[SOLVED] halt command freeze system (using systemd)

Question

I've run into a little odd thing with a new arch linux test install. I am trying to learn a little about systemd, and thought the best way was to make a new install on my spare PC.
What I've run into is that using the halt command initiates a shutdown, however after displaying "system halt" on the screen, it just stays there.
sometimes I can hear the harddrive spinning down. That's it. Even after waiting for 8 minutes there is no change.
Using the poweroff command (as described on http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/sy … n_Problems ) works fine?
The reboot command works fine as well.
Looking at the journal I am not able to see anything indicating any problem. (although I may not know what to look for)
Am I overlooking something? Please let me know if you need additional information.
Last edited by madeye (2012-08-05 11:30:41)

Answer 1

see man systemctl:
halt
Shut down and halt the system. This is mostly equivalent to start halt.target but also prints a wall message to all users. If combined with --force shutdown of all running services is skipped, however all processes are killed and all file systems are unmounted or mounted read-only, immediately followed by the system halt. If --force is specified twice the the operation is immediately executed without terminating any processes or unmounting any file systems. This may result in data loss.
poweroff
Shut down and power-off the system. This is mostly equivalent to start poweroff.target but also prints a wall message to all users. If combined with --force shutdown of all running services is skipped, however all processes are killed and all file systems are unmounted or mounted read-only, immediately followed by the powering off. If --force is specified twice the the operation is immediately executed without terminating any processes or unmounting any file systems. This may result in data loss.