Had a hard lock of a new computer I'm setting up. Instinctively, I did SysRq + REISUB as I've been thought, then continued troubleshooting. Figured that maybe not everyone knows about this rescue command :)
The Wikipedia page isn't great, here's a TLDR for forcing a clean shutdown, even if the computer locked up, as long as the kernel is still alive:
- Hold the SysRq key and press this sequence of keys, with a short pause between each:
- R = switch keyboard from "raw" mode (so X/Wayland can’t intercept)
- E = send SIGTERM to most processes
- I = send SIGKILL to most processes
- S = sync disks (flush writes)
- U = remount filesystems read-only
- B = immediately reboot (no further shutdown steps)
Mnemonic I personally use, bet others have better ones: "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken", REISUB!
znpy•1h ago
modern computers (and keyboards as well) don't seem to have the SysRQ key at all :(
embedding-shape•57m ago
True! I think it's either "ctrl or alt + screenshot" that serves as an alternative to SysRq. Also could need "fn" depending on your keyboard.
embedding-shape•1h ago
The Wikipedia page isn't great, here's a TLDR for forcing a clean shutdown, even if the computer locked up, as long as the kernel is still alive:
Mnemonic I personally use, bet others have better ones: "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken", REISUB!znpy•1h ago
embedding-shape•57m ago