Plymouth backtrace dump on startup, can't boot

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When I boot my laptop, it shows the passphrase (LUKS) prompt for 2-3 seconds, then abruptly changes to a stack trace ending in @usr/bin/plymouthd(_start+0x25). The screen doesn’t respond to any keystrokes, so I have to power off. As I power back on, it skips the prompt, and goes straight to the stack trace.

The laptop is connected to an external monitor with an HDMI cable. If I unplug the cable and power on, it does stay on the passphrase prompt, although it flickers for a moment (I’m reading that this might be due to the GPU drivers loading).

Also, if I boot into an older kernel (6.14.0), it works fine, and there is even no flickering at the prompt. Which leads me to believe that the issue is with the kernel.

I have not been able to debug this at all:

  • When the stack trace is shown, the screen doesn’t respond to Esc, ArrowUp/Down, or the mouse, so I can’t scroll up. It won’t bring up the tty either (Ctrl+Alt+F2/3/4).
  • When I use a workaround (see above) to boot and log in, journalctl -b -1 shows the last working boot, not the failed one when plymouth crashed. Its timestamp doesn’t appear in the list: journalctl --list-boots.
  • Likewise, /var/log/boot.log only shows successful boots; everything starts with OK.
  • sudo dmesg | grep -i error doesn’t show anything relevant.
  • Setting plymouth.use-simpledrm=0 has no effect.

My system:

  • Fedora 42 Workstation
  • Kernel: 6.14.9-300.fc42.x86_64
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H
  • iGPU: AMD Radeon Graphics 448SP
  • dGPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
  • Driver: amdgpu / nouveau
  • Session: Wayland

I have not installed the proprietary Nvidia drivers due to issues in prior Fedora releases.

2

Many have seen better performance, especially when booting, if using the nvidia drivers from rpmfusion.
I have no issues at all with my nvidia 1660 ti on my laptop using nvidia.