This document belongs to Manual Full System Encryption (with Extras).
1. Support
If you hit a problem that this troubleshooting guide doesn't help, you can ask for support. In all cases, it might be helpful to point to these instructions so that people know what you are trying to do.
The Ubuntu Forums is a friendly and welcoming place, with a section just for beginners, or you might prefer the section for Installation and Upgrades.
Ask Ubuntu, a member of StackExchange, is a no-nonsense Q&A site for Ubuntu-related questions.
2. Boot goes to initramfs
You boot your machine, but after a long time (about 3 minutes) waiting for the Ubuntu logo to move on…
… you get a black screen giving you some cryptic initramfs prompt.
This is usually because either /etc/crypttab or /etc/fstab is incorrect. To solve, do the following.
- Boot into a Live CD.
Open a terminal and then unlock your partition.
Carefully repeat Fix crypttab.
Carefully check Fix fstab to check that it all looks correct.
- Reboot your computer.
3. Computer fails to boot after upgrade or new installation
On rare occasions, you might find that the computer fails to boot after an upgrade, whether it was Windows or Ubuntu that did the upgrade. You might see an error about Grub when you try to boot.
Alternatively, if you install Windows after you have installed Ubuntu, it rudely removes the option to boot Ubuntu. You can restore the option with this process.
- Boot into a Live CD.
Open a terminal and then unlock your partition.
Enter chroot.
Allow Ubuntu to boot (this step typically is only after a new Windows installation).
- Reboot your computer.