Crash: Failed to rotate /var/log/journal/*

[Ignacio Calderon de la Barca]

I'm on Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Gnome 42.9 with no dual boot. Around every other session I get a crash where all my applications close, and I can't do anything. Any command typed in the terminal is broken giving a: I/O error.

If I enter Crt+Alt+F2 the black screen prints the following failures:

```
systemd-journald[364]: Failed to rotate /var/log/journal/<str>/system.journal: Input/output error
systemd-journald[364]: Failed to rotate /var/log/journal/<str>/user-1000.journal: Input/output error
systemd-journald[364]: Failed to write entry (<n> items, <m> bytes) despite vacuuming, ignoring: Input/output error
⋮
⋮
```

which fills the whole screen with these three lines and different <str> (an alphanumeric string), <n> integer, <m> (integer).

When I get this black screen the computer doesn't respond anymore and I have to reboot by pressing the power button and cross my fingers that the next time I turn it on I get a normal session.

I read other posts that claim that Ubuntu 22.04.3 doesn't support `13th Gen Intel i9`. Here are some neofetch specs in case it is useful:

```
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS x86_64
Host: ROG Zephyrus M16 GU604VI_GU604VI 1.0
Kernel: 6.5.10-1-liquorix-amd64
Uptime: 50 mins
Packages: 2049 (dpkg), 14 (snap)
Shell: bash 5.1.16
Resolution: 2560x1600
DE: GNOME 42.9
WM: Mutter
WM Theme: Adwaita
Theme: Yaru-blue-dark [GTK2/3]
Icons: Yaru-blue [GTK2/3]
Terminal: gnome-terminal
CPU: 13th Gen Intel i9-13900H (20) @ 3.001GHz
GPU: NVIDIA 01:00.0 NVIDIA Corporation Device 2860
GPU: Intel Device a7a0
Memory: 3337MiB / 31724MiB
```

[Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. It seems that your bug report is not filed about a specific source package though, rather it is just filed against Ubuntu in general. It is important that bug reports be filed about source packages so that people interested in the package can find the bugs about it. You can find some hints about determining what package your bug might be about at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. You might also ask for help in the #ubuntu-bugs irc channel on Libera.chat.

To change the source package that this bug is filed about visit https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/2048704/+editstatus and add the package name in the text box next to the word Package.

[This is an automated message. I apologize if it reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Chris Guiver (guiverc)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better.

Bug reporting is about finding & fixing problems thus preventing future users from hitting the same bug.

I suspect a Support site would be more appropriate, eg. https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu. You can also find help with your problem in the support forum of your local Ubuntu community http://loco.ubuntu.com/ or asking at https://askubuntu.com or https://ubuntuforums.org, or for more support options please look at https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/community-support/709

(At the very least, support maybe able to check your setup & ensure you've not run out of disk space, and work out the correct package to file a bug report against; you've filed it against the Ubuntu project, and thus no release details etc are populated into fields. They may also suggest using SysRq commands instead of power buttons to avoid extra issues the power-button decision creates. This bug can be changed into question, which will make it about support too).

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Andrzej Radzimiński (andr729)]

I had the same situation. Happened few times, now it is stable again.

Few Specs:

OS: Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS x86_64
Kernel: 6.5.0-21-generic
Shell: bash 5.1.16
Terminal: gnome-terminal
CPU: 11th Gen Intel i7-11800H (16) @
GPU: Intel TigerLake-H GT1 [UHD Grap
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile

While looking for a potential solution i found corrupted log file using `journalctl --verify` that failed with message: "Bad message".

[John F (nunsuch)]

I have also just encountered this problem. Installed new SSD (TimeTec M+B, 512GB); partitioned as EFI,/(root) , and /home. Installed 22.04.2 which was upgraded during install to 22.04.4. Previously using 18.04 on dual boot with W10, with NO PROBLEMS ever!

Laptop Asus Zenbook UX430 (old 2017)
RAM 8 GB
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
Kernel 6.5.0-18
Terminal gnome
CPU Intel 7200U
GPU Intel Mesa HD Graphics 620
Gnome 42.9

Problem seems to only occurs when I switch from battery to AC power or visa versa (that is when I unplug the AC power) while working on computer (eg as battery gets low or when fully charged). After Suspend, On next boot received systemd-journal Fail to Rotate error as above OR if reach login screen when try to enter password get a black screen with either cursor or "Failed to Rotate message as above.

Initially thought was Wayland issues, but after reverting to XOrg, problem re-appeared.

Did journalctl --verify, but no errors detected.

Considering re-install with fresh ISO but have not tried yet, still looking for solution.

March 1, 2024
Dl/L verifyied and burn fresh ISO.
Did Fresh Install using Ubuntu default install - Erase and new install (no manual partitioning
Problem has re-appeared and seems clearly related to plugging/unplugging AC power cord. So far if remain on AC or Battery (no connecting/disconnecting system seems stable.
1. Plug/unplug power cord while system is running
2. After Suspend Splash screen returns, BUT when try to login (enter P/W) No curosr appears and I see word Authenticate flashing repeated. several times then screen goes to black.
3. Pressing any key bring back login screen, with a square cursor and I cannot enter anything.
4. Pressing any key seems to toggle between Splash Screen and login screen, but cannot enter anything.
5. Need to hold Power Key to then re-start.
6. On start up see message recovering journal and NEW now receive Clearing orphan Inode msg
7. After completion of reboot system seems to work fine until I either connect or disconnect AC power cord.
8. As best as I can determine problem did not does not seem to occur when booting from Live USB.
9. I can provide logs but will need some help in access them.
Thank you for any help you can offer - I am for the first time really stumped and cannot proceed with re-installing files until I am certain system is stable.

[Andrzej Radzimiński (andr729)]

After some experiments I can confirm that it is in some way related to power supply/battery.

In my case bug appeared when laptop switched from `charging` to `fully charged`.

I can also confirm, that before black screen with "failed to rotate..." message, the filesystem is switched into read-only mode, which then causes the issue.

[Andrzej Radzimiński (andr729)]

Now that I know what is initiating a bug I will try to reproduce a bug again, but this time recording kernel logs. So hopefully I will get some more details.