System Recovery

Learn how to recover your Debian 13 system from various failures and restore functionality.

🆘 Boot Recovery

GRUB Recovery

# Boot from GRUB rescue mode
grub> ls
grub> set root=(hd0,gpt2)
grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda2
grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img
grub> boot

# Reinstall GRUB
sudo grub-install /dev/sda
sudo update-grub

Single User Mode

# Boot to single user mode
# At GRUB, press 'e' and add 'single' to kernel line
# Or add 'init=/bin/bash'

# Remount root as writable
mount -o remount,rw /

# Fix issues and reboot
reboot

💾 File System Recovery

Check and Repair File Systems

# Check file system (unmount first)
sudo umount /dev/sda1
sudo fsck /dev/sda1

# Force check
sudo fsck -f /dev/sda1

# Automatic repair
sudo fsck -y /dev/sda1

Recovery from Live USB

# Boot from Live USB
# Mount damaged system
sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi

# Chroot into system
sudo chroot /mnt

# Perform repairs
apt update
apt install --reinstall grub-efi
update-grub

# Exit and reboot
exit
sudo umount /mnt/boot/efi
sudo umount /mnt
reboot

🔧 System Repair

Package System Recovery

# Fix broken packages
sudo apt --fix-broken install

# Reconfigure packages
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -a

# Reinstall critical packages
sudo apt install --reinstall systemd

User Access Recovery

# Reset user password from recovery mode
passwd username

# Fix sudo access
usermod -aG sudo username

# Reset permissions
chown -R username:username /home/username

📚 Related Resources

• Installation Issues - Installation problems
• FAQ - Common questions
• System Configuration - System setup

System recovered? Return to normal operation →