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First off I’m still new to Linux :)

Anyways, I’ve been on Ubuntu MATE 17.10 for about 2 months now and lately I’ve been seeing a common error upon startup called the initramfs error. Now this has happened about 4-5 times and each time I resolve it by a fix I found online: 

sudo fsck -f /dev/sda7

Now I know I should’ve done something to figure out why I keep seeing this initramfs error but I’ve been way too busy with work and other responsibilities so anyways, this happens again yesterday but something seemed off. When I typed in my usual fix (above) it said sudo was not a recognised command lol anyways it continued to work without typing in sudo and fixed whatever errors were there and then I rebooted.

That was when I noticed the WiFi icon had disappeared, so I can’t connect to the internet. I’ve tried connecting to a hotspot via Bluetooth but that didn’t work either (I think that’s a separate Bluetooth issue cuz my laptop is really old). I should also mention that I don’t have access to an Ethernet connection.

What do I do? I desperately need to use my laptop ASAP so some urgent help would be ideal!

I have tried some fixes online where I tried to connect to a WiFi via the terminal but they haven’t worked out either.

Hoping to learn something out of this :) Edit:

Zanna
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Nahid
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1 Answers1

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Based on the way you've been working around this issue in the past, I would bet money on a failing hard drive being the culprit. At this point the damage may be too severe for a simple fsck to resolve. You might get some indication by checking SMART status of the drive in question. Passing a SMART test doesn't guarantee that a drive isn't failing but failing one is pretty definitive.

Elder Geek
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