System hangs at splash screen loading dots

[Maria Gillem]

My system had been up and running without problems until I booted up about 5 days ago and the splash screen hung there with
the dots continuously loading. After 3 mins, I pressed (any) key which booted me into my Ubunto 12.04. Three days ago the machine booted into black screen with boot up selection commands. That day I filed a "me too" bug report for issue #531650. It looked like individual report would do be betterso here we go. I am still pressing any key to get the hanging loading dots in the splash screen to boot into the OS sign-in.

 Ubuntu is the only OS on my Dell OPTIPLEX 760. I'm just a Linux lover with no programing skills - who can figiure her way around
hard or software enough to get by 89% of the time but I'm good at following directions when needed. I understand that apport
will collect the needed information. Thanks!

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: plymouth 0.8.2-2ubuntu31
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-37.58-generic 3.2.35
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-37-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Tue Feb 5 15:03:08 2013
DefaultPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-logo/ubuntu-logo.plymouth
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
MachineType: Dell Inc. OptiPlex 760
MarkForUpload: True
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcFB: 0 VESA VGA
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
SourcePackage: plymouth
TextPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-text/ubuntu-text.plymouth
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-07-17 (202 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 12/23/2009
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A06
dmi.board.name: 0M858N
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A01
dmi.chassis.type: 6
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA06:bd12/23/2009:svnDellInc.:pnOptiPlex760:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0M858N:rvrA01:cvnDellInc.:ct6:cvr:
dmi.product.name: OptiPlex 760
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

Is this problem reproducible if you boot without the 'splash' commandline option - or if you boot in rescue mode?

If not, it will be nearly impossible to debug this.

[Maria Gillem (ziblick)]

Thank you for your time Steve, please bear with me and define "reproducible"
for me.
I booted into Ubuntu off the rescue screen a few days ago, don't
know if that says anything helpful.

If I can't debug, will it lead to my system crashing and to avoid that, what
are my options? Sorry, if I require some babysitting!

> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2013 23:44:04 +0000
> From: <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Subject: [Bug 1116630] Re: System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> Is this problem reproducible if you boot without the 'splash'
> commandline option - or if you boot in rescue mode?
>
> If not, it will be nearly impossible to debug this.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1116630
>
> Title:
> System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> Status in “plymouth” package in Ubuntu:
> New
>
> Bug description:
> My system had been up and running without problems until I booted up about 5 days ago and the splash screen hung there with
> the dots continuously loading. After 3 mins, I pressed (any) key which booted me into my Ubunto 12.04. Three days ago the machine booted into black screen with boot up selection commands. That day I filed a "me too" bug report for issue #531650. It looked like individual report would do be betterso here we go. I am still pressing any key to get the hanging loading dots in the splash screen to boot into the OS sign-in.
>
> Ubuntu is the only OS on my Dell OPTIPLEX 760. I'm just a Linux lover with no programing skills - who can figiure her way around
> hard or software enough to get by 89% of the time but I'm good at following directions when needed. I understand that apport
> will collect the needed information. Thanks!
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
> Package: plymouth 0.8.2-2ubuntu31
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-37.58-generic 3.2.35
> Uname: Linux 3.2.0-37-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
> ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.1
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Tue Feb 5 15:03:08 2013
> DefaultPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-logo/ubuntu-logo.plymouth
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
> MachineType: Dell Inc. OptiPlex 760
> MarkForUpload: True
> ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
> ProcEnviron:
> TERM=xterm
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> LANG=en_US.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> ProcFB: 0 VESA VGA
> ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
> SourcePackage: plymouth
> TextPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-text/ubuntu-text.plymouth
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-07-17 (202 days ago)
> dmi.bios.date: 12/23/2009
> dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
> dmi.bios.version: A06
> dmi.board.name: 0M858N
> dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
> dmi.board.version: A01
> dmi.chassis.type: 6
> dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
> dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA06:...

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

On Wed, Feb 06, 2013 at 06:01:35PM -0000, Maria Gillem wrote:

> Thank you for your time Steve, please bear with me and define
> "reproducible" for me.

The question is: if you boot the system without the plymouth splash screen,
can you still recreate this bug at boot time.

> I booted into Ubuntu off the rescue screen a few days ago, don't
> know if that says anything helpful.

Ok, so it sounds like the bug is not reproducible.

> If I can't debug, will it lead to my system crashing and to avoid that,
> what are my options?

It's unlikely to cause any system crashes once you've finished booting.
Probably there is a buggy optional service package installed on your system
which is waiting on the keyboard and blocking the boot when it shouldn't.
If you have the console-tools or console-common package installed, you might
be seeing bug #881079:

  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/console-tools/+bug/881079

[Maria Gillem (ziblick)]

Steve, I believe your are right about a service package causing problems
being that downloads were going on regularly before the issue.

I searched for packages and found "Linux console & font utilities" console
tools. I'm not certain of the necessity of that program can you instruct
me on whether I should remove it or not? Thanks!

> Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 00:19:21 +0000
> From: <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Subject: Re: [Bug 1116630] Re: System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> On Wed, Feb 06, 2013 at 06:01:35PM -0000, Maria Gillem wrote:
>
> > Thank you for your time Steve, please bear with me and define
> > "reproducible" for me.
>
> The question is: if you boot the system without the plymouth splash screen,
> can you still recreate this bug at boot time.
>
> > I booted into Ubuntu off the rescue screen a few days ago, don't
> > know if that says anything helpful.
>
> Ok, so it sounds like the bug is not reproducible.
>
> > If I can't debug, will it lead to my system crashing and to avoid that,
> > what are my options?
>
> It's unlikely to cause any system crashes once you've finished booting.
> Probably there is a buggy optional service package installed on your system
> which is waiting on the keyboard and blocking the boot when it shouldn't.
> If you have the console-tools or console-common package installed, you might
> be seeing bug #881079:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/console-tools/+bug/881079
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1116630
>
> Title:
> System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> Status in “plymouth” package in Ubuntu:
> Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> My system had been up and running without problems until I booted up about 5 days ago and the splash screen hung there with
> the dots continuously loading. After 3 mins, I pressed (any) key which booted me into my Ubunto 12.04. Three days ago the machine booted into black screen with boot up selection commands. That day I filed a "me too" bug report for issue #531650. It looked like individual report would do be betterso here we go. I am still pressing any key to get the hanging loading dots in the splash screen to boot into the OS sign-in.
>
> Ubuntu is the only OS on my Dell OPTIPLEX 760. I'm just a Linux lover with no programing skills - who can figiure her way around
> hard or software enough to get by 89% of the time but I'm good at following directions when needed. I understand that apport
> will collect the needed information. Thanks!
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
> Package: plymouth 0.8.2-2ubuntu31
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-37.58-generic 3.2.35
> Uname: Linux 3.2.0-37-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
> ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.1
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Tue Feb 5 15:03:08 2013
> DefaultPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-logo/ubuntu-logo.plymouth
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
> MachineType: Dell Inc. OptiPlex 760
> MarkForUpload: True
> ProcCmdLine: ...

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

On Thu, Feb 07, 2013 at 08:51:48PM -0000, Maria Gillem wrote:
> I searched for packages and found "Linux console & font utilities" console
> tools. I'm not certain of the necessity of that program can you instruct
> me on whether I should remove it or not? Thanks!

If you have that package installed, then yes, you should remove it. It does
cause boot-time bugs like this, and is only needed for users with very
specific requirements for the Linux console - mostly related to Russian
language input, which I'm guessing is not why you have the package
installed.

[Maria Gillem (ziblick)]

Removal of that console-tool resulted in a successful boot up. When you
mentioned Russian language tools, I knew exactly when that recommended
update appeared. I thought that I unchecked it but obviously not. Sorry,
about any stupid questions but they often get me right to what I need to
know.

Thanks, for all your help Steve!

> Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 21:24:03 +0000
> From: <email address hidden>
> To: <email address hidden>
> Subject: Re: [Bug 1116630] Re: System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> On Thu, Feb 07, 2013 at 08:51:48PM -0000, Maria Gillem wrote:
> > I searched for packages and found "Linux console & font utilities" console
> > tools. I'm not certain of the necessity of that program can you instruct
> > me on whether I should remove it or not? Thanks!
>
> If you have that package installed, then yes, you should remove it. It does
> cause boot-time bugs like this, and is only needed for users with very
> specific requirements for the Linux console - mostly related to Russian
> language input, which I'm guessing is not why you have the package
> installed.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1116630
>
> Title:
> System hangs at splash screen loading dots
>
> Status in “plymouth” package in Ubuntu:
> Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> My system had been up and running without problems until I booted up about 5 days ago and the splash screen hung there with
> the dots continuously loading. After 3 mins, I pressed (any) key which booted me into my Ubunto 12.04. Three days ago the machine booted into black screen with boot up selection commands. That day I filed a "me too" bug report for issue #531650. It looked like individual report would do be betterso here we go. I am still pressing any key to get the hanging loading dots in the splash screen to boot into the OS sign-in.
>
> Ubuntu is the only OS on my Dell OPTIPLEX 760. I'm just a Linux lover with no programing skills - who can figiure her way around
> hard or software enough to get by 89% of the time but I'm good at following directions when needed. I understand that apport
> will collect the needed information. Thanks!
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
> Package: plymouth 0.8.2-2ubuntu31
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-37.58-generic 3.2.35
> Uname: Linux 3.2.0-37-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
> ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.1
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Tue Feb 5 15:03:08 2013
> DefaultPlymouth: /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-logo/ubuntu-logo.plymouth
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
> MachineType: Dell Inc. OptiPlex 760
> MarkForUpload: True
> ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
> ProcEnviron:
> TERM=xterm
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> LANG=en_US.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> ProcFB: 0 VESA VGA
> ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-37-generic root=UUID=0e34b8b4-4129-462b-9c90-e861a7bac936 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
> Sourc...