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Asked: 2024-09-25T13:07:07+05:30 In:

I modified the root access settings on my Ubuntu system, and now I’m facing issues when trying to boot up. What steps can I take to resolve this situation?

So, I’m having this super frustrating issue with my Ubuntu system that I really need help with. Here’s the thing: I was trying to tweak some root access settings a while back, thinking I could improve security and control over some files. I thought I was being smart about it, but now I’m in deep trouble. When I try to boot up my machine, it just doesn’t want to cooperate! It gets stuck somewhere, and I can’t even get to the login screen.

I’m no tech guru, but I’ve tried a couple of basic fixes. First, I thought maybe it was just a simple glitch, so I restarted the system a few times, hoping for a miracle. No luck there. Then I tried to boot into recovery mode by holding down the Shift key during boot, but the recovery options aren’t showing up the way they should. I’ve heard about people using a live USB to fix stuff like this, but I’m not totally sure what steps I should actually take to get my system back on track. Do I need to mount the root filesystem or something?

I remember reading somewhere that messing with root access can be tricky, but I didn’t think it’d come back to bite me like this! All I wanted was to add a bit more security, you know? Now, I’m losing precious time I could spend working on my projects. If anyone has gone through something similar or has tips to troubleshoot this kind of boot problem, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I really need a lifeline here. Any suggestions on what I might be able to do to fix this? Are there specific commands I’ll need to run once I’m in recovery mode? Or maybe someone has had success using a live USB? Anything at this point would help. Just feeling a bit overwhelmed, so any guidance would be super appreciated!

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    2 Answers


    1. It sounds like you’re dealing with a challenging situation, but there are a few steps you can take to try and restore your Ubuntu system. Since you’ve already attempted to reboot and access recovery mode without success, your next best option is to use a live USB. Start by creating a live USB from another machine (if you have access to one) by downloading the Ubuntu ISO and using a tool like Rufus or the built-in Startup Disk Creator on Ubuntu. Boot your problematic machine from the live USB by selecting it from the boot menu and ensure the system boots up to the live environment.

      Once in the live session, open a terminal and identify your root partition by running the command sudo fdisk -l. This will list all available disks and partitions. Look for your main Ubuntu partition, usually labeled as something like /dev/sda1 or /dev/nvme0n1p1. Mount this partition with sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt (replace /dev/sda1 with your actual partition name). After that, you can attempt to repair any broken packages or configurations by running sudo chroot /mnt to change the root environment and then execute commands like sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade or sudo dpkg --configure -a to fix package issues. Finally, check your /etc/fstab file with nano /etc/fstab to ensure that there are no incorrect mount entries that could be causing the boot hang. Reboot your machine after making the necessary fixes and see if that resolves the issue.


    2. Hey there!

      That sounds super frustrating! I totally get it—tweaking things to improve security can sometimes lead to unexpected issues. Here are a few steps you can try to get things back on track:

      1. Boot from a Live USB

      Using a live USB is a great idea. Here’s what to do:

      1. Create a live USB with an Ubuntu ISO if you haven’t already. You can use tools like Rufus or Etcher.
      2. Boot your computer from the USB. You might need to change the boot order in your BIOS/UEFI settings.

      2. Access Your Hard Drive

      Once you’re in the live environment, open a terminal and perform the following:

      1. Find your root partition by running:
        2. sudo fdisk -l
      2. Look for something like `/dev/sda1` (it might be different, so check the size to be sure).
      3. Mount the root partition:
        4. sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

      3. Chroot into Your System

      This will let you run commands as if you had booted into your normal system:

      sudo chroot /mnt

      4. Fix Permissions or Settings

      Now you can fix whatever issues you might have caused. For example, if you messed up the permissions:

      chmod 755 /path/to/your/file

      Or if you need to check your configuration files, like:

      nano /etc/someconfig.conf

      5. Update or Repair GRUB

      If it’s a boot issue, you might want to reinstall GRUB:

      grub-install /dev/sda
      update-grub

      6. Exit and Reboot

      After you’ve made your changes, exit from chroot and unmount:

      exit
      sudo umount /mnt

      Then, reboot your machine:

      sudo reboot

      Hopefully, this helps you sort things out! If you’re still stuck, don’t hesitate to reach back out. Good luck!

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