MX 23.2 KDE is now taking too long to boot up [Solved]

[albert_657]

I think I should start by making clear that I multiboot several linux distros on my PC: the first one installed was MX 23.2 KDE, then Q4OS KDE, Linux Mint Xfce, Linux Mint Mate.

At first everything was fine, but after the installation of Q4OS KDE, MX KDE began taking too long to boot: it now takes 2 minutes, 4 secs. from the moment when I press 'MX 23.2 Libretto' on the grub menu up to when the login screen appears.
I immediately tried MX Boot Repair, the first two steps, "Reinstall GRUB bootloader on ESP" and "Repair GRUB configuration file". No change. What could I do about this?

I would be very grateful if somebody could help me solve this.


Here are some details about my PC:

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System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-17-amd64 [6.1.69-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-17-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
    init=/lib/systemd/systemd
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.2_KDE_x64 Libretto
    January 21 2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: H310M PRO-VDH PLUS (MS-7C09) v: 1.0
    serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.20 date: 04/08/2019
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-9700 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Coffee Lake gen: core 9 level: v3
    note: check built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158) stepping: 0xD (13)
    microcode: 0xFA
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 512 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB
    L2: 2 MiB desc: 8x256 KiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 828 high: 1029 min/max: 800/4700 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 1029 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800
    bogomips: 48000
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: retbleed mitigation: Enhanced IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced IBRS, IBPB: conditional, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: SW
    sequence
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: TSX disabled
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: DP-1
    empty: HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2,HDMI-A-3 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:3e98 class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22") s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
  Monitor-1: DP-1 model: AOC 22V2WG5 serial: <filter> built: 2018 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 102
    gamma: 1.2 size: 476x268mm (18.74x10.55") diag: 546mm (21.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080
    min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 23.1.2-1~mx23ahs renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 200 Series PCH HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a2f0 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-17-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200





  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Broadcom BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter driver: wl v: kernel modules: bcma
    pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 14e4:43a0 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-3: Huawei E353/E3131 type: USB driver: cdc_ether,usb-storage bus-ID: 1-3:2
    chip-ID: 12d1:14db class-ID: 0806
  IF: eth1 state: unknown speed: 150 Mbps duplex: half mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.27 TiB used: 59.24 GiB (2.5%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WDS500G3X0C-00SJG0
    size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD
    serial: <filter> rev: 102000WD temp: 45.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD1 size: 931.51 GiB block-size:
    physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 023 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 size: 931.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 0A80
    scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 60.55 GiB size: 59.29 GiB (97.93%) used: 18.35 GiB (31.0%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 2.15 GiB size: 2.14 GiB (99.80%) used: 6.2 MiB (0.3%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 161.13 GiB size: 157.54 GiB (97.77%) used: 40.88 GiB (25.9%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 34.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 2948 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2920 libs: 1555 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 23 pm: snap pkgs: 5
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/librewolf.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] http://deb.librewolf.net bookworm main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb https://espejito.fder.edu.uy/mxlinux/packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb https://espejito.fder.edu.uy/mxlinux/packages/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list
    1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/teamviewer-keyring.gpg] https://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf] http://deb.volian.org/volian/ scar main
Info:
  Processes: 267 Uptime: 32m wakeups: 0 Memory: 23.34 GiB used: 4.91 GiB (21.0%) Init: systemd
  v: 252 target: graphical (5) default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[dolphin_oracle]

thank you for the QSI right out of the gate. Gold star!

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Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.

I'm gonna guess that somewhere along the way you had a swap partition, and that the swap partition was formatted by one of the other distro installations.

an invalid swap entry in your /etc/fstab will lead to a mandatory delay while systemd looks for the former swap. its very long, like 1.5 to 2 minutes IIRC.

so check your /etc/fstab for invalid entries.

[siamhie]

I think I should start by making clear that I multiboot several linux distros on my PC: the first one installed was MX 23.2 KDE, then Q4OS KDE, Linux Mint Xfce, Linux Mint Mate.

At first everything was fine, but after the installation of Q4OS KDE, MX KDE began taking too long to boot: it now takes 2 minutes, 4 secs. from the moment when I press 'MX 23.2 Libretto' on the grub menu up to when the login screen appears.

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  ID-3: /home raw-size: 161.13 GiB size: 157.54 GiB (97.77%) used: 40.88 GiB (25.9%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3

Is MX KDE and Q4OS KDE sharing the home partition?

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Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.

Is there a reason for no swap?

[Adrian]

Was it set up in a file or swap partition? What does /etc/fstab show regarding swap?

[albert_657]

I thank you very much for your responses and for making me feel welcome here:

dolphin oracle, (no swap partition was formatted by any of the distros, but I've taken note of your suggestion about checking the /etc/fstab file)

siamhie - (no, I could never make two distros share the same home partition, I even want it to be on a different partition than root in the same system)

Adrian (It was a swap partition on a separate mechanical hard disk that I intended all the systems to share. My PC has a nmve disk -500 Gb, a SSD -1 Tb, and an old mechanical disk - 1 Tb)


However by this time I've had to uninstall MX KDE from the disk and do the same with two other Debian derivatives that I tried: the already mentioned Q4OS KDE and even LMDE (of the Linux Mint family).

I saw that if I installed any debian derivative along with the L.Mint Mate/Xfce, the latter ubuntu-based systems suffered a very frustrating impact on their booting times.

After having searched the web for information that could be useful to resolve the 'slow booting' issue, I've come to the same conclusion as you -all of you are pointing at the right direction: SWAP . I resolved to create two more swap partitions so that the systems didn't have to share things. After this, I also observed that the L.Mint Mate and Xfce distros recognized the three available swap partitions each -even when they were the latest installed systems -in this case I must also note that I hadn't allocated any swap to them on installation.

Q4OS didn't recognize any swap partition even if I had allocated one of them to it.

I can't remember very well at this stage what exactly the situation was with MX KDE; I'm sure I assigned one swap partition to it, but I can't remember if the system recognized it or not, I think it did (my uncertainty stems from the fact that at that moment I hadn't realized yet that it was a SWAP issue, so I didn't check about this very carefully)


I tried so many combinations of OS's -all unsuccessful- that the process has left me exhausted for the moment and I've simply re-installed Linux Mint Mate and Xfce only. Because of my lack of a deeper knowledge of linux I spent too much time on this installing and uninstalling of OS's. However, I'm not too happy with the idea of relying on only one distro -even if L.Mint seems to have a strong foundation and good support, they could suffer some kind of hacking attempt as has already happened to them in the past. I would ideally like to have two more Debian derivatives on this PC if only they could peacefully coexist with what is already installed, without any negative consequence for any of the distributions.

Once again, thank you very much.

[htx80nerd]

Please go to root terminal and type

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fdisk -l

-l is for list

then copy/paste the results

[Charlie Brown]

@albert_657

In a nutshell: You can share one swap partition, but you just need to pay attention to not reformat it (especially during installation(s) ), otherwise its uuid gets changed (re-created) and the related entries in all other distros become wrong, consequently they (fstab) begin to look for an inexisting number/partition every boot.

[albert_657]

@Charlie Brown

Most interesting your observation, thanks for sharing your knowledge. You went right to the point with it.

Well, after all this time I've succeeded in installing refind and I'm once again using MX KDE now.

Once again thank you all.

[tascoast]

Having just installed and tested six or more distros, keeping MX-23.2 as the owner of Grub can be challenging, with each distro's installer being sub-optimal to MX in my opinion. I say that mostly for the clarity and ease of use in selecting install partitions, swap etc. I did notice a couple of distro installs seemed particularly keen on formatting a Swap file v just offering to use existing, or something like that.