Security Analytics won't boot due to message: "Give root password for maintenance (or press Control-D to continue)"

Products

• Security Analytics

Issue/Introduction

While booting, the Security Analytics appliance is hung at a screen during the boot process that says, "Give root password for maintenance (or press Control-D) to continue).  If you press Control-D, the server may continue to boot or it may reboot.  

Environment

Security Analytics S500

Cause

There is a file system inconsistency.  Typically you will see a message on the boot screen complaining about a file system.  You may see a message like "UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY". Pay attention to which volume it is complaining about.  In the below example, the problem volume is /VAR

Resolution

Pay attention to what file systems it is complaining about.  Typically it will be something like /VAR or /HOME.  

• Enter the root password
• Enter:  fsck -y /VOLUME_NAME (either VAR or HOME)
• Note that the volume must be unmounted for the fsck to run.  If the volume is mounted, enter:  umount /VOLUME_NAME and try the fsck again
• If the volume is large (usually /HOME), the fsck can take quite a while to run (30-90 minutes).
• You may see fsck automatically fixing things, which is normal.  
• Once complete, reboot the appliance and monitor the boot process for a 'clean' message during the file system check. 

If you cannot unmount the volume for some reason, you can prevent the volume from mounting by going to the /etc/fstab file and commenting out the mount command for the volume in question (using a # character).  Reboot the appliance again and then follow the same steps above to run the manual fsck.  Contact technical support for any further assistance.