.. title: Entering Recovery Mode in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
.. date: 2017-02-13 08:16
.. tags: linux, ubuntu, systemd
.. slug: ubuntu-16-04-entering-recovery
.. type: text

As described in my post :doc:`ubuntu-16-04-broken-recovery`, it is
currently not possible to use the rescue mode provided by Ubuntu in
the 16.04 LTS version.  Although the bug was confirmed, there is no
visible activity to fix the problem.  Should you still need to use
rescue mode, it is straightforward to enter it manually by way of
providing the correct systemd parameter on the Linux command line.

.. image:: /images/ubuntu-16-04-manual-recovery.png
   :width: 400
   :alt: Preparing for Recovery Mode
   :align: center

.. TEASER_END

To use it, interrupt the regular boot up in GRUB and press "e" to open
the mini editor on the regular boot option. Navigate to the entry
starting with "linux" and append the string
"systemd.unit=recovery.target" at the end as shown in the
screenshot.  When things look good, pressing "F10" will boot using the
new options and drop into the systemd provided rescue mode.  Pressing
Enter will activate a root shell with the regular root file system
mounted read only.

.. image:: /images/ubuntu-16-04-manual-recovery2.png
   :width: 400
   :alt: Recovery Mode
   :align: center