Stuck at boot screen after update

Stuck at boot screen after update

After running sudo pacman -Syu the system was stuck at boot screen.

In this case, the graphics drivers haven't loaded correctly, so the login/display manager (DM) does not start. This is why one could be stuck at a black screen or a

[   OK   ] Started some service

message.

The normal reason for this is that one might have the incorrect driver version for the kernel. This happens when the mirror(s) you are updating from is out of sync and therefore has different package sets in [core] and [extra]. When the extramodule package in [extra] is built for a different kernel point-release than that in [core], then it leads to issues.

Solution

Try entering a text console with CTRL + ALT + F2 , login with normal username and password and then run a full update

sudo pacman-mirrors -f 3
sudo pacman -Syyu

The first command will refresh mirrors, picking three of the most recently updates ones.

The second command will force a download of the current package lists and perform any updated packages are available. If any were updated, reboot.

NOTE: If you can't log in via a text console, use chroot instead.

Solution using chroot

Boot to a live usb media and execute the following

manjaro-chroot -a

This will scan the partitions for signs of an OS. If more than one Linux OS is found you will get to choose which one to chroot into.

NOTE: If something like [0-0] and a warning is returned, choose 1.

Now try the above solution with a forced update and reboot. Proceed if it does not work.

Remove the NVIDIA driver by executing the following

sudo mhwd -r pci video-nvidia

Reboot the machine.

Execute the following

sudo nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

Delete nouveau if present under MODULES="", save and close.

It is now necessary to reconfigure the existing kernal to take this change into account. Execute the following

sudo mkinitcpio -p [linux kernel version]

For example,

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux510

Now, reinstall the NVIDIA driver by executing the following

sudo mhwd -a pci nonfree 0300

Reboot the machine which should now work.