π ~1 min read
Table of contents
Symptom & Impact
System drops to emergency shell and normal boot does not complete.
Environment & Reproduction
Appears after editing /etc/fstab with wrong UUID, type, or options.
Root Cause Analysis
A failing mount entry in fstab blocks local-fs target during boot.
Quick Triage
Locate failed mount unit and identify problematic fstab line.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Validate all fstab entries non-destructively before rebooting again.
Solution – Primary Fix
Correct invalid entry and use nofail for non-critical removable mounts.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Comment failing line temporarily to restore boot, then remediate offline.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
mount -a passes and reboot reaches multi-user target without errors.
Rollback Plan
Reinstate previous fstab backup if new mount configuration misbehaves.
Prevention & Hardening
Always test fstab changes with findmnt and mount -a in same session.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
Related to dependency failed for local file systems and emergency target.
Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
View all Ubuntu 22.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub β
Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.
References & Further Reading
Ubuntu 22.04 fstab syntax and boot troubleshooting documentation.
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