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A Ubuntu 18.04 LTS server VM has entered Read-Only Mode, to the point that basic commands such as ls are not executed anymore, and return the error message -bash: /usr/bin/ls: Input/output error, even for root.

A Read-only state is usually fixed by executing a disk check (fsck) or remounting the partitions (remount), but none of these commands can be called.

It being a VM, booting from an external disk is not an option.

At present, there is connectivity over ssh to the VM, but I fear the connectivity will be lost after a reboot. Does anyone have any idea of something to try, before rebooting as a last resort?

Thanks

PalomaLVP
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    boot from a rescue disc – Gerald Schneider Sep 14 '21 at 10:49
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    ...and have your backups ready. This is not so much "read-only mode" as "having a corrupted filesystem". Depending on how badly the filesystem is damaged, `fsck` might not be able to repair all the damage. Also, it might worth figuring out what caused the corruption in the first place. – Lacek Sep 14 '21 at 10:53
  • @GeraldSchneider - rescue disk is not an option, but thanks. – PalomaLVP Sep 15 '21 at 11:04
  • @Lacek Indeed, I quite agree, it's a filesystem issue. But it happened on a VM deployed on a range for which I'm not administrator. Being about the lowest in the hierarchy of the pack, I just have to suck it up .. But thanks anyway. – PalomaLVP Sep 15 '21 at 11:06

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For future reference: After further degradation of the state of the machine, nothing was possible but to reboot. After reboot, fsck was accessible, and fixed the most pregnant issue. So -> reboot, fsck.

PalomaLVP
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