Grub on XFS root filesystem
Account for Debian group mail
Hello,
On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
root-boot file system.
The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a Lenny
upgrade. But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file system, it
just hangs up.
Anyone know how to get this done?
Thanks,
Ken
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/hda1 / xfs defaults 0 1
/dev/hda2 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdb1 /mirror ext3 defaults 0 2
/dev/hdd /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0
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Tony Nelson
>
> Hello,
>
> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
> root-boot file system.
>
> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a
> Lenny upgrade.
From what I read on this list, you can use lilo. Never done it myself.
>But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file
> system, it just hangs up.
>
> Anyone know how to get this done?
...
Well, there should be a xfs_stage1_5 file that grub-install will use.
`info grub` says XFS is supported.
--
____________________________________________________________________
TonyN.:' <mailto:tonyn...@georgeanelson.com>
' <http://www.georgeanelson.com/>
Account for Debian group mail
> On 10-01-28 22:40:09, Account for Debian group mail wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
>> root-boot file system.
>>
>> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a
>> Lenny upgrade.
>
>> From what I read on this list, you can use lilo. Never done it myself.
>
>> But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file
>> system, it just hangs up.
>>
>> Anyone know how to get this done?
> ...
>
> Well, there should be a xfs_stage1_5 file that grub-install will use.
> `info grub` says XFS is supported.
Well it might be but it hangs up on install. And the file is there in the
/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/ directory.
Stan Hoeppner
> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
> root-boot file system.
>
> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a
> Lenny upgrade. But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file
> system, it just hangs up.
> Anyone know how to get this done?
Yes. Stop messing with grub and stick with lilo. This part of the Lenny
release notes threw me for a loop as well, but it's no big deal. Keep in mind
that the distribution upgrade process does not replace the kernel or sysklogd
automatically. You must manually swap them out after the upgrade. Same with
lilo. The upgrade itself will go off without a hitch if your Etch kernel is
somewhere close to 2.6.24. I upgraded to 2.6.24 right before doing the dist
upgrade to Lenny and all went smoothly. For that matter you could keep on
running with 2.6.24 without upgrading to 2.6.26, and this becomes a non-issue.
The problem described in the release notes arises when you try to install a
stock Lenny initrd 2.6.26 kernel _after_ the dist upgrade. Apparently some of
the stock Lenny kernels have an initrd image that's too large for lilo to handle.
My recommendation: After the upgrade, grab the 2.6.32.7 source from kernel.org
and build yourself a non-initrd custom kernel with only the drivers and modules
you need, and you'll never come close to this "lilo limit". I've been using
small custom kernels for years, and I'm still using lilo with Lenny, and will be
using lilo with the next Debian stable, and beyond.
Lastly, IIRC, the latest versions of lilo don't have this initrd size issue.
I'm not sure about the lilo rev that ships with Lenny.
Hope this information is helpful in one way or another.
--
Stan
Stan Hoeppner
> Well it might be but it hangs up on install.
Could this be due to "BIOS boot sector write/virus protection" being enabled?
--
Stan
Account for Debian group mail
I'll take a look. I usually don't turn that stuff on but I'll check it
out.
Ken
Stan Hoeppner
>
>
> I'll take a look. I usually don't turn that stuff on but I'll check it out.
Twas just a thought. Often that is the cause of that specific hang issue.
However, again, I recommend you stick with LILO. Below is the cause and fix for
the lilo initrd problem discussed in the Lenny Release Notes. If I may be so
bold, it is my opinion that the Debian devs were merely attempting to scare
everyone into using grub because they're trying to eventually eliminate LILO
from Debian. Just my paranoia?
Anyway, something you might want to take a look at from the Lenny
/usr/share/doc/lilo/README.Debian
that fully explains the issue. The issue which the Debian devs/maintainers want
you to solve by switching to grub.
--[ Large initrd files and lilo
By default, LILO loads the initrd file into the first 15MB of memory
to avoid a BIOS limitation with older systems (earlier than 2001).
However, with newer kernels the combination of kernel and initrd
may not fit into the first 15MB of memory and so the system will not
boot properly. It seems that the boot issues appear when the
kernel+initrd combination is larger than 8MB.
If this machine has a recent BIOS without the 15MB limitation, you can
add the 'large-memory' option to /etc/lilo.conf to instruct LILO to use
more memory for passing the initrd to the kernel. You will need to
re-run the 'lilo' command to make this option take effect.
If this machine has an older BIOS, you may need to reduce the size of
the initrd *before* rebooting.
If you are using initramfs-tools, you should replace MODULES=most with
MODULES=dep in your configuration and regenerate your initrd file:
sed -i -e s/MODULES=most/MODULES=dep/ /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf
update-initramfs -u
If you are using yaird or any other initrd generator, please consult
the documentation for your initrd generator.
Camaleón
> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
> root-boot file system.
>
> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a
> Lenny upgrade. But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file
> system, it just hangs up.
>
> Anyone know how to get this done?
There was a bug (although it seems closed/fixed right now) about this:
***
Freeze when installing GRUB on XFS boot partition
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=239111
***
OTOH, I've heard that GRUB and XFS are (or were) having some "gitches"
when used together. Not sure if nowadays the problems are fully corrected
but in fact some distributions (openSUSE is one than I'm aware of)
explicitly do not support having GRUB installed in filesystems other than
ext2/ext3. It can be installed but it is not recommended.
Greetings,
--
Camaleón
Stephen Powell
> Hello,
>
> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
> root-boot file system.
>
> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a Lenny
> upgrade. But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file system, it
> just hangs up.
>
> Anyone know how to get this done?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ken
That is not true. It is true that the Lenny installer installs the
grub bootloader by default (it's called grub by Lenny, but grub-legacy
by Squeeze. Most folks call it grub1. What Squeeze calls grub is
a totally different bootloader that most folks call grub2.) However,
if you're upgrading from Etch to Lenny using the release notes, you do
not have to upgrade your boot loader. My advice would be, "If it ain't
broke, don't fix it." I'm still running lilo under Squeeze due to
problems that I have with grub2.
By the way, even if you're installing Lenny from scratch, the installer
still gives you the option to install lilo instead of grub if you
want to. (At least it does if you run it in expert mode.)
grub1 is a dead end anyway. If lilo is working fine, and you're
happy with it, I would advise you to leave it alone.
That's my two cents worth.
Stephen Powell
> The problem described in the release notes arises when you try to install a
> stock Lenny initrd 2.6.26 kernel _after_ the dist upgrade. Apparently some of
> the stock Lenny kernels have an initrd image that's too large for lilo to handle.
lilo uses BIOS calls to load the kernel and the initial RAM disk
image into memory. The kernel is loaded into as low of memory addresses as
possible/practical. Due to restrictions in older BIOSes, the initial RAM disk
image is loaded into memory within the first 16 megabytes of RAM, with the
starting address of the Extended BIOS Data Area (EBDA) as the upper limit
for the end of the initial RAM disk image. The lower limit for the beginning
of the initial RAM disk image is of course the end of the kernel image.
There are two ways around this problem. The first way is to use the "large-memory"
option of lilo. Newer releases of lilo support this option. This allows the
initial RAM disk image to load above the 16M line. However, this requires
support in the BIOS. Most BIOS dates after 2001 or so will support this, but
not all. Make sure that you have a rescue CD handy just in case.
The second method is to reduce the size of the initial RAM disk. By changing
modules=most to modules=dep in /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf (and
possibly in /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/driver-policy as well, if it exists) and
running update-initramfs, you can probably reduce the size of the initial
RAM disk image to the point where it will fit below 16M again.
Stephen Powell
> ...
> Below is the cause and fix for
> the lilo initrd problem discussed in the Lenny Release Notes.
Oops! I made my last post to this thread before I saw this
one. Sorry for the redundant post. I got behind on my
e-mails overnight.
consul tores
>
> Hello,
>
> On one of my machines that I'm trying to upgrade to Lenny has a XFS
> root-boot file system.
>
> The upgrade docs state that I need to switch from lilo to grub for a Lenny
> upgrade. But I cannot get grub to install on this XFS boot file system, it
> just hangs up.
>
> Anyone know how to get this done?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ken
Hi
I am having a similar problem with a Celeron 800, 384 Mb RAM.
I had Lenny as a ssh/ftp/openvpn server, then i did upgrade to Squeeze
having the mentioned problem with Grub2, It could not be installed;
after that i decide to test it installing Squeeze from scrash on ext2,
ext3, and reiserfs, using the i386 Jan/28 netinstaller, and as
results, it could not be installed again.
After that, I did a test, instaling OpenBSD, and i had a normal
installation, but at reboot, OpenBSD could not boot by the cause of
Grub2. Tomorrow i am going to install Lenny again, after i repair the
mbr.
Stephen Powell
> Hi
>
> I am having a similar problem with a Celeron 800, 384 Mb RAM.
>
> I had Lenny as a ssh/ftp/openvpn server, then i did upgrade to Squeeze
> having the mentioned problem with Grub2, It could not be installed;
> after that i decide to test it installing Squeeze from scrash on ext2,
> ext3, and reiserfs, using the i386 Jan/28 netinstaller, and as
> results, it could not be installed again.
>
> After that, I did a test, instaling OpenBSD, and i had a normal
> installation, but at reboot, OpenBSD could not boot by the cause of
> Grub2. Tomorrow i am going to install Lenny again, after i repair the
> mbr.
As much as I dislike grub2, as Stan mentioned, you should check
your BIOS setup program as well. Some BIOS setup programs have settings
intended to prevent writing to the master boot record. It may be
called "virus protection mode" (should be off to install) or
"Operating system install mode" (should be on to install) or
something along those lines. You won't be able to install *any*
boot loader to the mbr if this setting is not correct.
Stephen Powell
> 2010/1/29 Stephen Powell <zlin...@wowway.com>:
>> On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:27:23 -0500, consul tores wrote:
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> I am having a similar problem with a Celeron 800, 384 Mb RAM.
>>>
>>> I had Lenny as a ssh/ftp/openvpn server, then i did upgrade to Squeeze
>>> having the mentioned problem with Grub2, It could not be installed;
>>> after that i decide to test it installing Squeeze from scrash on ext2,
>>> ext3, and reiserfs, using the i386 Jan/28 netinstaller, and as
>>> results, it could not be installed again.
>>>
>>> After that, I did a test, instaling OpenBSD, and i had a normal
>>> installation, but at reboot, OpenBSD could not boot by the cause of
>>> Grub2. Tomorrow i am going to install Lenny again, after i repair the
>>> mbr.
>>
>> As much as I dislike grub2, as Stan mentioned, you should check
>> your BIOS setup program as well. Some BIOS setup programs have settings
>> intended to prevent writing to the master boot record. It may be
>> called "virus protection mode" (should be off to install) or
>> "Operating system install mode" (should be on to install) or
>> something along those lines. You won't be able to install *any*
>> boot loader to the mbr if this setting is not correct.
>
> installed at first, and it was working well. After my last message, i
> did another check and using the rescue mode at the netinstaller, Lenny
> and Squeeze; i saw that there were installed only grub-pc and other;
> but not Grub2. Thanks again.
First, please reply to the list, not to me.
Second, I'm glad you have your BIOS settings correct.
I think you know this, but just in case you don't, neither grub1 nor
grub2, as I use them in posts, are necessarily package names.
They are names that I use to distinguish
between two completely different programs. Lenny has a package
called grub. When I'm referring to it in posts I call it grub1.
But the actual package name is grub. Lenny also has a package called
grub-pc. In posts I call it grub2, but the package name is grub-pc.
This is a completely new program, rewritten from the ground up, but
unfortunately also called grub. Lenny also has a package called
grub2, but it is a dummy package.
Squeeze has a package called grub-legacy. It is the same program that
I call grub1 in posts. It is the same package that Lenny calls grub.
It may have some additional bug fixes and enhancements that the Lenny version
doesn't have, but it is essentially the same program. Squeeze has
a package called grub, but it is a dummy package. It also has a
package called grub2, but that is also a dummy package. Finally,
Squeeze has a package called grub-pc. It is what I call grub2 in
posts. It is essentially the same program that Lenny calls grub-pc.
It may have some additional bug fixes and enhancements over the Lenny
version of the package, but it is essentially the same program.
The bottom line: it is not enough to know the names of the packages
installed on your system. You must also know whether they were
installed from the Lenny repository or the Squeeze repository to
know, in the general case, what program it really is. It's confusing
as all get-out. It is yet another reason that I still run lilo.
consul tores
Yes, it is my fault. low attention.
> Second, I'm glad you have your BIOS settings correct.
you, can not know if it is correct, just i can.
YES, all the theory that you are bringing ahead is absolutly
important, exept that i really have not read it, before my first
message; it was not my target recording names!
My first message was sended to the person who inicieate the thread,
emphasysing the fact that Grub in Squeeze fails in almost any fs.
Stephen Powell
> you, can not know if it is correct, just i can.
Yes, of course. But you *told* me that it was correct. At least that
was my interpretation of what you meant when you said
> Yes, it is correct, but in this specific case ...
I just took your word for it.
> YES, all the theory that you are bringing ahead is absolutly
> important, exept that i really have not read it, before my first
> message; it was not my target recording names!
You've lost me. I don't understand what you're saying. Perhaps
this is a language barrier here.
> My first message was sended to the person who inicieate the thread,
> emphasysing the fact that Grub in Squeeze fails in almost any fs.
I'm only trying to be helpful. If I'm not being helpful, just say
so and I'll shut up.
consul tores
> On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:13:43 -0500 (EST), consul tores wrote:
>> you, can not know if it is correct, just i can.
>
> Yes, of course. But you *told* me that it was correct. At least that
> was my interpretation of what you meant when you said
>> Yes, it is correct, but in this specific case ...
> I just took your word for it.
>
>> YES, all the theory that you are bringing ahead is absolutly
>> important, exept that i really have not read it, before my first
>> message; it was not my target recording names!
>
> You've lost me. I don't understand what you're saying. Perhaps
> this is a language barrier here.
>
>> My first message was sended to the person who inicieate the thread,
>> emphasysing the fact that Grub in Squeeze fails in almost any fs.
>
> I'm only trying to be helpful. If I'm not being helpful, just say
> so and I'll shut up.
You are being very helpfull for many people, but i use Lilo! i did
some experiments using Grub2 only for testing it.
BTW, i did an installation again and grub broken the mbr.
Thanks.
Stephen Powell
> You are being very helpfull for many people, but i use Lilo!
So do I! Grub2 is not yet ready for production use, in my
humble opinion. Not by me anyway.
Stan Hoeppner
> The bottom line: it is not enough to know the names of the packages
> installed on your system. You must also know whether they were
> installed from the Lenny repository or the Squeeze repository to
> know, in the general case, what program it really is. It's confusing
> as all get-out. It is yet another reason that I still run lilo.
+1
I'll be using lilo until they pry it from my cold dead hands. ;)
--
Stan