How to Bypass the Ubuntu ‘fsck’ Disk Check on Boot (Force Fast Boot)

Every time you boot your Ubuntu Linux machine, the operating system executes a background routine that checks the integrity of your hard drive’s filesystem using the fsck (File System Consistency Check) utility. Usually, this check is incredibly fast and completely invisible.

However, if your system experienced a sudden power loss, a hard crash, or if a specific number of boot cycles has passed, Ubuntu will force a deep, comprehensive disk check before it allows the desktop environment to load. On a massive 4TB mechanical hard drive, this mandatory disk check can literally take twenty minutes, leaving you staring at a black screen with a slowly incrementing percentage counter. If you need to access your PC immediately, you can bypass this check and force a fast boot.

How to Bypass the Ubuntu fsck Disk Check on Boot

You can temporarily bypass the disk check for a single boot by passing a specific parameter to the GRUB bootloader.

1. When you turn on your computer, wait for the BIOS/manufacturer logo to disappear.
2. Immediately press and hold the Shift key (or tap the Esc key repeatedly on newer UEFI systems) to force the GRUB boot menu to appear.
3. Ensure the primary Ubuntu entry is highlighted at the top of the list.
4. Press the letter e on your keyboard. This opens the boot parameter editor.
5. Use your arrow keys to scroll down through the text until you find a line that begins with the word linux. This line is usually quite long and ends with quiet splash.
6. Move your cursor to the very end of this line.
7. Type a single space, and then type the following command exactly as written: fsck.mode=skip
8. The end of your line should now look like this: ... quiet splash fsck.mode=skip.
9. Press Ctrl + X (or F10) to boot the system with this modified parameter.

Ubuntu will immediately bypass the mandatory disk check, ignoring any dirty bit flags on the filesystem, and boot directly to your graphical login screen in seconds. Note: This is a temporary bypass. You should eventually allow fsck to run normally to ensure your hard drive is not actually failing.