Hi,
I’m having filesystem read-only issues on a Dell Latitude E5250 with Linux Mint.
I originally posted here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/s/G8Rfd112as
Now I checked the logs and I’m seeing repeated ATA errors (host bus error, ICRC ABRT, I/O errors).
Full logs:
Does this indicate a failing SATA controller / motherboard?
Thanks!
Hi everyone,
I’m new to Linux and this is my first time really working with it, so please bear with me if I’m missing something obvious.
I bought a used Dell Latitude E5250 specifically to install Linux, test things, and just play around. I decided to go with Linux Mint Cinnamon. I created a boot USB, installed it successfully, and everything seemed fine at first.
After some time, I started noticing a strange issue: Firefox wouldn’t open anymore, saying that another instance was already running. However, I couldn’t find any running process, even with commands like sudo killall firefox. Around the same time, I also couldn’t install updates or new software because the system suddenly became read-only.
The only temporary fix was a reboot.
After rebooting, I was dropped straight into BusyBox. I had to repair the filesystem manually using fsck, and after that, the system would boot again and seem fine - but only for a while. Then the exact same problem would happen again.
I tried diagnosing the issue with the help of ChatGPT and used smartmontools (sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda2). It showed a lot of ATA errors and read/write errors on the disk. So I assumed the hard drive was failing.
I replaced it with a brand new SSD (Intenso - yes, I know it’s a budget brand, but this laptop is just for experimenting). I reinstalled Linux Mint from scratch, but unfortunately, the exact same issue still occurs: filesystem errors, read-only mode, fsck repairs, repeat.
Now I’m wondering what else could be causing this. I’ve read online that it might be a hardware issue, possibly the SATA controller or motherboard. If that’s the case, it probably isn’t worth replacing the motherboard for such an old laptop.
At this point, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to fix this and I’m running out of ideas :(
Does anyone have suggestions on what else I could check or test? Could it really be the SATA controller, or is there something else I might be missing?
If you need more information (logs, command outputs, etc.), I’m happy to provide it.
I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I hope someone can help.
Thanks in advance for any help!