Booting issues

[HouseMouse]

Hi All,

After numerous problems yesterday - most of which were solved - I now face a new day with new problems. One of them is booting.

I installed a frugal puppy on a HD without OS. Partitioned the 80GB WD into sda1 (3.73 gb) sda2 (swap 964,86 mb) sda3 (34.93 gb) and sda4 (34.90 gb) then formatted to ext2.

At reboot - before shutting down - I was asked a lot of questions on where to stick Grub (with the puppy files), whether I wanted to have full use of the CD drive, etc. Sorry, didn't write all down and forgot most of that. I do remember (ok, not remember, I read my earlier post http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=58751 ;o) opting to stick the pup-safe file on sda3.

Rebooted and Puppy started hollering at me that the kernel panicked after performing a switch-root to layered file system and wanted to kill init. Shut off the pc (no killings in this household except mosquitoes!)

I fumbled around a bit in the boot set-up and somehow got it started again. Last night I reformatted the files to ext3 using the command tune2fs -c 0 -i 30 -j /dev/sda* (see post http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=58769) and rebooted.

Now I got this:

Linux (on/dev/sda1)
Linux (on/dev/sda3)
Linux (on/dev/sda4)
Install Grub to floppy
Installl Grub to Linux partition (on/dev/sda1)

None of these worked. I opted for 'c' and told Grub to reboot. Nada. Same menu. I rebooted again and hit F12 during start-up. I opted for ' booting from onboard USB or CD-rom drive. Bingo!

This morning the same thing. I start up the pc and it goes to the first menu. Reboot, hit F12, choose boot from CD and it starts.

In the meantime the sda3 has been locked to a mount point. I don't remember doing that unless opting for ' yes' as to saving the pup-safe file to sda3 did that.

So ... how to fix this boot problem? I now know what to do but still, it would be nicer if Puppy came out of the bench straightaway. This might all seem very noobish (I have a son who plays WoW ;o) but I am, alas, a bit slow.

Anybody?

[rcrsn51]

Try the automated install method here..

Once you have Puppy working properly and you get some more experience, you can go back to the manual procedures you have been using.

[noryb009]

Open up menu.lst (should be in "/" or "/boot/grub" on the hard drive grub is installed on). and copy and paste the contents to your next post. Also say where your initrd.gz, vmlinuz and sfs files are (folders too), and where your pup save is.

[HouseMouse]

Hi Nory,

Posted a reply befoe I ran out the door this afternoon but obviously something went wrong. Here's the content of the menu.lst file:

# GRUB configuration file '/boot/grub/menu.lst'.
# generated by 'grubconfig'. Sat Aug 14 18:51:08 2010
#
# Start GRUB global section
#timeout 30
color light-gray/blue black/light-gray
# End GRUB global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda3)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda4)
root (hd0,3)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda4 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
title Install GRUB to floppy disk (on /dev/fd0)
pause Insert a formatted floppy disk and press enter.
root (hd0,0)
setup (fd0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title Install GRUB to Linux partition (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0,0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title - For help press 'c', then type: 'help'
root (hd0)
title - For usage examples, type: 'cat /boot/grub/usage.txt'
root (hd0)

There's another lupu-510.sfs on my sda3 (/mnt/home) as well as a lupusave.2sf.

Hope that gives some insight as to were things go wrong. Btw, when I went to boot now I typed 'boot' at 'c' in Grub. It told me ' error 8 Kernel needs to be loaded'.

[Béèm]

You said you did a frugal install, but your menu.lst shows entries for a full install!!!!
Why 3 partitions with puppy on it?
Always the same version?

[HouseMouse]

Hi Beem,

I see that Linux installed on 3 sda's now too. No, that was not the intention. The bootable pup should be on sda1, personal progs & apps on sda3 and personal data on sda4 (can switch those last 2). Can I move files/folders around to change this?

[hoven]

I see that Linux installed on 3 sda's now too. No, that was not the intention. The bootable pup should be on sda1

So just always choose the one installed in SDA1 to boot from. In fact, you can change the name from "title Linux (on /dev/sda1)" to something a little more descriptive like "title My Puppy Linux 5.10(on /dev/sda1)" or something.

I guess you must have just kept installing another one again even though you already had completed the installation. I wonder if you are understanding the menu correctly, they are alternative choices, you only choose one. Use the up/down arrow keys to highlight the option you want (the first one "Linux (on /dev/sda1) ") and then press Enter on the keyboard.

Later on you can delete the other installations if you like but there's no hurry.

However, I think you have over-cooked this badly. You have made it much more complicated than it is by over thinking it. Like the example of the fstab file the other day. You deciding it needed fixing when it wasn't broken. If in fact you had gone ahead and try to change it then you would have run the unnecessary risk of actually breaking it.

It looks like you have done full installs in the three partitions. I don't know if the files are actually there (you should check) or if you have just created menu entries for each of them.

A frugal install and a full install can co-exist on the same partition. If you boot a frugal install with a pupsave/lupusave file located on a partition then that partition will not be able to be unmounted as it needs access to the pupsave file.

What I think you should do if they are not already there is copy the three Puppy files (vmlinuz. initrd.gz and lupu-510.sfs) to SDA1 and then tidy up the menu.lst by opening it in a text editor and adding the appropriate lines for a frugal install.

had start up problems again, needed to enter boot menu and change from cd start-up to hd, then in next menu back to cd. Go figure.

The first boot menu you refer to there, that sounds to me like your computer's BIOS menu and not either Puppy CD's menu or your new Grub menu. Could it be that you are then booting from the CD while also using the lupusave.2sf file on the hard disk? Sorry if my guess is wrong but if you are confusing which menu is which then it might explain your troubles.

If you choose pfix=ram at the CD's boot menu then you can safely copy the save file from SDA3 to SDA1. I say copy because then you have a convenient backup.

[noryb009]

Try this:
1) back up your menu.lst (rename it to menu.lst.backup)
2) make a new menu.lst
3) open up your sda1 via the icon on your desktop and see if you can see "initrd.gz" AND "vmlinuz". If not, do a search for them in that partition, and take note of where they are located. (If you can't find them, just mount the CD, and put them in the same folder as lupu-510.sfs).
4) open your new menu.lst and paste the following into it:

Code: Select all

timeout=0
default=0

title Puppy Linux 510
kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz  root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773 
initrd (hd0,0)/initrd.gz

boot

If the "initrd.gz", "vmlinuz" and "lupu-510.sfs" are all in "/mnt/home/", then try to reboot. If they aren't, then get the full directory name of where they are, and chop off the "/mnt/home/", then add that before the slashes on the second and third lines.

Then, add

Code: Select all

 psubdir="Your/path/with/no/slashes/on/the/right/or/left" 

after the vmlinuz.

For example, if they are in "/mnt/home/Puppy-Linux-510", use the following:

Code: Select all

title Puppy Linux 510
kernel (hd0,0)/Puppy-Linux-510/vmlinuz psubdir="Puppy-Linux-510" root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773 
initrd (hd0,0)/Puppy-Linux-510/initrd.gz
boot

[rhadon]

Sometimes I install Puppy and Grub to a usb stick (with Puppy Universal Installer). In this case grub allways forget the initrd line in the menu.lst. After adding this manually everything works fine. I think grub is not able to detect a frugal install right.

If there is need for the psubdir command I allways use it without "". Seems to make no difference.

~ Rolf

[noryb009]

I think the psubdir is for where to save/where to look for the save file.

[HouseMouse]

Ok, sorry for not responding sooner. Time difference I guess.

I followed Hoven's suggestion first. Thanks for that one, btw. Unfortunately it didn't work. And yes, I do have the tendency to 'over-think' as you put it.

I then followed Nory's suggestion. Thanks! Unfortunately, that didn't work either and at a certain point I didn't see the contents of sda1 anymore. Everything was gone!

Then I decided to try something. I created a folder in sd1 called Boot, in that a folder called Grub and in Grub a file named menu.ltd. I also created a folder called Lucid Puppy 510 and copied the three files from the live-cd in it.. Saved it, and then suddenly the original menu.ltd was back, as well as the backup I created. I opened the menu.ltd file and altered the contents as follows:

DELETED this part:
# GRUB configuration file '/boot/grub/menu.lst'.
# generated by 'grubconfig'. Sat Aug 14 18:51:08 2010
#

KEPT this part:
# Start GRUB global section
#timeout 30
color light-gray/blue black/light-gray
# End GRUB global section

EDITED this part:
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends

INTO:
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Puppy Linux 510
root (hd0,0)
kernel (hd0,0)/Puppy-Linux-510/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773
initrd (hd0,0)/Puppy-Linux-510/initrd.gz
boot
# Linux bootable partition config ends

DELETED this part:
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda3)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda4)
root (hd0,3)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda4 ro vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
title Install GRUB to floppy disk (on /dev/fd0)
pause Insert a formatted floppy disk and press enter.
root (hd0,0)
setup (fd0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title Install GRUB to Linux partition (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0,0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title - For help press 'c', then type: 'help'
root (hd0)
title - For usage examples, type: 'cat /boot/grub/usage.txt'
root (hd0)

Saved it and rebooted. I hit Enter at the option highlighted at start up and He Presto! Now when I open menu.ltd it reads:

title puppy510 (on /dev/sda1)
kernel (hd0,0)/puppy510/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=773
initrd (hd0,0)/puppy510/initrd.gz
boot

Still, it's sda3 which is tagged as mnt/home and besides the lupusave.2fs also still has a lupu-510.sfs in it.

[HouseMouse]

The lupu-510.sfs on /mnt/home (sda3) has "real directory" initrd/mnt/dev_save. When renaming this file on sda3 (/mnt/home) into something silly as Blurk and rebooting, the pc won't start and hangs.

I guess somehow this sfs file on sda3 is still involved in the start-up.

[Béèm]

HouseMouse, I asked you a pertinent question.
You say you have a frugal install, but your menu.lst indicates you have a full install.
So what is it.
How did you install puppy.
Detailed steps you toke.
I am afraid you made some bad decisions while doing the install.
Please start with booting the liveCD with puppy pfix=ram when pushing F2.
Do you get the desktop?
What did you do to install on sda1? Frugal full?
Details please. Details please.

[kilgour]

Isn't it a time to another approach?

Suggestion in short:
- wiping disk
- 1st partition (say 4~8 GB) - bootable - for all "loved puppies" - ext3
- 2nd partition (1 GB) - Linux Swap
- 3rd partition (8~12 GB) - reserved for another distro - ext3
- 4rd partition: extended
- 5th partition: logical (50% of free space) - ext3
- 6th partition: logical (the rest of free space) - ext3

1st partition:
- folder "boot" for (and only for this) for Grub
- folder "lucidpuppy510" for Lucid Puppy 5.1 frugal installation, including lupusave
- folder... for another puppy

Why that?
Years ago I belived, that each Linux distro is most reliable OS in Universe. That was years ago... - I don't think at now, that "desktop edition" of any distro is more reliable than equivalent from M$. If I will continue using Linux in future, it always will be two independent distros in one PC. I do not use my PCs for fun, it's for work, and accident like "X not starting - Puppy 431" can be to costly for me, I'm not so rich to take that risk.

[HouseMouse]

I tried booting in f2 with puppy pfix=ram

Entered it as a new command line after the boot options kernel etc
Entered as a command line at Grub

Nada

[HouseMouse]

After trying to run puppy pfix=ram from F2 in every possible way, I (partly) went with Kilgour's suggestion.

Installed a frugal pup on sda1, named it pup510, removed all previous puppy510 files and folders, rebooted and it went OK.

I also think I know where I went wrong: I forgot to copy and paste the text from Grub at the opening screen into the menu.ltd file the first time around! It was all a bit fast and confusing for a semi-brainless person like myself. This time I paid closer attention.

Now all I need to figure out is how to run my translation software, but the booting problems seem to be fixed. Thanks everybody!

[Béèm]

HouseMouse,
We are getting nowhere.
I asked questions, specific ones, but you don't answer them.
EDIT
Good to hear you got the boot sorted.

[HouseMouse]

Beem,

Our posts crossed each other it seems. Pup seems to boot fine now, maybe in future I'll intall a full pup but for now this seems to work.

[noryb009]

I agree that you should start again completely. To use pfix=ram, add it after vmlinuz. Also try takeing out the "ro vga=773"

[Béèm]

Yes our posts crossed.
Keep the frugal and make often a backup of your save file, in case something goes wrong.

To do so, when the grub entry is displayed, push e then e again. You can do a one time change to the kernel line. at the end type pfix=ram. You will have to configure for that session.
Once at the desktop you can safely copy the save file.
At the end of the session, don't create a save file.

Then boot as normal to continue working.