RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login
    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Error: Kernel panic-not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(179,6)

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    booterror
    3 Posts 2 Posters 6.8k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • J
      jplank
      last edited by

      When I try to start up my retropie I get an error that prevents me from continuing the boot process. The error says:

      Kernel panic-not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(179,6)

      Originally, the error said:

      Kernel panic-not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(179,2)

      But then I found this post:

      https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/40854/kernel-panic-not-syncing-vfs-unable-to-mount-root-fs-on-unknown-block179-6

      I wasn't able to boot my raspberry pi by holding the shift key, but I do have another computer running ubuntu. So, i put the sd card in there and manually edited the cmdfile.txt file as described in the post.

      However, I don't know enough about fsck to know if I'm able to run the command safely:
      sudo fsck.ext4 -y /dev/mmcblk0p6

      When I attempt to run it on my ubuntu computer with the sdcard plugged in, I get a warning about severe data loss if I continue.

      Anyways, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to fix this? Info about my setup:

      Raspberry Pi 3B
      Using a Canakit power supply
      Unsure whether it's running RetroPie version 4.1 or 4.2 (can't boot up to actually find out)
      When I install Retropie, I downloaded from here: https://retropie.org.uk/download/ and used the version 2/3 image.
      USB devices: external hard drive, wireless keyboard, usb key
      Controller used: 8bitdo nes controller

      Can anyone help?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • HexH
        Hex
        last edited by

        Looks like your SD card is failing. You could either format the entire card and try booting or run the fsck commad. I dont think you have the correct drive. Try checking using Disks utility what is the drive "mmcblk0pX" You need the correct X. If you havent modified partitions then it should be 2

        So once you have X you can try this command replacing X with what you got.

        sudo fsck /dev/mmcblk0pX

        This will tell you the status of your partition.

        Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

        Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
        ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

        J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • J
          jplank @Hex
          last edited by

          @Hex IS there a way for me to access any save states that I have on the card in order to back them up? I think that formatting and reinstalling Retropie might be the easiest choice but I don't want to lose my data.

          Can you give me more details about how to use the Disks utility? Is this something that has to be run from my Raspberry Pi? Or can I plug the sd card into my Ubuntu computer and run the utility on there? Same question for the sudo fsck /dev/mmcblk0pX command - is that something that I can run from my Ubuntu computer with the sd card connected without causing problems?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • First post
            Last post

          Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

          Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.