[opensuse] a puzzle for the last week up to Christmas
For the last couple of days I have I been trying to install leap15.1 on a small Zotac Nano, a fanless mini PC. It is destined to become my new livingroom mythtv client. Until this morning, I was stopped at trying to make it boot after installation. It reads in the kernel and the initrd (afaict, judging by the time it takes) then it fails to mount the root device (/dev/sda2) and halts immediately. "unknown block device 0,0" (or some such). I have assumed it somehow does not load the right modules to access the SATA drive, and I been rebuilding the initrd with all kinds of variations. (force load modules etc). The Zotac does not have a serial port, so capturing all of the output isn't possible. I have tried with a USB-to-serial converter, but couldn't get it to work. afaict, netconsole also only loads later? Hmm, may have to try that one again. This morning, I decided I would copy the kernel and initrd to my tftp server and boot them with pxe. I had no expectations that this would produce any better result, just pure desperation. It worked!!! So here is the puzzle - why would a kernel+initrd boot from PXE but not from disk? -- Per Jessen, Zürich (7.8°C) http://www.hostsuisse.com/ - virtual servers, made in Switzerland. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
On 12/15/2019 03:20 AM, Per Jessen wrote:
This morning, I decided I would copy the kernel and initrd to my tftp server and boot them with pxe. I had no expectations that this would produce any better result, just pure desperation.
It worked!!! So here is the puzzle - why would a kernel+initrd boot from PXE but not from disk?
That is strange. That tells me it wasn't finding what it needed at /dev/sda2. Is there a bios order for boot devices that may specify the actual devices (on of which would be PXE -- which is why that succeeded)?? Also, I've attempted PXE setup with Apache and TFTP before but not had much luck. You have your howto laying around on how you have your server configed? I'd double check bios, and think through anything being funny with /dev/sda2. I guess there is nothing to look at from a log standpoint pre-boot, so it will be hunt and peck.... -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
David C. Rankin wrote:
On 12/15/2019 03:20 AM, Per Jessen wrote:
This morning, I decided I would copy the kernel and initrd to my tftp server and boot them with pxe. I had no expectations that this would produce any better result, just pure desperation.
It worked!!! So here is the puzzle - why would a kernel+initrd boot from PXE but not from disk?
That is strange.
That tells me it wasn't finding what it needed at /dev/sda2. Is there a bios order for boot devices that may specify the actual devices (on of which would be PXE -- which is why that succeeded)??
For testing, I would just hit F8 to pick the PXE boot, but for the time being, I'm letting it default to PXE boot. So the non-working order would be: #1 local disk #2 pxe The curreent order is #1 pxe #2 local disk I'm overjoyed. Have just been watching some HDTV 1080 without stuttering! I am however wondering if the initrd is in fact being loaded when it fails to boot. It is as if the kernel does not have "enough" built in to access the disk.
I'd double check bios, and think through anything being funny with /dev/sda2. I guess there is nothing to look at from a log standpoint pre-boot, so it will be hunt and peck....
A lot of groping in the dark, indeed :-) I am actually perfectly happy for it to boot over PXE, I"m not religious about it. I'm just annoyed that I don't know why it doesn't work directly from disk. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (11.1°C) http://www.hostsuisse.com/ - dedicated server rental in Switzerland. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
15.12.2019 14:48, Per Jessen пишет: ]>
I am actually perfectly happy for it to boot over PXE, I"m not religious about it. I'm just annoyed that I don't know why it doesn't work directly from disk.
Could you show dmesg output after PXE boot? This will at least give hardware overview. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
Andrei Borzenkov wrote:
15.12.2019 14:48, Per Jessen пишет: ]>
I am actually perfectly happy for it to boot over PXE, I"m not religious about it. I'm just annoyed that I don't know why it doesn't work directly from disk.
Could you show dmesg output after PXE boot? This will at least give hardware overview.
Certainly: https://files.jessen.ch/zotac1-dmesg-20191215.txt -- Per Jessen, Zürich (11.9°C) http://www.cloudsuisse.com/ - your owncloud, hosted in Switzerland. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
15.12.2019 15:51, Per Jessen пишет:
Andrei Borzenkov wrote:
15.12.2019 14:48, Per Jessen пишет: ]>
I am actually perfectly happy for it to boot over PXE, I"m not religious about it. I'm just annoyed that I don't know why it doesn't work directly from disk.
Could you show dmesg output after PXE boot? This will at least give hardware overview.
Certainly:
I wonder if booting from HDD requires changing from AHCI to something else (like RAID). This would explain why Linux does not see HDD. Otherwise it looks like pretty standard x86 system. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
Andrei Borzenkov wrote:
15.12.2019 15:51, Per Jessen пишет:
Andrei Borzenkov wrote:
15.12.2019 14:48, Per Jessen пишет: ]>
I am actually perfectly happy for it to boot over PXE, I"m not religious about it. I'm just annoyed that I don't know why it doesn't work directly from disk.
Could you show dmesg output after PXE boot? This will at least give hardware overview.
Certainly:
I wonder if booting from HDD requires changing from AHCI to something else (like RAID). This would explain why Linux does not see HDD. Otherwise it looks like pretty standard x86 system.
I had hoped I would be able to use a USB serial port, but I wonder if the kernel is prepared for that. Later the lights on the USB-to-serial converter indicate that data is being transmitted, which I take to mean it does work. Just not early enough? -- Per Jessen, Zürich (5.1°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org
participants (3)
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Andrei Borzenkov -
David C. Rankin -
Per Jessen