I'm new to all this, so please break things down for me... I have a bootable external drive that I installed Linux mint on and it was booting fine until today. It will not boot and I get an error message when trying to boot about the rpool. I did delete a folder in the home directory last night that I didn't recognize. The folder didn't appear to have anything in it. Could this be what caused the problem?
Unable to boot Linux mint from SSD. Error with rpool.
It could be, I suppose. What is it that you deleted?
I'm unfamiliar with ZFS (which might be what you're using, as you're getting rpool errors) but someone here should be.
I write this to encourage you to help us help you. We can't guess what folder you deleted or anything like that.
Unfortunately I don't know the name of the folder I deleted. It had a strange name and I didn't recognise it as something I put there, so I deleted it. Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have, because maybe it was a part of the system files?
I don't suppose you have a backup that's nice and easy to restore?
And, hopefully you can recall the name of the folder you removed. That might be important.
I do believe we have some ZFS users (which it sounds like you're using from a quick Google)? So, be patient.
And, hopefully you can recall the name of the folder you removed. That might be important.
I do believe we have some ZFS users (which it sounds like you're using from a quick Google)? So, be patient.
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
Reinstall.
Otherwise you will be going around in circles for days
Only other way out of this will be if you have a backup of some sort
can you confirm the name of the Linux that you are running ?....is it ZFS???
Otherwise you will be going around in circles for days
Only other way out of this will be if you have a backup of some sort
can you confirm the name of the Linux that you are running ?....is it ZFS???
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
I assume you installed mint Ubuntu based, this may help
askubuntu.com
Ubuntu 20.04 on ZFS can't update kernel, bpool missing
Symptoms Kernel doesn't update. That is after restart, the system is still on the old kernel. Changes to GRUB config aren't applied. Installing a new kernel isn't applying. bpool is missing due to...
askubuntu.com
You must have selected ZFS during the installation process. That's the only way to explain these errors - as far as I can tell. I've done a bunch more searching and I gotta say that I am going to side with @Condobloke for this one. You can probably use a live instance of Mint to backup any important files to an external device, and then you can just do a clean installation. Maybe this time stick with Ext4 unless you need the features ZFS provides.
But, I'd hold off a bit. There's a chance, albeit a slim one, that someone will pop in with just the right answer for you.
But, I'd hold off a bit. There's a chance, albeit a slim one, that someone will pop in with just the right answer for you.
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
Yup....that will be me.
Reinstall.
Allow Mint to install in its default manner
Do not change things you know nothing about
Do not delete things you know even less about.
LOL Well, to be fair, they probably could recover some files from their /home directory - if the disk mounts in the live instance. I dunno a darned thing about ZFS, so I dunno if it will - but it seems likely that it will. It's worth a shot, assuming they have data they'd like to keep.
And, definitely, stick with the defaults as much as possible.
And, definitely, stick with the defaults as much as possible.
After reinstalling and installing softwares that you use, create a snapshot using Timeshift.
It's easier with Linux Mint, because both Mint and Timeshift are coded under the same roof.
If you want a clean system and don't want to mess with the terminal, you can use Bleachbit. But again, even when using Bleachbit, you have to be careful what you select to be removed, otherwise you are going to end up with a broken system again.
What is ZFS?
What is ZFS? Why People Use ZFS? [Explained for Beginners]
What is ZFS and why is it so popular among experienced users? Let's have a look at the history of ZFS and its features and advantages over other filesystems.
itsfoss.com
Zfs is an advanced file system like NTFS used by Windows and ext4 used by Linux distributions (by default). Unless you need to use a different file system, you should stick with the default one provided with your distribution.
Last edited:
I saw the two threads from a few days ago about the new version of Linux Mint. I have not run Linux Mint in a very long time. I downloaded and installed Cinnamon and MATE versions to have a look. After seeing this thread, I installed another Cinnamon, but this time, I chose the ZFS file system, which is an option during install just before you partition the drive to install Linux Mint. Other than that, I followed the defaults.
I wonder how @g-ferraz ended up with a ZFS file system on their Linux Mint installation? It is not the default.
I looked at the root directories " / " on all three, and they are essentially the same. In the ZFS version, there is no swapfile. What was different were how the filesystems appeared:
Linux Mint Cinnamon, default Installation (ext4 file system)
Linux Mint Cinnamon, with ZFS file system option, but otherwise choosing defaults:
I wonder how @g-ferraz ended up with a ZFS file system on their Linux Mint installation? It is not the default.
I looked at the root directories " / " on all three, and they are essentially the same. In the ZFS version, there is no swapfile. What was different were how the filesystems appeared:
Linux Mint Cinnamon, default Installation (ext4 file system)
$ df -T
Filesystem Type 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs tmpfs 398320 1700 396620 1% /run
/dev/sda3 ext4 19946096 9698568 9208988 52% /
tmpfs tmpfs 1991592 0 1991592 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs tmpfs 5120 4 5116 1% /run/lock
/dev/sda2 vfat 524252 5364 518888 2% /boot/efi
tmpfs tmpfs 398316 124 398192 1% /run/user/1000Linux Mint Cinnamon, with ZFS file system option, but otherwise choosing defaults:
$ df -T
Filesystem Type 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs tmpfs 398320 6672 391648 2% /run
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy zfs 17533952 4984320 12549632 29% /
tmpfs tmpfs 1991592 0 1991592 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs tmpfs 5120 4 5116 1% /run/lock
bpool/BOOT/ubuntu_w166vy zfs 851200 129792 721408 16% /boot
rpool/USERDATA/adminuser_oibm4d zfs 12550528 896 12549632 1% /home/adminuser
rpool/USERDATA/root_oibm4d zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /root
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/srv zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /srv
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/games zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/games
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/usr/local zfs 12549888 256 12549632 1% /usr/local
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/snap zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/snap
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/lib zfs 12570112 20480 12549632 1% /var/lib
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/mail zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/mail
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/log zfs 12551040 1408 12549632 1% /var/log
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/www zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/www
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/spool zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/spool
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/lib/NetworkManager zfs 12549888 256 12549632 1% /var/lib/NetworkManager
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/lib/dpkg zfs 12602624 52992 12549632 1% /var/lib/dpkg
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/lib/AccountsService zfs 12549760 128 12549632 1% /var/lib/AccountsService
rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_w166vy/var/lib/apt zfs 12713600 163968 12549632 2% /var/lib/apt
tmpfs tmpfs 398316 128 398188 1% /run/user/1000
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
Good idea.
As @Stellaris has suggected....get familiar with Timeshift. It will save your sanity...truly it will.
Save the Timeshift snapshots to an external hard drive if you can....they can take up a lot of space, depending on how you set up the Schedule......I only elect to keep 2 Daily snapshots. That's it. It is sufficient for me.
If you need any help with any part of what you are doing/installing/timeshift etc etc....just call out. We are here to help
note: be extremely careful in using bleachbit. It is not for the faint hearted, and requires more than a little experience to be safe with it. Get to setup Timeshift before/if you play with it.
Last edited:
