# Kernel update leads to mismatched versions causing failure to mount /efi cleanly **URL:** \ **Category:** Newbie\ **Created:** [September 4, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288 "2026-09-04T15:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/LunarRaider)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/1 "2026-09-04T15:49:36Z")
OS: EndeavourOS x86\_64 Kernel: Linux 7.2.2-arch1-1 Sorry if any information is missing or unclear, I am new to linux and writing posts in general. Iโ€™m not sure which logs would be relevant to debug this problem, nor what else to do to resolve this. Any help would be very appreciated~! ๐Ÿฉท After updating my system with `yay -Syu` (specifically when I have a kernel update, not every time I update with `yay`) and then reboot my machine, I get booted to emergency mode with the Error `Failed to Mount /efi` When I check the running kernel version `uname -r` against the installed module `/usr/lib/modules` it is always mismatched. The running kernel version is the previous version. so `uname` will show 7.2.1 when I have 7.2.2 installed. My temporary workaround to get back into my desktop is to manually generate initramfs specifically matching the latest installed module. After checking the newest version in `/usr/lib/modules` I will run `dracut --force /boot/initramfs-linux.img ` and then regenerate GRUB with `grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg`. Then `systemctl reboot` to get back into my system. THIS IS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX. It works until I update kernel again. As I tried to find a more permanent solution I first checked my fstab file(failing to mount usually means that itโ€™s not listed, right?) However it is correctly labeled in the fstab file. (Mount point is labeled `/efi`, the spacing matches all other drives, the UUID is accurate). `# /etc/fstab: static file system information. ` `# ` `# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a device; this may ` `# be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices that works even if ` `# disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). ` `# ` `# ` `UUID=8602-4A5F /efi vfat fmask=0137,dmask=0027 0 0 ` `UUID=ce054187-2773-4e71-8cd4-397f0475c5f3 / ext4 noatime 0 1 ` `tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,mode=1777 0 0 ` `# Seagate Green Data ` `# UUID=54B8BCCEB8BCAFBA /mnt/extraSpc ntfs noatime 0 2 ` `# 1TB Drive ` `UUID=ad88eaeb-d3b0-4fdd-9e84-98e5680c3772 /mnt/mysterio ext4 noatime 0 2` I checked the space on `/efi` and noticed it was at 100% capacity due to leftover kernel builds stored inside a `machine-id` folder: `/efi/061c772df87947eaa7b630fcc5224297/`. My theory is that it failed to properly update because the partition was at max capacity with 1.5GB of old data. So I removed the directory with the stale kernel/initramfs images from `/efi` to clear out the space for modern dracut builds, thus freeing up 1.6GB of storage. Finally as a last precaution I removed old `initramfs-linux*.img` files directly under `/efi` that were timestamped from a month ago just so GRUB wouldnโ€™t default to them. (Mind you I kept anything that was timestamped yesterday, ie the day I was running updates/rebuilding) After this I went to rebuild kernels and update the bootloader config once again using `reinstall-kernels` and `grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg` to place fresh `vmlinuz-linux` and `initramfs-linux.img` files back into `/boot`. All this to say it didnโ€™t work, it failed to mount `/efi` again and I had to run the same temporary fix (Checked mismatch using `uname -r` and `ls /usr/lib/modules`. Ran `dracut --force /boot/initramfs-linux.img `. Regenerated GRUB: `grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg`. Rebooted.) to get back into my system once again. While the manual `dracut` command is a great band-aid fix, it doesnโ€™t solve the problem at the root as it still fails to cleanly mount /efi with the newly installed modules. Iโ€™ve read a few threads on here to try and answer/add as much relevant info: 1. **The most common cause is dual-booting Windows -** I do not have dual-booting with Windows setup 2. **What** **is the output of** `pacman -Q | grep -E "(dracut|mkinitcpio)"` **`dracut`** `112_eos-1` `kernel-install-for-` **`dracut`** ` 1.14.2-1` 1. **What is the output of** `findmnt --real` ```bash TARGET SOURCE FSTYPE OPTIONS / /dev/nvme0n1p2 ext4 rw,noatime โ”œโ”€/mnt/mysterio โ”‚ /dev/sda1 ext4 rw,noatime โ””โ”€/efi /dev/nvme0n1p1 vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0137,dmask=0027,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=r ``` 1. **What is the output of** `bootctl status` ```bash Failed to read "/efi/EFI/systemd": Permission denied Failed to open '/efi/loader/loader.conf': Permission denied System: Firmware: n/a (n/a) Firmware Arch: x64 Secure Boot: disabled TPM2 Support: no Measured UKI: no Measured OS: no Boot into FW: supported Platform Lang: en_US.UTF-8 Current Boot Loader: Product: GRUB 2.14 Features: โœ— Boot counting โœ— Menu timeout control โœ— One-shot menu timeout control โœ— Default entry control โœ— One-shot entry control โœ— Support for XBOOTLDR partition โœ— Support for passing random seed to OS โœ— Load drop-in drivers โœ— Support Type #1 sort-key field โœ— Support@saved@saved pseudo-entry โœ— Support Type #1 devicetree field โœ— Enroll SecureBoot keys โœ— Retain SHIM protocols โœ— Menu can be disabled โœ— Multi-Profile UKIs are supported โœ— Loader reports network boot URL โœ— Support Type #1 uki field โœ— Support Type #1 uki-url field โœ— Loader reports active TPM2 PCR banks โœ— Loader reports firmware keyboard layout โœ— Loader measures SMBIOS information Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/30e85aa0-114a-4e53-b27b-96b02398d661 Random Seed: System Token: set Exists: Can't access /efi/loader/random-seed (Permission denied) Available Boot Loaders on ESP: ESP: /efi (/dev/disk/by-partuuid/30e85aa0-114a-4e53-b27b-96b02398d661) File: (can't access /efi: Permission denied) Boot Loaders Listed in EFI Variables: Title: EndeavourOS ID: 0x0000 Status: active, boot-order Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/30e85aa0-114a-4e53-b27b-96b02398d661 File: โ””โ”€/efi//EFI/EndeavourOS/grubx64.efi Title: UEFI OS ID: 0x0001 Status: active, boot-order Partition: /dev/disk/by-partuuid/30e85aa0-114a-4e53-b27b-96b02398d661 File: โ””โ”€/efi//EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI ``` Hope this explains everything clearly and apologies if I missed anything ๐Ÿ™ **EDIT** : Fixed formatting (again ๐Ÿ˜“) ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/2 "2026-09-04T16:04:54Z")
> [@LunarRaider](#): > > File: โ””โ”€/efi//EFI/EndeavourOS/grubx64.efi Welcome to the forum :enos_flag: :enos: Donโ€™t know how it happened but the above looks really strange, this is how it looks on my end. ```auto File: โ””โ”€/boot/efi//EFI/endeavouros/grubx64.efi ``` BTW please use the \ button to format the text as you can see above, makes it easier to read . ---
**Author:** ![LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/LunarRaider)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/3 "2026-09-04T16:13:39Z")
Hrmm, this isnโ€™t the first time my system broke, so itโ€™s entirely plausible that while โ€œfixingโ€ those bugs in the past, I ended up setting up my boot dir incorrectly. ๐Ÿค” Any theories on how I can fix this? Is it as easy as creating `boot` dir, moving `/efi` into it, and editing my `fstab`? Iโ€™m assuming I also would need to `reinstall-kernels` and update grub cfg. I was about to ask how you did that formatting, thanks Iโ€™ll edit the post to fix that! ๐Ÿฉท ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/4 "2026-09-04T16:18:35Z")
This two wikiโ€™s might be your friend. [https://discovery.endeavouros.com/system-rescue/repair-a-non-booting-grub/2021/03/](https://discovery.endeavouros.com/system-rescue/repair-a-non-booting-grub/2021/03/) [https://discovery.endeavouros.com/system-rescue/arch-chroot/2022/12/](https://discovery.endeavouros.com/system-rescue/arch-chroot/2022/12/) ---
**Author:** ![LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LunarRaider](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/LunarRaider)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/5 "2026-09-25T16:30:50Z")
I kept forgetting to update as iโ€™ve been busy, but for anyone else that may come across this thread I have not found a solution ๐Ÿ˜” The combination of EndeavourOS help sites being down for weeks and needing to use my computer daily, I ended up reinstalling the OS entirely. ---
**Author:** ![UncleSpellbinder](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/unclespellbinder/32/127055_2.png) [@UncleSpellbinder](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/UncleSpellbinder)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/6 "2026-09-25T16:44:40Z")
> [@LunarRaider](#): > > EndeavourOS help sites being down for weeks ![What](https://forum.endeavouros.com/uploads/default/original/3X/c/0/c0057c24c7f489043cb291a4d0217a06a327efbe.gif) ๐Ÿค” ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/7 "2026-09-25T17:38:47Z")
For anyone needing the wiki try this. > **[Discovery](https://web.archive.org/web/20251005191932/https://discovery.endeavouros.com/)** > > Explore and own your Endeavour ---
**Author:** ![Nyan](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/nyan/32/136741_2.png) [@Nyan](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Nyan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/8 "2026-09-25T23:38:29Z")
If your efi partition got mounted to /efi you have systemd-boot, atleast when you installed system. You sure you need to fix grub and not systemd-boot? Also. You should update system with pacman. Especially in problem cases. YAY is not pacman replacement. And using aur can easily breake everything. `sodo pacman -Suy` ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 7:27am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/9 "2026-09-26T07:27:43Z")
So please tell me what is wrong with yay, because I have been using that for donkeys years without any problems. What I am also using sometimes is `sudo pacman -Syu` because I donโ€™t think`sodo pacman -Suy` will work. ๐Ÿ˜€ If you install EOS you have three (3) choices. 1. Systemd (the default setting). 2. Grub 3. No bootloader. As for the AUR , well there have been already a lot of discusions about that, but a given fact is that if it wouldnโ€™t have been there some users with older Nvidia hardware could not use the system at all. On a rolling distro everything can break everything. ---
**Author:** ![Greymane](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/greymane/32/109682_2.png) [@Greymane](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Greymane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 7:42am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/10 "2026-09-26T07:42:13Z")
I also only update with _yay_. I only use s couple package from the AUR but just order it overall. ---
**Author:** ![mbod](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/mbod/32/16833_2.png) [@mbod](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/mbod)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 8:18am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/11 "2026-09-26T08:18:54Z")
> [@LunarRaider](#): > > `# /etc/fstab: static file system information.` > `UUID=8602-4A5F /efi vfat fmask=0137,dmask=0027 0 0` > [@LunarRaider](#): > > `# findmnt --real` > `โ””โ”€/efi /dev/nvme0n1p1 vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0137,dmask=0027,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=r` @LunarRaider : As far as I understand these are not the default mount options. Here is what I have: `UUID=4F01-46D8 /boot vfat defaults,nodev,nosuid,noexec,fmask=0177,dmask=0077,noatime 0 2` `โ”œโ”€/boot /dev/nvme0n1p1 vfat rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fmask=0177,dmask=0077,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro` Have you made changes to it? ---
**Author:** ![keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/keescase/32/114900_2.png) [@keescase](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/keescase)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 8:23am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/kernel-update-leads-to-mismatched-versions-causing-failure-to-mount-efi-cleanly/81288/12 "2026-09-26T08:23:22Z")
Hello folks the topic starter has already reinstalled, so no need to troubleshoot anymore I would say ๐Ÿ˜€