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Asked: 2024-09-24T06:11:10+05:30 In:

What steps can I take to resolve the issue of encountering a read-only file system error when attempting to execute commands with sudo on my Ubuntu system?

I’ve been running into this really frustrating issue lately on my Ubuntu system, and I was hoping some of you might have some insights or solutions. So here’s the deal: every time I try to run a command with sudo, I get this annoying “read-only file system” error. It’s driving me up the wall because it seems like I can’t do anything that requires elevated privileges.

I first noticed it when I was trying to install a package with apt, which I guess is a common scenario. It just won’t let me write to the file system, and I can’t figure out why. I mean, I haven’t changed any permissions or anything recently. Initially, I thought maybe I just needed to reboot, but after restarting, nothing changed. It’s still in this read-only mode.

I’ve tried a few things on my own, like checking the file system status, but I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. So, I thought maybe it could be due to a corrupted file system or something after a sudden shutdown or crash. I’ve heard about running fsck, but I’m not sure how to do that safely since it requires me to boot into recovery mode.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, what steps did you take to get around it? I’ve seen some posts mentioning things like remounting the filesystem as read-write, but I don’t fully understand how to do that, especially while keeping everything safe and secure. If you could break it down for me or share some command line snippets, that would be super helpful!

Also, if there are any log files I should check to get more information about what’s happening, I’d appreciate the guidance. I’m not the most experienced with Ubuntu, but I’m eager to learn. Any advice, tips, or steps that you guys think I should take would really help me out here! Thanks a ton in advance!

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    2 Answers



    1. Ubuntu Read-Only File System Issue

      It sounds like you’re dealing with a frustrating situation with your Ubuntu system showing a “read-only file system” error when using sudo. This usually happens due to either file system corruption or the system mounting the file system in read-only mode as a protective measure after an improper shutdown. Since you mentioned considering fsck, that’s a good direction to take. To safely run fsck, you’ll want to boot into recovery mode. You can do this by restarting your computer and holding the Shift key during boot to access the GRUB menu. From there, select the “Advanced options for Ubuntu,” and then choose a recovery mode option. Once you have the recovery menu up, select the “fsck” option to check and repair the filesystem. This operation should help if errors are found during the check.

      If the issue persists after running fsck, you can try remounting the filesystem as read-write. To do this, after entering recovery mode, press Ctrl + Alt + F1 to switch to a terminal. Log in with your credentials and execute the command mount -o remount,rw /. This will attempt to remount the root filesystem as read-write. Another useful step is to check the system logs for specific errors by using journalctl -xb or inspecting /var/log/syslog for any indications of what might have caused the issue in the first place. If you come across any specific errors or messages in the logs, those can provide further insight into the underlying problem. Don’t hesitate to provide those details to forums or communities for more targeted help!




    2. Ubuntu Read-Only File System Issue

      Troubleshooting Read-Only File System in Ubuntu

      It sounds super frustrating to deal with that read-only file system issue! Here are a few steps you can try to potentially fix it:

      1. Check the File System

      First off, you’re on the right track thinking it might be a corrupted file system. You can run fsck to check and repair the file system, but you need to do it from recovery mode:

      1. Reboot your computer.
      2. As it starts up, hold down the Shift key to bring up the GRUB menu.
      3. Select the recovery mode option (it’ll usually have “recovery mode” in the description).
      4. Once in recovery mode, you can select the option to drop into a root shell.
      5. From there, run fsck /dev/sdX (replace sdX with your actual drive, like sda1).

      2. Remount the File System

      If you’re able to boot normally but still in read-only mode, you can try remounting the filesystem as read-write:

      sudo mount -o remount,rw /

      This command tells the system to remount the root filesystem with read-write access. If it works, great! If not, you might need to reboot into recovery mode and check the filesystem as described above.

      3. Check System Logs

      For more clues about what’s going wrong, check the system logs. You can look at:

      sudo less /var/log/syslog

      or

      sudo dmesg

      These logs can sometimes give hints about any issues detected during boot or operation.

      4. Last Resort: Backup and Reinstall

      If you still can’t get it to work, consider backing up your important files (if you can access them) and doing a clean installation of Ubuntu. Sometimes starting fresh is the quickest solution!

      Hope this helps! Take it step by step, and don’t hesitate to reach back if you have questions along the way!


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