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Installer not reading preseed.cfg
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 7, 2013, 6:00:02 PM3/7/13
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hello debian users,
I am trying to understand an issue i'm having with preseed'ing over the network. wondering if anyone has experienced this in the past and/or have a solution to it.
My pxeboot server (running on centos 6.3) runs dhcpd and tftp from where I'm trying to boot and install debian 6.0.7. I’m able to get past the questions on locale, keyboard etc. by using the kernel boot parameters on 'append' line in my pxelinux file. At the end of the list on ‘append’ line, I also have a ‘preseed/url=http://mywebserver/path/to/preseed.cfg’ to get my preseed.cfg from an internal web server.
The issue I’m having is, after the installer correctly sets the locale, keyboard etc as specified on the 'append' line, it just appears to ignore my ‘preseed/url’ parameter and moves on to display the main menu to choose a mirror site (‘ftp.us.debian.org’, etc.).
I can see preseed.cfg being fetched by the installer (as seen in httpd/access.log on the pxeboot server) but it is not really being read.
I wonder if the reason is some kind of a network delay in GET’ting the file by when the installer decides to just move on and show the menu to choose the mirror (?). I'm not sure..
I have spent many hours to fix this issue but without any success.
I really appreciate any feedback, ideas or suggestions that you may have.
Keshav
Brian
Mar 8, 2013, 3:30:02 AM3/8/13
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On Thu 07 Mar 2013 at 16:45:08 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
> I am trying to understand an issue i'm having with preseed'ing over
> the network. wondering if anyone has experienced this in the past
> and/or have a solution to it.
>
> My pxeboot server (running on centos 6.3) runs dhcpd and tftp from
> where I'm trying to boot and install debian 6.0.7. I’m able to get
> past the questions on locale, keyboard etc. by using the kernel boot
> parameters on 'append' line in my pxelinux file. At the end of the
> list on ‘append’ line, I also have a
> ‘preseed/url=http://mywebserver/path/to/preseed.cfg’ to get my
> preseed.cfg from an internal web server.The issue I’m having is, after
> I am trying to understand an issue i'm having with preseed'ing over
> the network. wondering if anyone has experienced this in the past
> and/or have a solution to it.
>
> My pxeboot server (running on centos 6.3) runs dhcpd and tftp from
> where I'm trying to boot and install debian 6.0.7. I’m able to get
> past the questions on locale, keyboard etc. by using the kernel boot
> parameters on 'append' line in my pxelinux file. At the end of the
> list on ‘append’ line, I also have a
> ‘preseed/url=http://mywebserver/path/to/preseed.cfg’ to get my
> the installer correctly sets the locale, keyboard etc as specified on
> the 'append' line, it just appears to ignore my ‘preseed/url’
> parameter and moves on to display the main menu to choose a mirror
> site (‘ftp.us.debian.org’, etc.).
This would imply preseeding might have set up networking. Has it? In a
> the 'append' line, it just appears to ignore my ‘preseed/url’
> parameter and moves on to display the main menu to choose a mirror
> site (‘ftp.us.debian.org’, etc.).
console (ALT-F2) do
wget www.debian.org
and post the response.
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 8, 2013, 7:30:02 AM3/8/13
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> This would imply preseeding might have set up networking. Has it?
Networking is setup by the kernel boot parameters that are on the 'append' line. It looks like this:
append initrd=Debian-6.0.7-amd64/netboot/initrd.gz interface=eth1 domain=mydomain netcfg/get_nameservers=x.x.x.x netcfg/get_hostname=myhostname locale=en_US debian-installer/country=US debian-installer/language=en debian-installer/keymap=us console-keymaps-at/keymap="American English" auto=true priority=critical preseed/url=http://192.168.1.12/anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg
There are two interfaces (eth0 and eth1) on the client. eth1 is connected to the pxeboot server, which is an internal setup (hence the 'interface=eth1' on append line to fetch preseed.cfg). eth0 goes out to the Internet thru' a proxy (which is defined in my preseed.cfg).
I added the other boot parameters (domain=, get_hostname, locale, etc.) on 'append' line so that these questions are not asked by the installer. It works as expected. That is, all these questions are skipped when I boot but it then starts connecting to ftp.us.debian.org for some reason..
Mar 8 11:40:12 kdb-chooser[2338]: INFO: kdb_chooser: setting keymap us
Mar 8 11:40:12 main-menu[320]: DEBUG: resolver (libc6-udeb): package doesn't exist (ignored)
Mar 8 11:40:12 main-menu[320]: INFO: Menu item 'choose-mirror' selected
Mar 8 11:40:12 anna-install: Queueing udeb apt-mirror-setup for later installation
Mar 8 11:40:12 choose-mirror[2364]: DEBUG: command: wget -q http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/Release -O - | grep -E '^(Suite|Codename):'
Does 'DEBUG: resolver (libc6-udeb): package doesn't exist (ignored)' line has got to do anything? not sure..
Here you go:
wget: bad address 'www.debian.org'
~ #
It fails because wget is trying to access thro' eth1 (configured on the append line) which is internal only. So, it fails to connect to www.debian.org. Connection to the mirror site ftp.us.debian.org (shown above) also fails for the same reason.
I have debian ISO (4GB size, not the netinstall version) extracted on the server which I want to use for the installation. I have the location for the extracted ISO as well as for interface eth0 defined in preseed.cfg but is never read by the installer:
extract from preseed.cfg:
d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
d-i mirror/protocol string http
d-i mirror/http/hostname string 192.168.1.12
d-i mirror/http/directory string /Debian-6.0.7-amd64/debian/
but as I mentioned before, preseed.cfg is fetched but never used:
192.168.1.199 - - [08/Mar/2013:06:36:37 -0500] "GET /anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg HTTP/1.1" 200 1483 "-" "Wget"
Keshav
> Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2013 08:23:24 +0000
> From: ad...@cityscape.co.uk
> To: debia...@lists.debian.org
> Subject: Re: Installer not reading preseed.cfg
> From: ad...@cityscape.co.uk
> To: debia...@lists.debian.org
> Subject: Re: Installer not reading preseed.cfg
David Sastre Medina
Mar 8, 2013, 9:30:02 AM3/8/13
to
On Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 06:21:39AM -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
>
> > This would imply preseeding might have set up networking. Has it?
> Networking is setup by the kernel boot parameters that are on the 'append' line. It looks like this:
> append initrd=Debian-6.0.7-amd64/netboot/initrd.gz interface=eth1 domain=mydomain netcfg/get_nameservers=x.x.x.x netcfg/get_hostname=myhostname locale=en_US debian-installer/country=US debian-installer/language=en debian-installer/keymap=us console-keymaps-at/keymap="American English" auto=true priority=critical preseed/url=http://192.168.1.12/anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg
This is a snippet of what I use in the tftp server side, adapt it to your needs:
>
> > This would imply preseeding might have set up networking. Has it?
> Networking is setup by the kernel boot parameters that are on the 'append' line. It looks like this:
> append initrd=Debian-6.0.7-amd64/netboot/initrd.gz interface=eth1 domain=mydomain netcfg/get_nameservers=x.x.x.x netcfg/get_hostname=myhostname locale=en_US debian-installer/country=US debian-installer/language=en debian-installer/keymap=us console-keymaps-at/keymap="American English" auto=true priority=critical preseed/url=http://192.168.1.12/anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg
label debian6_64
menu label Install - ^Debian Wheezy 64
kernel debian-installer/amd64/linux
initrd debian-installer/amd64/initrd.gz
append locale=en_US.UTF-8 console-keymaps-at/keymap=es auto=true priority=critical url=http://10.0.0.2/preseed.cfg
Note it's not 'preseed/url', but 'url' alone.
Hope it's useful.
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Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 11:40:02 AM3/8/13
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Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 11:40:02 AM3/8/13
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On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 7:21 AM, keshav prabhakar <kes...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Networking is setup by the kernel boot parameters that are on the 'append'
> line. It looks like this:
>
> append initrd=Debian-6.0.7-amd64/netboot/initrd.gz interface=eth1
> domain=mydomain netcfg/get_nameservers=x.x.x.x
> netcfg/get_hostname=myhostname locale=en_US debian-installer/country=US
> debian-installer/language=en debian-installer/keymap=us
> console-keymaps-at/keymap="American English" auto=true priority=critical
> preseed/url=http://192.168.1.12/anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg
>
> There are two interfaces (eth0 and eth1) on the client. eth1 is connected to
> the pxeboot server, which is an internal setup (hence the 'interface=eth1'
> on append line to fetch preseed.cfg). eth0 goes out to the Internet thru' a
> proxy (which is defined in my preseed.cfg).
>
> I added the other boot parameters (domain=, get_hostname, locale, etc.) on
> 'append' line so that these questions are not asked by the installer. It
> works as expected. That is, all these questions are skipped when I boot but
> it then starts connecting to ftp.us.debian.org for some reason..
Please bottom-post.
>
> Networking is setup by the kernel boot parameters that are on the 'append'
> line. It looks like this:
>
> append initrd=Debian-6.0.7-amd64/netboot/initrd.gz interface=eth1
> domain=mydomain netcfg/get_nameservers=x.x.x.x
> netcfg/get_hostname=myhostname locale=en_US debian-installer/country=US
> debian-installer/language=en debian-installer/keymap=us
> console-keymaps-at/keymap="American English" auto=true priority=critical
> preseed/url=http://192.168.1.12/anaconda/cfg/preseed.cfg
>
> There are two interfaces (eth0 and eth1) on the client. eth1 is connected to
> the pxeboot server, which is an internal setup (hence the 'interface=eth1'
> on append line to fetch preseed.cfg). eth0 goes out to the Internet thru' a
> proxy (which is defined in my preseed.cfg).
>
> I added the other boot parameters (domain=, get_hostname, locale, etc.) on
> 'append' line so that these questions are not asked by the installer. It
> works as expected. That is, all these questions are skipped when I boot but
> it then starts connecting to ftp.us.debian.org for some reason..
When you define "interface=eth1" in your "append" statement, the
entire installation's meant to be done via this NIC. I doubt that you
can switch the NICs around via your preseed file as you're trying to
do - as is evidenced by the fact that d-i tries to contact debian.org
via your internal NIC.
Perhaps you can add "d-i netcfg/choose_interface seen false" then "d-i
netcfg/choose_interface select eth0" to your preseed file to switch
the NICs. I've never used "<anything> seen false" so this might not be
the correct use for it. AFAIK, it's used for you to be prompted for
that value not to reset it in order to pass it through the same
preseed file.
You might also want to add "DEBCONF_DEBUG=5" to the "append" line to
get more information about the failure but the latter's cause seems
quite clear nonetheless.
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 8, 2013, 2:10:02 PM3/8/13
to
Thanks for responding.
> When you define "interface=eth1" in your "append" statement, the
> entire installation's meant to be done via this NIC. I doubt that you
> can switch the NICs around via your preseed file as you're trying to
> do - as is evidenced by the fact that d-i tries to contact debian.org
> via your internal NIC.
> entire installation's meant to be done via this NIC. I doubt that you
> can switch the NICs around via your preseed file as you're trying to
> do - as is evidenced by the fact that d-i tries to contact debian.org
> via your internal NIC.
I wasn't really trying to switch the NICs but just wanted to configure eth0 with an IP, gateway etc. so that when the installation is complete, I would be able to ssh to it from my management network. Anyway, I commented out the that line in preseed.cfg so there's no confusion:
#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
and continue having these lines to use my internal server as the mirror:
d-i mirror/protocol string http
d-i mirror/http/hostname string 192.168.1.12
d-i mirror/http/directory string /Debian-6.0.7-amd64/debian/
well, it just tries to connect to ftp.us.debian.org anyway.
>
> Perhaps you can add "d-i netcfg/choose_interface seen false" then "d-i
> netcfg/choose_interface select eth0" to your preseed file to switch
> the NICs. I've never used "<anything> seen false" so this might not be
> the correct use for it. AFAIK, it's used for you to be prompted for
> that value not to reset it in order to pass it through the same
> preseed file.
> Perhaps you can add "d-i netcfg/choose_interface seen false" then "d-i
> netcfg/choose_interface select eth0" to your preseed file to switch
> the NICs. I've never used "<anything> seen false" so this might not be
> the correct use for it. AFAIK, it's used for you to be prompted for
> that value not to reset it in order to pass it through the same
> preseed file.
I have disconnected eth0 for now and removed it from preseed.cfg so I guess this shouldn't matter (?)
>
> You might also want to add "DEBCONF_DEBUG=5" to the "append" line to
> get more information about the failure but the latter's cause seems
> quite clear nonetheless.
>
added it and saw that it infact is trying to connect to ftp.us.debian.org. I have no idea where it is getting it from:
debconf: --> GET mirror/http/hostname
debconf: <-- 0 ftp.us.debian.org
debconf: <-- 0 ftp.us.debian.org
(I guess '0' indicates it couldn't find a preseed value and falling back to using default, which is ftp.us.debian.org?)
Thanks again for your time!
Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 6:50:02 PM3/8/13
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Back to square one...
Can you wget your preseed file from a d-i console?
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Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 6:50:02 PM3/8/13
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 8, 2013, 8:00:02 PM3/8/13
to
> Back to square one...
>
> Can you wget your preseed file from a d-i console?
>
> Can you wget your preseed file from a d-i console?
yes, the preseed file downloads successfully with wget. This was the next thing I tried after `wget http://www.debian.org` but missed mentioning before.
keshav prabhakar
Mar 8, 2013, 8:10:01 PM3/8/13
to
> Also 1483 seems like a very small preseed file.
It is.
# ls -l preseed_Debian-6.0.7.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1488 Mar 8 14:00 preseed_Debian-6.0.7.cfg
# more preseed_Debian-6.0.7.cfg
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_timeout string 60
#d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
#d-i console-keymaps-at/keymap select us
#d-i keyboard-configuration/xkb-keymap select us
#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
#d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string x.x.x.x
#d-i netcfg/get_hostname string myhostname
#d-i netcfg/get_domain string mydomain
#d-i netcfg/get_hostname seen true
#d-i netcfg/get_domain seen true
#d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string y.y.y.y
#d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.x.x.x
#d-i netcfg/get_gateway string z.z.z.z
#d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true
d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string
#d-i mirror/country string US
d-i mirror/protocol string http
d-i mirror/http/hostname string 192.168.1.12
d-i mirror/http/directory string /Debian-6.0.7-amd64/debian/
d-i passwd/make-user boolean false
d-i passwd/root-password password pppp
d-i passwd/root-password-again password pppp
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
d-i time/zone string US/Eastern
d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean true
d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda
d-i partman-auto/method string lvm
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select home
d-i base-installer/kernel/linux/initramfs-generators string initramfs-tools
d-i base-installer/kernel/image string linux-image-2.6-486
d-i debian-installer/allow_unauthenticated boolean true
d-i finish-install/keep-consoles boolean true
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note
#
Do you see anything missing? The first few lines are commented out because I'm using most of them as the boot params on 'append' line.
Brian
Mar 8, 2013, 8:40:01 PM3/8/13
to
On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
The first post at
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
further at
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
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> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
The first post at
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
further at
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
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Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 10:20:01 PM3/8/13
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and
d-i mirror/suite string stable
or
d-i mirror/suite string squeeze
or
d-i mirror/codename string squeeze
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Tom H
Mar 8, 2013, 10:30:02 PM3/8/13
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On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
>>
>> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
>
> The first post at
>
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
>
> is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
> further at
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
>
> The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
When it comes to d-i and preseed, Debian and Ubuntu are the same,
> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
>>
>> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
>
> The first post at
>
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
>
> is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
> further at
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
>
> The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
except for the version names and the installation of a basic system
(Debian's is "d-i tasksel/first multiselect system" and Ubuntu's is
"d-i tasksel/first multiselect standard").
I've never tried it but I think that you can even use kickseed with
Debian's d-i.
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Tom H
Mar 9, 2013, 4:40:01 AM3/9/13
to
You'll need "d-i partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true" and
possibly "d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true" too.
What does this preseed config install? A base install or a desktop
install? If it's a desktop install, you'll only be able to log in to a
console because you're not creating a non-root user.
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Tom H
Mar 9, 2013, 6:50:02 AM3/9/13
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I don't have a repository or a pxe server so I did them booted from a
wheezy iso, and typing in the url and co stuff at the kernel line.
Not specifying a task creates a desktop install (so I restricted the
second test to the standard task for the sake of speed).
For the first test, I added "d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean
true" and "d-i partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true" but that
wasn't enough to have an automatic install.
For the second (successful) test, I added "d-i
partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true" and "d-i
partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true" as well "d-i
partman/choose_partition select finish".
<begin_preseed>
# preseeded by both of us at the cmdline
d-i auto-install/enable boolean true
d-i debconf/priority select critical
d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth1
################
# preseeded by you at the cmdline
d-i debian-installer/country string US
d-i debian-installer/keymap string us
d-i debian-installer/language string en
d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
d-i console-keymaps-at/keymap string us
d-i netcfg/get_domain string h0665.int
d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 8.8.8.8
d-i netcfg/get_hostname string tom
################
# your preseed file - rearranged so it's clearer to my eyes
#d-i debconf/priority select critical
# not needed for a regular install
#d-i debian-installer/allow_unauthenticated boolean true
#d-i debian-installer/country string US
#d-i debian-installer/keymap string us
#d-i debian-installer/language string en
#d-i debian-installer/locale string en_US
#d-i console-keymaps-at/keymap string us
d-i keyboard-configuration/xkb-keymap string us
# not needed for a static address
#d-i netcfg/dhcp_timeout string 60
#d-i netcfg/confirm_static boolean true
#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth0
#d-i netcfg/choose_interface select eth1
#d-i netcfg/get_domain string mydomain
#d-i netcfg/get_hostname string myhostname
#d-i netcfg/get_nameservers string 8.8.8.8
d-i netcfg/get_gateway string 192.168.1.1
d-i netcfg/get_ipaddress string 192.168.1.61
d-i netcfg/get_netmask string 255.255.255.0
# not needed
#d-i netcfg/wireless_wep string
# the problematic entry and its replacement
# not needed for a cd install
####d-i mirror/country string US
#d-i mirror/country string manual
#d-i mirror/suite string stable
# not needed for a cd install
#d-i mirror/http/directory string /Debian-6.0.7-amd64/debian/
#d-i mirror/http/hostname string 192.168.1.12
#d-i mirror/protocol string http
d-i clock-setup/ntp boolean true
d-i clock-setup/utc boolean true
d-i time/zone string US/Eastern
d-i partman-auto/disk string /dev/sda
d-i partman-auto/method string lvm
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select home
# not needed - for my install
#d-i base-installer/kernel/image string linux-image-2.6-486
# not needed - don't think that mkinitrd-tools or yaird even exist in squeeze
#d-i base-installer/kernel/linux/initramfs-generators string initramfs-tools
d-i passwd/make-user boolean false
d-i passwd/root-password password pppp
d-i passwd/root-password-again password pppp
d-i finish-install/keep-consoles boolean true
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note
################
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note
# added for the first test
d-i apt-setup/use_mirror boolean false
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
################
# added for the second test
d-i apt-setup/use_mirror boolean false
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
tasksel tasksel/first multiselect standard
</end_preseed>
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 9, 2013, 8:00:02 AM3/9/13
to
oh wow! Frankly, this is the best, most detailed response I have ever gotten on any list so far. :)
but seriously, I can't thank enough for your time and interest. really appreciate it.
I didn't pay much attention to my preseed.cfg yet since I was still trying to figure mirror issue. Also, I haven't tried the 'd-i mirror/country string manual' part yet and can't wait to try..
but unfortunately I have to go out now so won't be able to try this for the next couple of hours.
I'll the post details as soon as I try.
Many Thanks!
keshav prabhakar
Mar 9, 2013, 8:00:02 AM3/9/13
to
Thanks for the pointer. I'll try this and let you all know how it goes.
Brian
Mar 9, 2013, 8:30:02 AM3/9/13
to
On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 22:22:25 -0500, Tom H wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
> > On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
> >>
> >> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
> >
> > The first post at
> >
> > http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
> >
> > is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
> > further at
> >
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
> >
> > The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
>
> When it comes to d-i and preseed, Debian and Ubuntu are the same,
> except for the version names and the installation of a basic system
> (Debian's is "d-i tasksel/first multiselect system" and Ubuntu's is
> "d-i tasksel/first multiselect standard").
I was being cautious :) and at the time hadn't looked at what the
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
> > On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
> >>
> >> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
> >
> > The first post at
> >
> > http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
> >
> > is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
> > further at
> >
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
> >
> > The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
>
> When it comes to d-i and preseed, Debian and Ubuntu are the same,
> except for the version names and the installation of a basic system
> (Debian's is "d-i tasksel/first multiselect system" and Ubuntu's is
> "d-i tasksel/first multiselect standard").
preseed recommendations for Mirror settings are at
http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze/example-preseed.txt
Now I have I see
d-i mirror/country string manual
is mentioned.
> I've never tried it but I think that you can even use kickseed with
> Debian's d-i.
appears to be an alternative to using preconfiguration files with d-i.
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 9, 2013, 6:30:01 PM3/9/13
to
d-i mirror/country string manual
d-i mirror/suite string stable
d-i mirror/suite string stable
yes, those two lines did the magic! Thanks.
It started reading from the local server but...now, it's stopping next at this error:
No root file system
No root file system is defined.
Please correct this from the partitioning menu.
I googled around and tried replacing 'lvm' with regular:
#d-i partman-auto/method string lvm
d-i partman-auto/method string regular
(and commenting out the related lvm lines)
and tried replacing 'home' with 'atomic' as well:
#d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select home
d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select atomic
no luck so far. will look into the details in the morning.
Tom H
Mar 10, 2013, 6:50:02 AM3/10/13
to
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Tom H
Mar 10, 2013, 7:10:01 AM3/10/13
to
On Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 8:20 AM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 22:22:25 -0500, Tom H wrote:
>> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
>>>> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
>>>
>>> The first post at
>>>
>>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
>>>
>>> is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
>>> further at
>>>
>>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
>>>
>>> The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
>>
>> When it comes to d-i and preseed, Debian and Ubuntu are the same,
>> except for the version names and the installation of a basic system
>> (Debian's is "d-i tasksel/first multiselect system" and Ubuntu's is
>> "d-i tasksel/first multiselect standard").
>
> I was being cautious :) and at the time hadn't looked at what the
> preseed recommendations for Mirror settings are at
>
> http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze/example-preseed.txt
>
> Now I have I see
> d-i mirror/country string manual
> is mentioned.
Ubuntu's tweaked d-i here and there (two things that I remember
> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 22:22:25 -0500, Tom H wrote:
>> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Brian <ad...@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On Fri 08 Mar 2013 at 19:04:41 -0600, keshav prabhakar wrote:
>>>> netcfg/wireless_wep string#d-i mirror/country string USd-i
>>>
>>> The first post at
>>>
>>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1601750
>>>
>>> is your situation. The second post gives a solution which is discussed
>>> further at
>>>
>>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kickseed/+bug/662931
>>>
>>> The downside is it's for a different distribution. But you never know.
>>
>> When it comes to d-i and preseed, Debian and Ubuntu are the same,
>> except for the version names and the installation of a basic system
>> (Debian's is "d-i tasksel/first multiselect system" and Ubuntu's is
>> "d-i tasksel/first multiselect standard").
>
> I was being cautious :) and at the time hadn't looked at what the
> preseed recommendations for Mirror settings are at
>
> http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze/example-preseed.txt
>
> Now I have I see
> d-i mirror/country string manual
> is mentioned.
off-hand is that you have to press F6 to select the expert install and
you're asked whether you want to install grub to all members of an
array when you use mdraid) but it's pretty much the same d-i that
Debian uses.
I have to correct some nonsense above... I interverted Debian and
Ubuntu's "d-i tasksel ...". Debian's basic task is "standard" and
Ubuntu's is "server" (not "system"!). Ubuntu also has "standard" and
"minimal" but I've never checked how much smaller than "server" they
are. Friday night brain-tiredness. Sorry!
>> I've never tried it but I think that you can even use kickseed with
>> Debian's d-i.
>
> I wasn't aware of it until it cropped up in the LP bug report. It
> appears to be an alternative to using preconfiguration files with d-i.
said that they wanted to stick to kickstart so Ubuntu developed a way
to preseed d-i with kickstart files to a certain extent.
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Tom H
Mar 10, 2013, 7:20:02 AM3/10/13
to
downloaded a squeeze netinst and ran your lvm preseed against it. The
VM installed and booted fine.
As a start and without diagnosing further, I'd boot from an install CD
in rescue mode and re-create the initramfs either with
"update-initramfs -u -k ..." or "update-initramfs -d -k ... ;
update-initramfs -c -k ...".
You might want to run "update-grub" after that, for good measure; or
even "grub-install ... ; update-grub".
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 12, 2013, 10:50:02 AM3/12/13
to
looks like I didn't 'reply all' before..
> As a start and without diagnosing further, I'd boot from an install CD
> in rescue mode and re-create the initramfs either with
> "update-initramfs -u -k ..." or "update-initramfs -d -k ... ;
> update-initramfs -c -k ...".
>
> You might want to run "update-grub" after that, for good measure; or
> even "grub-install ... ; update-grub".
>
> in rescue mode and re-create the initramfs either with
> "update-initramfs -u -k ..." or "update-initramfs -d -k ... ;
> update-initramfs -c -k ...".
>
> You might want to run "update-grub" after that, for good measure; or
> even "grub-install ... ; update-grub".
>
hm, this is all new to me.. I tried the steps as you suggested - using a netinstall CD of 6.0.7, i went to rescue mode but I can't find update-initramfs anywhere..
~# update-initramfs -u
/bin/sh: update-initramfs: not found
~#
~# find / -name update-initramfs
~#
Bob Proulx
Mar 12, 2013, 1:50:01 PM3/12/13
to
want to run the shell in the target environment.
I have posted instructions several times recently. Here is one:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2013/01/msg00363.html
Bob
Tom H
Mar 13, 2013, 4:40:03 AM3/13/13
to
On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 10:43 AM, keshav prabhakar <kes...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> looks like I didn't 'reply all' before..
>>
>> As a start and without diagnosing further, I'd boot from an install CD
>> in rescue mode and re-create the initramfs either with
>> "update-initramfs -u -k ..." or "update-initramfs -d -k ... ;
>> update-initramfs -c -k ...".
>>
>> You might want to run "update-grub" after that, for good measure; or
>> even "grub-install ... ; update-grub".
>>
> hm, this is all new to me.. I tried the steps as you suggested - using a
> netinstall CD of 6.0.7, i went to rescue mode but I can't find
> update-initramfs anywhere.
>
>
> looks like I didn't 'reply all' before..
>>
>> As a start and without diagnosing further, I'd boot from an install CD
>> in rescue mode and re-create the initramfs either with
>> "update-initramfs -u -k ..." or "update-initramfs -d -k ... ;
>> update-initramfs -c -k ...".
>>
>> You might want to run "update-grub" after that, for good measure; or
>> even "grub-install ... ; update-grub".
>>
> hm, this is all new to me.. I tried the steps as you suggested - using a
> netinstall CD of 6.0.7, i went to rescue mode but I can't find
> update-initramfs anywhere.
>
> ~# update-initramfs -u
> /bin/sh: update-initramfs: not found
> ~#
> ~# find / -name update-initramfs
> ~#
It's "/usr/sbin/update-initramfs". Do you have "/usr" mounted?
> /bin/sh: update-initramfs: not found
> ~#
> ~# find / -name update-initramfs
> ~#
What choices did you make for rescue mode?
AFAIR, there are two screens where you have to make the right choice.
There's a screen to choose a root filesystem. Did you choose a right one?
There's a screen to execute a shell. Did you choose to execute a shell
within the root filesystem that you chose above?
If you make the right choices, you'll be chrooted into your install a "/".
If "/boot", "/usr", "/var", or "..." are on a separate partition you
have to mount them manually.
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 18, 2013, 3:50:01 PM3/18/13
to
sorry, I got distracted by some other project for the past week..
> It's "/usr/sbin/update-initramfs". Do you have "/usr" mounted?
>
no. it's not mounted. see below.
> What choices did you make for rescue mode?
>
I think I chose the correct options:
1. booted off of CD drive
2. Installer boot menu - Advanced options - Rescue mode
3. select language menu
4. country menu
5. keymap menu
6. installer loads 'additional components..'
7. network configuration
8. hostname and domain name selection
9. 'setting up the clock' and timezone selection
10. Detecting disks..
and I see the following dialog:
"""
[!!] Enter rescue mode
The installer could not find any partitions, so you will not be able to mount a root file system. This may be caused by the kernel failing to detect your hard disk drive or failing to read the partition table, or the disk may be unpartitioned. If you wish you may investigate this from a shell in the installer environment.
No partitions found.
"""
Not sure if it matters but I should mention that I'm using a vmware instance as the target install system. So, the hard disk is a virtual disk (16 GB in size) and listed as a 'SCSI (0:0) Hard disk 1'.
Without knowing much about the hard drives and partitions, I tried with two different ways - once by trying on the rescue mode without any previously installed OS on the hard disk. A second time by installing os first (of course, partition creation all went well and the os was installed successfully) and then trying to boot into rescue mode. Again, this may not matter at all..
but in both cases, in rescue mode, it just doesn't appear to find the partition at all.
Could it be something related to VMs or just that I could be missing something? Back to the issue I have had with seeding where it stopped at finding the 'root file system', wonder if it was not an issue with my preseed.cfg but something else (VM-related, installer (?)).
Thanks again.
keshav prabhakar
Mar 18, 2013, 4:00:02 PM3/18/13
to
> That looks like you ran a shell in the installer environment. You
> want to run the shell in the target environment.
>
> want to run the shell in the target environment.
>
Thanks for your response.
you were right. The shell was in the installer environment. I couldn't get the rescue mode to find the disk partition at all.. (I posted the details in an earlier post a minute ago).
Tom H
Mar 19, 2013, 6:10:02 AM3/19/13
to
On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 3:48 PM, keshav prabhakar <kes...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> sorry, I got distracted by some other project for the past week..
>> It's "/usr/sbin/update-initramfs". Do you have "/usr" mounted?
>
> no. it's not mounted. see below.
>> What choices did you make for rescue mode?
>
> I think I chose the correct options:
>
> 1. booted off of CD drive
>
> 2. Installer boot menu - Advanced options - Rescue mode
>
> 3. select language menu
>
> 4. country menu
>
> 5. keymap menu
>
> 6. installer loads 'additional components..'
>
> 7. network configuration
>
> 8. hostname and domain name selection
>
> 9. 'setting up the clock' and timezone selection
>
> 10. Detecting disks..
>
> and I see the following dialog:
>
> [!!] Enter rescue mode
>
> The installer could not find any partitions, so you will not be able to
> mount a root file system. This may be caused by the kernel failing to detect
> your hard disk drive or failing to read the partition table, or the disk may
> be unpartitioned. If you wish you may investigate this from a shell in the
> installer environment.
>
> No partitions found.
It all looks OK except for the fact that d-i can't see your disks.
> sorry, I got distracted by some other project for the past week..
>> It's "/usr/sbin/update-initramfs". Do you have "/usr" mounted?
>
> no. it's not mounted. see below.
>> What choices did you make for rescue mode?
>
> I think I chose the correct options:
>
> 1. booted off of CD drive
>
> 2. Installer boot menu - Advanced options - Rescue mode
>
> 3. select language menu
>
> 4. country menu
>
> 5. keymap menu
>
> 6. installer loads 'additional components..'
>
> 7. network configuration
>
> 8. hostname and domain name selection
>
> 9. 'setting up the clock' and timezone selection
>
> 10. Detecting disks..
>
> and I see the following dialog:
>
> [!!] Enter rescue mode
>
> The installer could not find any partitions, so you will not be able to
> mount a root file system. This may be caused by the kernel failing to detect
> your hard disk drive or failing to read the partition table, or the disk may
> be unpartitioned. If you wish you may investigate this from a shell in the
> installer environment.
>
> No partitions found.
Are your disks still attached?! While at that screen, go to VT2 and
run "fdisk -l".
> Not sure if it matters but I should mention that I'm using a vmware instance
> as the target install system. So, the hard disk is a virtual disk (16 GB in
> size) and listed as a 'SCSI (0:0) Hard disk 1'.
>
>
> Without knowing much about the hard drives and partitions, I tried with two
> different ways - once by trying on the rescue mode without any previously
> installed OS on the hard disk. A second time by installing os first (of
> course, partition creation all went well and the os was installed
> successfully) and then trying to boot into rescue mode. Again, this may not
> matter at all..
>
> but in both cases, in rescue mode, it just doesn't appear to find the
> partition at all.
>
> Could it be something related to VMs or just that I could be missing
> something? Back to the issue I have had with seeding where it stopped at
> finding the 'root file system', wonder if it was not an issue with my
> preseed.cfg but something else (VM-related, installer (?)).
VMWare VMs.
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keshav prabhakar
Mar 19, 2013, 11:10:02 AM3/19/13
to
>
> It all looks OK except for the fact that d-i can't see your disks.
>
> Are your disks still attached?! While at that screen, go to VT2 and
> run "fdisk -l".
> It all looks OK except for the fact that d-i can't see your disks.
>
> Are your disks still attached?! While at that screen, go to VT2 and
> run "fdisk -l".
yes, it looks like it.
~ # fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 17.1 GB, 17179869184 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2088 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 412 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00071b4c
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 1995 16024806 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 1996 2088 747022+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 1996 2088 746991 82 Linux swap / Solaris
~ #
> The wheezy and squeeze installs that I ran with your preseed file were
> VMWare VMs.
>
> VMWare VMs.
>
ah, good to know.. Did you use SCSI or some other type of virtual disk?
I just remembered, I'm using a linux 5 template ('Guest OS: Debian GNU/Linux 5 (64-bit)') to install Debian 6. not sure if that's causing the issue, somehow. (I'm using ESXi 4.0 server, which is quite old and it doesn't support 'Debian GNU/Linux 6' as one of the templates). Let me try with a Debian 5 ISO and see if the installer can find the disk..
keshav prabhakar
Mar 19, 2013, 5:50:02 PM3/19/13
to
>I just remembered, I'm using a linux 5 template ('Guest OS: Debian GNU/Linux 5 (64-bit)') to install Debian 6. not sure if that's causing the issue, somehow. (I'm using ESXi 4.0 server, which is quite old and it doesn't support
> 'Debian GNU/Linux 6' as one of the templates). Let me try with a Debian 5 ISO and see if the installer can find the disk..
I was in fact (unknowingly) using a Debian 5 ISO over a 'Debian GNU/Linux 5 (64-bit)' template which was causing it not to get me into the shell on root partition file system. Now, with a debian-6.0.7-amd64-netinst.iso, I was able to get to shell on the root file system in rescue mode.
Then I ran `update-initramfs -u -v` followed by `update-grub`. They both appear to run fine (without showing any errors) though I didn't understand much about why they needed to be run.. Is there anything in the output that I should be looking for?
I tried running the preseed file again after this but the installer stopped at the same place as before ("No root file system found").
perhaps, I should try recreating a new initramfs? (`update-initramfs -d` followed by `update-initramfs -c`)?
keshav prabhakar
Mar 19, 2013, 7:40:02 PM3/19/13
to
I also just did a `update-initramfs -d` followed by `initramfs -c -k 2.6.26-2-amd64` and `update-grub`. Anything in particular that I should be looking for in the output?
Tom H
Mar 22, 2013, 6:10:02 AM3/22/13
to
On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 5:43 PM, keshav prabhakar <kes...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I just remembered, I'm using a linux 5 template ('Guest OS: Debian
>> GNU/Linux 5 (64-bit)') to install Debian 6. not sure if that's causing the
>> issue, somehow. (I'm using ESXi 4.0 server, which is quite old and it
>> doesn't support 'Debian GNU/Linux 6' as one of the templates). Let me try
>> with a Debian 5 ISO and see if the installer can find the disk.
>
>>
>> I just remembered, I'm using a linux 5 template ('Guest OS: Debian
>> GNU/Linux 5 (64-bit)') to install Debian 6. not sure if that's causing the
>> issue, somehow. (I'm using ESXi 4.0 server, which is quite old and it
>> doesn't support 'Debian GNU/Linux 6' as one of the templates). Let me try
>> with a Debian 5 ISO and see if the installer can find the disk.
>
> I was in fact (unknowingly) using a Debian 5 ISO over a 'Debian GNU/Linux 5
> (64-bit)' template which was causing it not to get me into the shell on root
> partition file system. Now, with a debian-6.0.7-amd64-netinst.iso, I was
> able to get to shell on the root file system in rescue mode.
>
> Then I ran `update-initramfs -u -v` followed by `update-grub`. They both
> appear to run fine (without showing any errors) though I didn't understand
> much about why they needed to be run. Is there anything in the output that
> (64-bit)' template which was causing it not to get me into the shell on root
> partition file system. Now, with a debian-6.0.7-amd64-netinst.iso, I was
> able to get to shell on the root file system in rescue mode.
>
> Then I ran `update-initramfs -u -v` followed by `update-grub`. They both
> appear to run fine (without showing any errors) though I didn't understand
> I should be looking for?
>
> I tried running the preseed file again after this but the installer stopped
> at the same place as before ("No root file system found").
>
> perhaps, I should try recreating a new initramfs? (`update-initramfs -d`
> followed by `update-initramfs -c`)?
I don't understand. Did you reboot into your install after rebuilding
>
> I tried running the preseed file again after this but the installer stopped
> at the same place as before ("No root file system found").
>
> perhaps, I should try recreating a new initramfs? (`update-initramfs -d`
> followed by `update-initramfs -c`)?
the initramfs or did you re-install?
Did you get "No root file system found" after rebuilding the initramfs
or after the re-install?
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keshav prabhakar
Apr 9, 2013, 11:50:03 AM4/9/13
to
really apologize for not responding sooner.
> Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 06:08:13 -0400
> Subject: Re: Installer not reading preseed.cfg
> From: tomh...@gmail.com
> To: debia...@lists.debian.org
> Subject: Re: Installer not reading preseed.cfg
> From: tomh...@gmail.com
> To: debia...@lists.debian.org
keshav prabhakar
Apr 9, 2013, 12:00:03 PM4/9/13
to
hit the 'send' button too soon. sorry.
> I don't understand. Did you reboot into your install after rebuilding
> the initramfs or did you re-install?
>
> Did you get "No root file system found" after rebuilding the initramfs
> or after the re-install?
>
> the initramfs or did you re-install?
>
> Did you get "No root file system found" after rebuilding the initramfs
> or after the re-install?
>
apologies for not being clear earlier. Yes, I rebooted into the new install after rebuilding the root file system using `update-initramfs` and it worked just fine. That is, now the new OS is operational and running. The question I have is, why did I get the error ('no root file system found' during install) in the first place and is there a way fix it?
Thanks again for the clue regarding update-initramfs! At least, I know that the install is successful.
From: kes...@hotmail.com
To: tomh...@gmail.com; debia...@lists.debian.org
Subject: RE: Installer not reading preseed.cfg
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2013 10:43:44 -0500
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