I'm about to do the same update. Think I'm gonna install lts first tho... I'll let you know what I find.
On Thu, Feb 26, 2026 at 8:18 PM David C Rankin <[email protected]> wrote: > All, > > This is the first fail to boot I've had with Arch in years. After a > relatively small update, which went fine on my test machine (no > RAID/mdadm), I updated the server and was dropped to recovery console on > reboot (mild panic set in looking at the "failed to find ....") > > The update included the 6.18.13 kernel and mdadm 4.5-1. Those were > the only packages I could see that may be relevant to this issue > (possibly the firmware) Prior to reboot I'd checked that all drives, > etc. wer okay, no journal entries out of the ordinary, etc.. > > But on reboot, the boot failed and I was dropped to the recovery > console. I also have LTS on this box, just for the case where an updated > kernel doesn't boot, so instead of groping around half-blind in the > recovery console, I rebooted and chose to boot LTS -- all fine. > > This is where I need help. How do I figure out what failed to cause > the new 6.18.13 kernel to not boot? LTS is fine, machine is up, running > and happy, just as it was on 6.18.9.arch1-2 (prior kernel). Not finding > a driver and dropping to the recovery console leaves no logs, so how do > I find out why the new kernel and mdadm package are failing? > > Should I just downgrade those packages (kernel and mdadm) and see if > that works, or is there are more systematic way to approach this. I'm > proficient in a lot of areas, but unfortunately diagnosing what went > wrong from the recovery console isn't one of them. (I'd generally boot > the install CD and chroot the system and go at it that way). > > Anybody able to provide any guidance on how to recover the 6.18.13 > setup, or what information I need to check to see why it's failing? My > only inclination is the download and burn a new install CD, chroot and > try rebuilding initramfs? Curiously, the new initramfs is quite a bit > smaller than LTS: > > -rw------- 1 root root 10250207 Feb 26 21:42 initramfs-linux-lts.img > -rw------- 1 root root 9633236 Feb 26 21:43 initramfs-linux.img > > I always check the "Latest News" feed for any gotchas before > upgrading the server, and there was nothing this time, but... > > Something went very wrong -- help... > > > The list full list of packages updated were: > > Packages (70) > > adwaita-fonts-50.0-1 apparmor-4.1.6-2 bubblewrap-0.11.0-2 > ca-certificates-mozilla-3.121-1 cpupower-6.19.3-1 ddrescue-1.30-2 > deno-2.7.1-1 fasm-1.73.35-1 feh-3.11.3-1 firefox-148.0-1 gawk-5.4.0-1 > giac-2.0.0.21-1 glslang-1:1.4.341.0-2 gpgme-2.0.1-3 > gst-libav-1.28.1-1 gst-plugins-bad-1.28.1-1 > gst-plugins-bad-libs-1.28.1-1 gst-plugins-base-1.28.1-1 > gst-plugins-base-libs-1.28.1-1 gst-plugins-good-1.28.1-1 > gstreamer-1.28.1-1 inkscape-1.4.3-4 libfyaml-0.9.5-1 > libid3tag-0.16.4-1 libinih-62-2 libkeccak-1.4.3-1 libksba-1.6.8-1 > libldac-2.0.2.3-3 libmaxminddb-1.13.2-1 libngtcp2-1.21.0-1 > libplacebo-7.360.0-2 libreoffice-still-25.8.5-2 libxmp-4.7.0-1 > linux-6.18.13.arch1-1 linux-docs-6.18.13.arch1-1 > linux-firmware-20260221-1 linux-firmware-amdgpu-20260221-1 > linux-firmware-atheros-20260221-1 linux-firmware-broadcom-20260221-1 > linux-firmware-cirrus-20260221-1 linux-firmware-intel-20260221-1 > linux-firmware-mediatek-20260221-1 linux-firmware-nvidia-20260221-1 > linux-firmware-other-20260221-1 linux-firmware-radeon-20260221-1 > linux-firmware-realtek-20260221-1 linux-firmware-whence-20260221-1 > linux-headers-6.18.13.arch1-1 mdadm-4.5-1 mesa-1:26.0.1-1 nss-3.121-1 > openmpi-5.0.10-1 parallel-20260222-1 poppler-26.02.0-2 > poppler-glib-26.02.0-2 poppler-qt6-26.02.0-2 postgresql-18.3-1 > postgresql-docs-18.3-1 postgresql-libs-18.3-1 > python-chardet-6.0.0.post1-1 python-platformdirs-4.9.3-1 > python-pypdf-6.7.3-1 python-requests-2.32.5-4 sha3sum-1.2.4-1 > shaderc-2026.1-2 spandsp-0.0.6-7 spirv-tools-1:1.4.341.0-2 > vim-9.2.0067-1 vim-runtime-9.2.0067-1 xkeyboard-config-2.47-1 > > > -- > David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. > >
