Growing USB Mount Points

[Gerryman]

I tried putting a very simple stanza in menu.lst:

Code: [Select]


title PCLOS LXDE-64 Alt-3
root (hd0,7)
kernel (hd0,7)/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38.8-pclos3 root=/dev/sda8 ro
initrd (hd0,7)/boot/initrd-2.6.38.8-pclos3.img


which also ended in a kernel panic.


Take a look at this picture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/peblp9geb5uw530/LXDE_Kernel_Panic.JPG

See the line that starts with Input: ETPS/2 Elantech Touchpad ...

On every boot up, it stops at that line for 1 minute, and then goes on. I didn't mention this before because it did this even when the system was booting up completely. So, maybe that has nothing to do with the kernel panic.

But, see the third line above the "Call trace" line? The line that says "Switching to new root and running init." Right there is when the kernel goes into panic. It appears that something is wrong with init.

Agree? Disagree?

[Just17]

Here's what is in /boot on sda8:

Code: [Select]


root@AO722:/media/pclos64root/boot# ll
total 25504
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root     4096 May 11 07:32 ./
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root     4096 May 11 06:25 ../
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root       22 May 11 06:25 config -> config-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root   118265 Jul 17  2011 config-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root   128206 May 24  2012 config-3.2.18-pclos2
-rw-r--r--  1  500  500   517632 Mar 11 09:33 gfxmenu
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root     4096 May 15 12:25 grub/
-rw-------  1 root root 17140692 May  4 12:43 initrd-2.6.38.8-pclos3.img
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root       26 Mar 12 09:51 initrd.img -> initrd-2.6.38.8-pclos3.img
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root       30 May 11 06:25 kernel.h -> /boot/kernel.h-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root     1493 May 11 06:25 kernel.h-2.6.38.8-pclos3
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root       26 Mar 12 09:54 System.map -> System.map-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  1962492 Jul 17  2011 System.map-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  1682195 May 24  2012 System.map-3.2.18-pclos2
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root       23 Mar 12 09:51 vmlinuz -> vmlinuz-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  2291936 Jul 17  2011 vmlinuz-2.6.38.8-pclos3
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  2241152 May 24  2012 vmlinuz-3.2.18-pclos2
root@AO722:/media/pclos64root/boot#


There is something amiss there I think .......  you have a vmlinuz file for the 3.2.18 kernel but no corresponding initrd file.

In addition there is an entry for the 2.6.38.8 kernel .......  but this is not available for 64 bit IIRC.

If this is correct it would appear that you have mixed up the partitions, and this one might have been the 32 bit install ....... ?

[Gerryman]

There is something amiss there I think .......  you have a vmlinuz file for the 3.2.18 kernel but no corresponding initrd file.

In addition there is an entry for the 2.6.38.8 kernel .......  but this is not available for 64 bit IIRC.

If this is correct it would appear that you have mixed up the partitions, and this one might have been the 32 bit install ....... ?

I am looking into these issues. Be back soon...

[Gerryman]

There is something amiss there I think .......  you have a vmlinuz file for the 3.2.18 kernel but no corresponding initrd file.

In addition there is an entry for the 2.6.38.8 kernel .......  but this is not available for 64 bit IIRC.

If this is correct it would appear that you have mixed up the partitions, and this one might have been the 32 bit install ....... ?

The 2.6.38.8 kernel was indeed the original install kernel. In the original dmesg file (/var/log/dmesg.old), at the top of the file it says this:

Code: [Select]


Initializing cgroup subsys cpuset
Initializing cgroup subsys cpu
Linux version 2.6.38.8-pclos3 (root@localhost) (gcc version 4.5.2 (GCC) ) #1 SMP Sun Jul 17 11:44:33 CDT 2011
Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=linux root=UUID=d3349dac-f955-492c-9bc0-289f2e37fcb6
BIOS-provided physical RAM map:
.
.
.
blah
blah
blah


So, that was indeed the original kernel.

As for the 3.2.18-pclos2 kernel, I found in the /var/log/syslog file these entries for May 11, 2013:

Code: [Select]


May 11 07:32:42 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-cpp-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:43 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgcc1-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:43 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libstdc++6-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:47 localhost apt-get: [RPM] glibc-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:47 localhost klogd: glibc-post-wrap[11501]: segfault at 7f3999a486f0 ip 000000000041be23 sp 00007fff86293f98 error 6 in glibc-post-wrapper[400000+ad000]
May 11 07:32:50 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:51 localhost snmpd[2995]: Wrong netlink message type 3
May 11 07:33:02 localhost apt-get: [RPM] kernel-3.2.18-pclos2-1-1pclos2012.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:07 localhost apt-get: [RPM] kernel-devel-3.2.18-pclos2-1-1pclos2012.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:08 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:08 localhost apt-get: [RPM] lib64xfs1-3.1.11-1pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:09 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libquadmath0-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:09 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgfortran3-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:10 localhost apt-get: [RPM] xfsprogs-3.1.11-1pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:11 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-en-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:12 localhost apt-get: [RPM] ndiswrapper-1.58-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:13 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgomp1-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:13 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:14 localhost apt-get: [RPM] xfsprogs-3.1.8-1pclos2012.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:14 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libstdc++6-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgcc1-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] lib64xfs1-3.1.8-1pclos2012.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-cpp-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:16 localhost apt-get: [RPM] ndiswrapper-1.58-1pclos2013.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:16 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgomp1-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:17 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgfortran3-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:17 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-en-2.13-1pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:18 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-2.13-1pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:19 localhost apt-get: [RPM] glibc-2.13-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed


This is when the system died. I believe I did an "apt-get update", and an "apt-get upgrade" on that day. On the following reboot is when the kernel panics began. Unfortunately, I did not log, in my personal log file, what I did before the reboot. You can see from the apt-get entries above that "kernel-3.2.18-pclos2-1-1pclos2012.x86_64" was installed. However, we know from looking at /boot that an initrd file was never created.

Is it possible to create the initrd image file?

The kernel is in /boot

The modules for 3.2.18-pclos2 are in /lib/modules:

Code: [Select]

root@AO722:modules# pwd
/media/pclos64root/lib/modules
root@AO722:modules# ll
total 16
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root 4096 May 11 07:32 ./
drwxr-xr-x 10 root root 4096 May 11 07:33 ../
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 4096 Apr 15 20:14 2.6.38.8-pclos3/
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 4096 May 11 07:32 3.2.18-pclos2/
root@AO722:modules#

So, is it possible to create the initrd file by accessing the non-running system from a running system?

[Just17]

The 2.6.38.8 kernel was indeed the original install kernel.

Does this not then mean that install was not a 64 bit install, but a 32 bit install?

.....  maybe I am getting very mixed up here .......

[Gerryman]

Does this not then mean that install was not a 64 bit install, but a 32 bit install?

Maybe I'm getting all mixed up too? But, I'm going by my hand written notes in my old fashioned paper notebook.

I still have the CD with the installed iso on it. So, I booted it up in live mode, and here is a screen shot of it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgh705ibnmjsqkl/pclos64-lxde-test2-livecd.png

Notice that the terminal window is in transparency mode, so that the default wallpaper clearly displays "64". Then, I did a "uname -a" command. So, you can see that the kernel is in fact an x86_64 bit kernel.

My paper notebook says that I installed the pclos64-lxde-test2.iso iso. The reason I installed this iso is threefold: 1) I wanted LXDE, 2) I wanted a 64bit LXDE, and 3) the Wifi had to work in live CD mode. I tried a lot of PCLOS LXDE isos, and this was the only 64 bit one where the wifi worked in live cd mode.

I still am not sure why things got messed up.

Since the PCLinuxOS mirrors seem to have removed all LXDE 64 bit isoes, I think I'm just going to abandon this install and replace it with something else.

Many thanks to all who gave of their time to help me sort this out!

Cheers,
GM

[Just17]

My error .......  I had not realised that the older kernel was used on the LXDE 64 bit ISO.

On the question of the missing initrd file .......  there is a recent thread about adding a new kernel to an inaccessible install, by chrooting into the environment .......  full explanation by Old Polack.

This might help to sort the problem ......

[Gerryman]

My error .......  I had not realised that the older kernel was used on the LXDE 64 bit ISO.

On the question of the missing initrd file .......  there is a recent thread about adding a new kernel to an inaccessible install, by chrooting into the environment .......  full explanation by Old Polack.

This might help to sort the problem ......

Oh, okay, thanks. I'll look it up and give it a try. I've already rescued any important data from that install, so it won't hurt anything to give it a whirl. Besides, I just might learn something. 

[Old-Polack]

My error .......  I had not realised that the older kernel was used on the LXDE 64 bit ISO.

On the question of the missing initrd file .......  there is a recent thread about adding a new kernel to an inaccessible install, by chrooting into the environment .......  full explanation by Old Polack.

This might help to sort the problem ......

Oh, okay, thanks. I'll look it up and give it a try. I've already rescued any important data from that install, so it won't hurt anything to give it a whirl. Besides, I just might learn something. 

I've posted this several times, for slightly different repairs, but this one seems to be the one that is most complete for running mkinitrd in a chroot environment.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,96077.msg818283.html#msg818283

If you need any clarification of any part, just ask. 

Edit:

In the linked post the user is trying to rebuild the initrd image of the default kernel. In your case the initrd image that is missing is for the vmlinuz-3.2.18-pclos2 kernel, so the part in blue is what you would use when issuing the mkinitrd command.

[root@localhost boot]# mkinitrd -f -v initrd-3.2.18-pclos2.img 3.2.18-pclos2

[Gerryman]

Thanks O-P for the instructions. I gave it a go and it failed with a FATAL: kernel too old message. Here's the whole run on pastebin:

http://pastebin.com/Ccs19FGy

See line #187.


"kernel too old", what does that mean?

Now what?

[Gerryman]

This is from the latest /var/log/syslog file on the failing system. Note the error message for the glibc installation, could that be the problem? These were the last updates done to the system before it went belly up. 

Code: [Select]


May 11 07:32:42 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-cpp-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:43 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgcc1-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:43 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libstdc++6-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:47 localhost apt-get: [RPM] glibc-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:47 localhost klogd: glibc-post-wrap[11501]: segfault at 7f3999a486f0 ip 000000000041be23 sp 00007fff86293f98 error 6 in glibc-post-wrapper[400000+ad000]
May 11 07:32:50 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:32:51 localhost snmpd[2995]: Wrong netlink message type 3
May 11 07:33:02 localhost apt-get: [RPM] kernel-3.2.18-pclos2-1-1pclos2012.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:07 localhost apt-get: [RPM] kernel-devel-3.2.18-pclos2-1-1pclos2012.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:08 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:08 localhost apt-get: [RPM] lib64xfs1-3.1.11-1pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:09 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libquadmath0-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:09 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgfortran3-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:10 localhost apt-get: [RPM] xfsprogs-3.1.11-1pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:11 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-en-2.16-3pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:12 localhost apt-get: [RPM] ndiswrapper-1.58-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:13 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgomp1-4.7.2-2pclos2013.x86_64 installed
May 11 07:33:13 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:14 localhost apt-get: [RPM] xfsprogs-3.1.8-1pclos2012.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:14 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libstdc++6-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgcc1-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] lib64xfs1-3.1.8-1pclos2012.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:15 localhost apt-get: [RPM] gcc-cpp-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:16 localhost apt-get: [RPM] ndiswrapper-1.58-1pclos2013.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:16 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgomp1-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:17 localhost apt-get: [RPM] libgfortran3-4.5.2-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:17 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-en-2.13-1pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:18 localhost apt-get: [RPM] locales-2.13-1pclos2011.x86_64 removed
May 11 07:33:19 localhost apt-get: [RPM] glibc-2.13-4pclos2011.x86_64 removed



[Just17]

Thanks O-P for the instructions. I gave it a go and it failed with a FATAL: kernel too old message. Here's the whole run on pastebin:

http://pastebin.com/Ccs19FGy

See line #187.


"kernel too old", what does that mean?

Now what?

Search the forum for   "kernel too old" ......  there are 8 or 9 threads on the subject which should give you a better understanding than anything in one post