graphics appear. after 1-2 seconds this disappears and I get an empty black screen. So, the ONLY difference is that I don't get the init failure.
    I am not clear what marg0 was talking about above. (a bit of a noob) am going to try to figure it out.

    chime in if you have any thoughts.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Beans
    740
    Distro
    Kubuntu Development Release

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    I'm getting the same error on my parent's frankenstein computer that I built for them a year ago. Sreadahead is not installed.
    This is not a signature.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    13

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    Quote Originally Posted by Jordanwb View Post
    I'm getting the same error on my parent's frankenstein computer that I built for them a year ago. Sreadahead is not installed.
    have no fear in deleting /etc/init/sreadahead.conf that will get rid of the init error.
    right now I am looking into it as a poss vid chipset driver issue (some what like marg0 suggested). Do you have the same blank screen issue?

    I am going to use the following as a startpoint when I get some time to mess around:

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1457135
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1301433

    for now, the workaround is irritating but not quite my priority.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Nux Jam
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    check: system admin hardware driver, to see if your driver is activated

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install -f
    sudo dpkg --configure -a

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Beans
    13

    Re: Lucid upgrade - init: failed to spawn sreadahead main process

    latest update, my actions after post #6 - ultimate fail. Have now completely lost my work around -no way into Gnome. On the other hand, I am learning alot about manual system configuration from the command prompt. Basically, I did a real bonehead move and installed the wrong video driver (ATI driver - don't ask me why I did it - I have no answer) and am now trying to fix my Xorg.conf file.
    I had been using a ZTE broadband modem for access at first but am now tied to a wired connection due to the command prompt limitation (or my lack of know how). This is a difficulty as I am not at the house and getting a wired connection is, well, difficult in the current location. So my ability to work on my linux partition has been retarded somewhat by the circumstances.
    In re-installing the open source video drivers for intel and the libgl1-mesa-dri
    Code:
    sudo apt-get install --reinstall xserver-xorg-video-intel  libgl1-mesa-glx libgl1-mesa-dri xserver-xorg-core
    I notice that libgl1-mesa-dri is coming off my alt-install CD (I am prompted to put it in the drive) is there a way to redirect this? Everything else pulled off the net when I executed the above code. When I put the CD in it starts to read but then scroll a TON of I/O errors. I am in my "other" O/S right now and am downloading the ISO again just in case the other one is corrupt.

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