Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Boot Issue

[CAMRAMan]

All of a sudden my laptop has started acting up.

When I start the machine it stalls on the initial page, where it used to automatically go tot he boot selection page (default being Ubuntu). If I press F12 it eventually goes to a boot option menu and I select the SSD drive there and it boots as normal.

Any idea how this could have happened & how to fix it? I have gone to settings and made the SSD drive the default boot option, but the issue persists.

[dat]

From the sounds of it the issue isn't with Ubuntu as the issue is before grub.

[Afasoas]

It sounds like a BIOS boot issue.
Maybe you've got PXE (network) boot enabled? You need to try and describe in more detail what you are seeing.

[fuaran]

Could be a dead CMOS battery? That would stop the BIOS from remembering settings.

[vorsprung]

Take a photo of the "initial page" we'd love to see it

[CAMRAMan]

The start up screen is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bmkx09bl59tviev/IMG_20171022_120307.jpg?dl=0

It used to display for a second or two. Now it sticks there unless I press F12 and even then it takes a couple of minutes to go to the multi-boot options.

[CAMRAMan]

Any ideas?

[dat]

My two guesses would be early hard drive failure or corrupted bios. You could try updating your bios, see if that helps.

[philip]

As suggested earlier, it could be a dead CMOS battery. It's typically a lithium cell, such as a CR2032, and replacing it is possible, although it can be tricky to open the laptop case and locate the battery.

[jiberjaber]

When it does this, go in to the bios and see what time it is (don't let it boot). Make a note of the time (if it's wrong - set it to current time) and then shut the PC down and leave it for a day or so, then give the boot another go and go in to the bios, if the time is.  If it's reset to the wrong time again, it's likely the battery - though some boards have super-caps rather than batteries (google the laptop and it might show up if this is the case).  If not then it could be a range of things.

It could just be a case of you need to reset the bios to defaults as something might have become corrupt (make a note of any critical settings first through )

re HD, Boot up and see if you have the SMART deamon running, if you do, see what the result of the last SMART test was or if there were any SMART errors logged in dmesg - if its not running (or not installed) install/run it and see if it throws up an error from a self test.  This will give you an idea of any issues with the drive. 'sudo apt-get install smartmontools' will install the packages lot more detail here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Smartmontools


If you are struggling to boot the internal drive, using a USB live disc might get you to a position you can mount the internal drive and see whats happening...

I am of course assuming you have some linux CLI knowledge here - but a lot of it is google-able on how to do if not

I've had issues before with Ubuntu not removing the old files from the /boot partition but I don't recall it manifesting itself with the problem you've shown here (you can check disk usage with 'df' command from the CLI.

You've probably already done this but have you Googled the make, model and Ubuntu together? eg "acer phoenix boot issues ubuntu" etc It might turn up something similar... 

[Afasoas]

In the bios there should be a setting which disables the bios boot splash screen (..the the Acer logo)
Please disable that and video / post the boot sequence.

Also, in the bios settings, check the list and order of the boot devices.

[vorsprung]

The start up screen is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bmkx09bl59tviev/IMG_20171022_120307.jpg?dl=0

It used to display for a second or two. Now it sticks there unless I press F12 and even then it takes a couple of minutes to go to the multi-boot options.

I agree with Furan it's the CMOS battery
it's somethng like this to fix it
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Acer+Aspire+5742+CMOS+Battery+Replacement/75160

[CAMRAMan]

The bios seems to have the right time whenever I go in there.

I have made the SSD the principal boot device. I'm afraid my linux-fu is lacking in the way of diagnostics. I can get to Ubuntu, but it's a hassle having to wait a few mins to initialise the boot sequence.

[vorsprung]

The bios seems to have the right time whenever I go in there., so

I have made the SSD the principal boot device. I'm afraid my Linux-fu is lacking ...

I'm pretty sure this is nothing to do with Linux, so don't worry about it

[CAMRAMan]

And today, just as suddenly as the problem appeared, it seems to have now gone away! Fingers crossed.