On Thu, August 7, 2008 12:55, Neil wrote:

On 8/7/08, Martin Mielke wrote:

...

Hi list,

some weeks ago I bought 2 external USB 2.0 hard disks to use them as mass-storage for assorted data.

I created the ext3 filesystem on both and mounted them just fine under /disk1 and /disk2.

This is how it looks like now (correct way): -- /dev/sdb1 480719088 96188532 360111356 22% /disk1 /dev/sdc1 480719088 252211016 204088872 56% /disk2 --

Yesterday I had to reboot the system to apply some patches and found those external hard disks wrongly mounted when the system came back to life: -- /dev/sdb1 480719088 96188532 360111356 22% /disk2 <-- this should be /disk1 /dev/sdc1 480719088 252211016 204088872 56% /disk1 <-- this should be /disk2 --

My /etc/fstab has the following entries for them: -- /dev/sdb1 /disk1 ext3 acl,user_xattr 0 0 /dev/sdc1 /disk2 ext3 acl,user_xattr 0 0 --

I rebooted the system 2 times more just to check this behavior and it seems that /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdc1 are "swapped" at boot time sometimes for some reason still unclear to me... and of course, I don't swap the USB cables :-P

Any idea why this happens??

TIA, Martin

Dunno for sure, but it might be solved by using disk-ID's instead of sd*'s. On my brother's system (Ubuntu) we noticed USB disks changing sd* names at boot depending on wether and where other USB devices were present and the phase of the moon (:P).

What I want to say is: if you mount USB devices automatically then you should use disk-ID's instead of sd* names.

just my 0,02€

Neil

In a related problem, when my external USB disk, or any random USB stick, is plugged in, then I cannot boot, no valid boot device found. Unplug all USB devices and it works like a charm. I alread plugged all USB disks/sticks into an USB hub so I only have to unplug one cable. -- Amedee -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On Thu, August 7, 2008 13:36, Ed Harrison wrote:

...

In a related problem, when my external USB disk, or any random USB stick, is plugged in, then I cannot boot, no valid boot device found. Unplug all USB devices and it works like a charm. I alread plugged all USB disks/sticks into an USB hub so I only have to unplug one cable.

Check your CMOS boot order and see that only a fixed harddrive or CD-ROM is listed ahead of anything that could describe a usb device.

OK, I did that. When de USB drive is plugged in, it works perfectly. But now when the USB drive is not plugged in, I get grub error 17. I'm really suspicious that Grub has "issues" with detecting the correct hard disk order. I had a similar problem with Grub back when I still used Ubuntu. Clean install from the cd, first boot --> Grub error. And I had only accepted the setup defaults! The solution was booting with a Knoppix cd, and manually reinstalling Grub, or changing something in menu.lst, I don't remember the exact details. Is it possible tha Grub has "issues"? Or am I calling it a "bug" too soon and is it just a problem between keyboard and chair? ;-) -- Amedee -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On 08/09/2008 07:11 PM, Ed Harrison wrote:

Amedee Van Gasse wrote:

...

When de USB drive is plugged in, it works perfectly. But now when the USB drive is not plugged in, I get grub error 17.

Is it possible tha Grub has "issues"? Or am I calling it a "bug" too soon and is it just a problem between keyboard and chair? ;-)

It sounds like grub was installed to the usb drive. Please boot with a livecd and post /boot/grub/menu.lst. Also, post the result of fdisk -l (run as root or su).

Ed If grub was installed to the USB drive, he would not get the grub error without the usb drive plugged in. It sounds like the device nodes are changing, i.e. I would suggest using labels for your drives in your situation to make sure what drive is being specified independently of /dev/sdx.

-- Joe Morris Registered Linux user 231871 running openSUSE 10.3 x86_64 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On 2008/08/09 14:16 (GMT+0200) Amedee Van Gasse apparently typed:

On Sat, August 9, 2008 13:58, Joe Morris wrote:

...

It sounds like the device nodes are changing, i.e. I would suggest using labels for your drives in your situation to make sure what drive is being specified independently of /dev/sdx.

Just to make sure I understand you: you are suggesting that I label my drives, and then use these labels in grub. Is that correct?

Label each partition containing a filesystem that needs mounting. Use the labels for each root= in menu.lst, and, instead of device names, each partition entry in fstab. -- "Love is not easily angered. Love does not demand its own way." 1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On Sat, Aug 9, 2008 at 4:58 AM, Joe Morris wrote:

On 08/09/2008 07:11 PM, Ed Harrison wrote:

...

Amedee Van Gasse wrote:

...

When de USB drive is plugged in, it works perfectly. But now when the USB drive is not plugged in, I get grub error 17.

Is it possible tha Grub has "issues"? Or am I calling it a "bug" too soon and is it just a problem between keyboard and chair? ;-)

It sounds like grub was installed to the usb drive. Please boot with a livecd and post /boot/grub/menu.lst. Also, post the result of fdisk -l (run as root or su).

Ed

If grub was installed to the USB drive, he would not get the grub error without the usb drive plugged in.

Which is exactly what he DOES get Joe..... -- ----------JSA--------- There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that can read binary and those that can't. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On Sat, August 9, 2008 13:11, Ed Harrison wrote:

It sounds like grub was installed to the usb drive.

I am absolutely sure that the usb drive was unplugged when I installed Opensuse 11.0 two weeks ago. It wasn't even in the same room!

Please boot with a livecd and post /boot/grub/menu.lst. Also, post the result of fdisk -l (run as root or su).

OK, I'll do that. First I'll post /boot/grub/menu.lst and fdisk -l in my current session, later I'll boot with a livecd and post fdisk -l again. I will also post fdisk -l with the usb drive plugged and unplugged. $ sudo cat /boot/grub/menu.lst # Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Mon Aug 4 20:15:15 CEST 2008 default 2 timeout 8 gfxmenu (hd0,1)/message ##YaST - activate ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux### title openSUSE 11.0 - 2.6.25.11-0.1 (default) root (hd0,1) kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.11-0.1-default root=/dev/system/root resume=/dev/system/swap splash=silent showopts vga=0x31a initrd /initrd-2.6.25.11-0.1-default ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe### title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.0 - 2.6.25.11-0.1 (default) root (hd0,1) kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.11-0.1-default root=/dev/system/root showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 edd=off x11failsafe vga=0x31a initrd /initrd-2.6.25.11-0.1-default ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux### title openSUSE 11.0 - 2.6.25.11-0.1 (pae) root (hd0,1) kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.11-0.1-pae root=/dev/system/root resume=/dev/system/swap splash=silent showopts vga=0x31a initrd /initrd-2.6.25.11-0.1-pae ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe### title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.0 - 2.6.25.11-0.1 (pae) root (hd0,1) kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.25.11-0.1-pae root=/dev/system/root showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 edd=off x11failsafe vga=0x31a initrd /initrd-2.6.25.11-0.1-pae ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy### title Diskette rootnoverify (hd0,1) chainloader (fd0)+1 ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: memtest86### title Geheugentest kernel (hd0,1)/memtest.bin usb drive plugged in: amedee@saruman:~> sudo /sbin/fdisk -l Schijf /dev/sda: 200.0 GB, 200049647616 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 24321 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0xbb6dbb6d Apparaat Opstart Begin Einde Blokken ID Systeem /dev/sda1 1 14593 117218241 fd Linux raidautodetectie /dev/sda2 * 14594 14606 104422+ 83 Linux /dev/sda3 14607 24321 78035737+ 8e Linux LVM Schijf /dev/sdb: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 14593 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00055ab5 Apparaat Opstart Begin Einde Blokken ID Systeem /dev/sdb1 1 14593 117218241 fd Linux raidautodetectie Schijf /dev/sdc: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 14593 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x000b526b Apparaat Opstart Begin Einde Blokken ID Systeem /dev/sdc1 1 14593 117218241 fd Linux raidautodetectie Schijf /dev/dm-0: 26.8 GB, 26843545600 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 3263 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00000000 Schijf /dev/dm-0 bevat geen geldige partitietabel Schijf /dev/dm-1: 2147 MB, 2147483648 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 261 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00000000 Schijf /dev/dm-1 bevat geen geldige partitietabel Schijf /dev/sdd: 163.9 GB, 163928604672 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 19929 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x020c2508 Apparaat Opstart Begin Einde Blokken ID Systeem /dev/sdd1 1 19798 159027403+ 83 Linux /dev/sdd2 19799 19929 1052257+ 82 Linux wisselgeheugen Schijf /dev/md0: 240.0 GB, 240062562304 bytes 2 koppen, 4 sectoren/spoor, 58609024 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 8 * 512 = 4096 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00000000 Schijf /dev/md0 bevat geen geldige partitietabel Schijf /dev/dm-2: 21.4 GB, 21474836480 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 2610 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00000000 Schijf /dev/dm-2 bevat geen geldige partitietabel Schijf /dev/dm-3: 107.3 GB, 107374182400 bytes 255 koppen, 63 sectoren/spoor, 13054 cilinders Eenheid = cilinders van 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Schijf-ID: 0x00000000 Schijf /dev/dm-3 bevat geen geldige partitietabel -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:26:03 Anders Johansson wrote:

On Saturday 09 August 2008 11:16:13 Amedee Van Gasse wrote:

...

OK, I did that. When de USB drive is plugged in, it works perfectly. But now when the USB drive is not plugged in, I get grub error 17.

I'm really suspicious that Grub has "issues" with detecting the correct hard disk order.

It sounds more like the BIOS reordering the disks when you plug in the USB stuff.

grub has clearly detected the correct disk, otherwise you couldn't boot at all. But grub (or any boot loader) relies on the BIOS to give sane data, that doesn't change too much

Anders

Guys, I think this is closer to the mark. I have an issue with a couple of USB external drive cases (one gigabyte unit and one a Zytec unit). I have boot from USB disabled in BIOS. When the Zytec unit is plugged in and powered on at boot time, the machine hangs during boot, before even getting to the point of trying to load grub. With the Gigabyte unit plugged in and powered on, the unit hangs after the initial grub load, which seems to be consistent with what Anders is suggesting above. The point is, it has nothing to do with the grub configuration and everything to do with the machine BIOS and how it handles USB devices that are plugged in at boot time. The solution is, if you have problems with a particular device being plugged in or powered on at boot time, disconnect it or switch it off until the machine has finished booting. Cheers, -- =================================================== Rodney Baker VK5ZTV rodney.baker@iinet.net.au =================================================== Virtue is its own punishment.

On Sun, August 10, 2008 00:56, Anders Johansson wrote:

On Saturday 09 August 2008 11:16:13 Amedee Van Gasse wrote:

...

OK, I did that. When de USB drive is plugged in, it works perfectly. But now when the USB drive is not plugged in, I get grub error 17.

I'm really suspicious that Grub has "issues" with detecting the correct hard disk order.

It sounds more like the BIOS reordering the disks when you plug in the USB stuff.

grub has clearly detected the correct disk, otherwise you couldn't boot at all. But grub (or any boot loader) relies on the BIOS to give sane data, that doesn't change too much

I think that is a good diagnose, doctor Johansson. :) Which treatment do you suggest? -- Amedee -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 John Andersen schreef:

On Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 4:27 AM, Amedee Van Gasse wrote:

...

On Thu, August 7, 2008 12:55, Neil wrote:

...

On 8/7/08, Martin Mielke wrote:

...

Hi list,

some weeks ago I bought 2 external USB 2.0 hard disks to use them as mass-storage for assorted data.

I created the ext3 filesystem on both and mounted them just fine under /disk1 and /disk2.

This is how it looks like now (correct way): -- /dev/sdb1 480719088 96188532 360111356 22% /disk1 /dev/sdc1 480719088 252211016 204088872 56% /disk2 --

Yesterday I had to reboot the system to apply some patches and found those external hard disks wrongly mounted when the system came back to life: -- /dev/sdb1 480719088 96188532 360111356 22% /disk2 <-- this should be /disk1 /dev/sdc1 480719088 252211016 204088872 56% /disk1 <-- this should be /disk2 --

My /etc/fstab has the following entries for them: -- /dev/sdb1 /disk1 ext3 acl,user_xattr 0 0 /dev/sdc1 /disk2 ext3 acl,user_xattr 0 0 --

I rebooted the system 2 times more just to check this behavior and it seems that /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdc1 are "swapped" at boot time sometimes for some reason still unclear to me... and of course, I don't swap the USB cables :-P

Any idea why this happens??

TIA, Martin

Dunno for sure, but it might be solved by using disk-ID's instead of sd*'s. On my brother's system (Ubuntu) we noticed USB disks changing sd* names at boot depending on wether and where other USB devices were present and the phase of the moon (:P).

What I want to say is: if you mount USB devices automatically then you should use disk-ID's instead of sd* names.

just my 0,02€

Neil

In a related problem, when my external USB disk, or any random USB stick, is plugged in, then I cannot boot, no valid boot device found. Unplug all USB devices and it works like a charm. I alread plugged all USB disks/sticks into an USB hub so I only have to unplug one cable.

-- Amedee

Yours sounds like a totally different problem, probably a bios setting relating to boot order. Check your bios.

OK, checked, after doing what others told me to do in this tread. Boot order in bios is now: 1. cd/dvd drive 2. floppy 3. hard disk WDC WD2000JD-00H This is the output of lsscsi: amedee@saruman:~> lsscsi [1:0:0:0] cd/dvd SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-352B T806 - [1:0:1:0] cd/dvd AOPEN DUW1608/ARR A05a - [2:0:0:0] disk ATA WDC WD2000JD-00H 08.0 /dev/sda [4:0:0:0] disk ATA ST3120026AS 3.05 /dev/sdb [5:0:0:0] disk ATA ST3120026AS 3.05 /dev/sdc [7:0:0:0] disk USB 2.0 Storage Device 0100 /dev/sdd If sdd is unplugged, the grub loads but fails with error 17. If sdd is plugged, grub loads and no error. What I would like, is that the pc boots no matter if the usb disk is plugged in or not. Someone told me to use labels in grub. But because I have been on vacation the last few days, I didn't read the man page on labels yet. - -- Amedee -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAkijSAEACgkQxc/p9jmqUL5UWwCdHMeCnr6l0anxN12FupEMswfx QyUAoIJnYuS7yf2yM5vPjPgSgVqAA17d =M6bm -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org