[3.2rc1] Installer boot error '/dev/root' does not exist

[Chris Laprise]

I've tried this on 2 USB sticks (a USB2 and USB3) and I'm not able to
boot the new installer from either one. Apparently it can't find the
filesystem it needs to transition from the initramfs root.

The iso was verified with gpg and written to the drives with plain 'dd
if=isoimage of=dev/sdb'.

So I'm wondering if there is a simple fix to this or if I'll have to
start digging through the rd log.

Chris

[Chris Laprise]

Looking in the rdsos log, I noticed the partitions of my internal drive
were enumerated (sda1, sda2, etc), but not the partitions of the USB
sticks--only sdb is shown.

Also, when I look at the USB sticks with fdisk it sees 2 partitions, but
parted sees only one (32MB in size).

Chris

[Marek Marczykowski-Górecki]

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Hash: SHA256

On Sat, Jun 25, 2016 at 05:21:27AM -0400, Chris Laprise wrote:
>
>
> On 06/24/2016 08:25 PM, Chris Laprise wrote:
> > I've tried this on 2 USB sticks (a USB2 and USB3) and I'm not able to
> > boot the new installer from either one. Apparently it can't find the
> > filesystem it needs to transition from the initramfs root.
> >
> > The iso was verified with gpg and written to the drives with plain 'dd
> > if=isoimage of=dev/sdb'.
> >
> > So I'm wondering if there is a simple fix to this or if I'll have to
> > start digging through the rd log.
> >
> > Chris
> >
>
> Looking in the rdsos log, I noticed the partitions of my internal drive were
> enumerated (sda1, sda2, etc), but not the partitions of the USB sticks--only
> sdb is shown.

Check its label (`blkid`). And if it matches the one on kernel command
line (/proc/cmdline).

> Also, when I look at the USB sticks with fdisk it sees 2 partitions, but
> parted sees only one (32MB in size).

Partition layout on installation media is intentionally somehow "non
standard" (to support any installation type from the same image). So
parted may display it that way.

- --
Best Regards,
Marek Marczykowski-Górecki
Invisible Things Lab
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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[Chris Laprise]

On 06/25/2016 07:10 AM, Marek Marczykowski-Górecki wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA256
>
> On Sat, Jun 25, 2016 at 05:21:27AM -0400, Chris Laprise wrote:
>>
>> On 06/24/2016 08:25 PM, Chris Laprise wrote:
>>> I've tried this on 2 USB sticks (a USB2 and USB3) and I'm not able to
>>> boot the new installer from either one. Apparently it can't find the
>>> filesystem it needs to transition from the initramfs root.
>>>
>>> The iso was verified with gpg and written to the drives with plain 'dd
>>> if=isoimage of=dev/sdb'.
>>>
>>> So I'm wondering if there is a simple fix to this or if I'll have to
>>> start digging through the rd log.
>>>
>>> Chris
>>>
>> Looking in the rdsos log, I noticed the partitions of my internal drive were
>> enumerated (sda1, sda2, etc), but not the partitions of the USB sticks--only
>> sdb is shown.
> Check its label (`blkid`). And if it matches the one on kernel command
> line (/proc/cmdline).

They are identical. However, the USB stick partitions still cannot be
seen by the installer environment: /dev has an sdb but no partitions.

I tried turning off USB3 mode in BIOS, but it had no effect.

I also downloaded the fedora 23 live cd and the netinst images to try
them out. They both boot up fine on USB sticks.

What does work is booting from DVD. But then I have another problem
where it won't see USB sticks as destinations at all. It doesn't matter
if I plug them in before or after booting. So I cannot try out 3.2rc1
either /from/ or /to/ a USB drive.

Chris

[Chris Laprise]

Here's a prior thread with the same error message:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/Zu4i5kUWva8

You also mentioned he didn't have Qubes media visible, which is
basically my problem.

Although I'm not using UEFI, I'm wondering if I should try his solution,
though I'm not sure how to go about it.

Chris

[Chris Laprise]

More info, Marek...

When I try to scan the /dev/sdb device with partx, it says the device is
not readable or not valid device.

When I plug in another USB stick, the partitions are enumerated as
/dev/sdc1 etc. but they cannot be mounted (devices are unreadable).

From dmesg, these errors occur right before the /dev/root error and
stoppage:

scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access Samsung Flash Drive 1100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
sd 6:0:0:0: alua: supports implicit and explicit TPGS
sd 6:0:0:0: alua: No target port descriptors found
sd 6:0:0:0: alua: Attach failed (-22)
sd 6:0:0:0: Failed to add device handler: -22
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] ...several lines with drive size and flags...
(trace dump occurs)

This thread says disabling 'alua' module (scsi_dh_alua?) can resolve the
issue:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-hardware-18/corsair-flash-voyager-slider-usb-memory-stick-fails-to-attach-4175572901/

Should 'alua' even be present? AFAIK it is for large infrastructure.
Fedora installer does not seem to enable it by default.

Chris

[Marek Marczykowski-Górecki]

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Indeed looks like something unnecessary on desktop system.
Try adding this to kernel command line:

rd.driver.blacklist=scsi_dh_alua

- --
Best Regards,
Marek Marczykowski-Górecki
Invisible Things Lab
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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[Chris Laprise]

OK, I'll try.

Bugzilla issue: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1288687

Chris

[Chris Laprise]

On 06/26/2016 06:50 AM, Marek Marczykowski-Górecki wrote:

This didn't work. Is that module compiled as integral to the kernel?

I was able to rmmod scsi_dh_alua in the CLI, and this allowed newly
attached drives to be accessed. But I could not get the boot process to
continue.

The bugzilla issue points to a patch against scsi_sysfs.c but it
shouldn't be necessary if the alua module is excluded.

Chris

[rvalle]

I am having the same problem. I am trying to apply this boot option, and test if it works.

But, how do you do it? Sorry this question might be too basic.

Editing the boot command in Grub shows "...placeholder qubes-verbose" and there options are not accepted.

I don't see any way of editing "qubes-verbose" inside grub command line. I have been googling around and reading Grub documentation and there is no trace of such functionality.

Also mounting and editing the file on the USB seems not possible because it is a read only ISO filesystem.

Surely many qubes users will have to tune a boot parameter at installation time. so, there must be a simple way to do this.

I fear I might have to build a patched ISO for this.

Surely there must be something I am missing.

how can I test this easily?

[matteo....@gmail.com]

i'm having this problem too, and i don't know how to disable alua

[ 8.319 ] dracut-pre-trigger[547]: cat /tmp/dd_disk: No such file or directory
[ OK ] Started Show Plymouth Boot Screen.
[ OK ] Reached target Paths.
[ OK ] Reached target Basic System.
BLOCKS HERE
[ 14.014 ] sd 7:0:0:0:0: alua: Attach failed (-22)
[ 14.016 ] sd 7:0:0:0:0: [sdf] Asking for cache data failed
[ 14.016 ] sd 7:0:0:0:0: [sdf] Assuming drive cache: write through
If i boot in "basic graphic mode" additional 3 lines are displayed and again blocked.
this happens on two computers
if i press tab and at the and i add blacklist alua line nothing change (not sure is the right way to do it)
i'd like to use new qubes os release but can't install it right now

[raah...@gmail.com]

^ I have this exact problem trying to install 3.2 rc1 iso. [ 8.319 ] dracut-pre-trigger[547]: cat /tmp/dd_disk: No such file or directory

[Marek Marczykowski-Górecki]

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R3.2-rc2 is planned for this week and it will contains patch for this
problem.

- --
Best Regards,
Marek Marczykowski-Górecki
Invisible Things Lab
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
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