Failed to start mysql.service: Unit mysql.service is masked.

If you encounter the error “Failed to start mysql.service: Unit mysql.service is masked.”, you can try the following steps to fix it.

This typically happens when mysql.service is linked to /dev/null.

1. Remove old database setup:

   rm -r /var/lib/mysql*

2. Install a new database system:

   mysql_install_db -u mysql

3. Unmask the service:
   This will re-enable the service for systemd.

   systemctl unmask mysql.service

4. Start the service:

   service mysql start