Boot error on latest release

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agreimann
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Boot error on latest release

Post#1 by agreimann » 21 Apr 2011, 16:40

Guys,

I have discovered that upon booting the new system, an error is encountered on a clean install of Porteus from Windows. Note this is the latest nightly: Porteus 1.0 Release Candidate 1 64-bit (porteus_v1.0_rc1_x86-64). I can't put this under debugging because there is no apparent way to easily debug! (In other words, I can't take a 10-digit hex like code 0x000067000A, translate that to words, then see how it can be fixed.)

With that in mind, the error is encountered after Porteus finds the media and waits for the full 9 seconds. Note that after that, I'm asked for a .dat file, and that posixovl isn't enabled. Now, the no posixovl is to be somewhat expected, because the flash drive is a FAT32. In the question asking if I want to save changes to a data archive, if I answer "y", then it complains of insufficient space on the drive, and blinks the Caps Lock LED. (7.1 GB are free!), but if I answer "n" then the boot process continues, but no data is preserved, as is to be expected if it can't be saved somewhere.

Note that in the stable release, this does not happen, either on used or clean installations of Porteus. This is an error (or a bug, if it can be tracked down) that needs resolved. Thanks.

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Hamza
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#2 by Hamza » 21 Apr 2011, 16:49

Some job for you!

1) Have you checked the MD5sum of your ISO?
2) If it's a frugal install , test it on 2nd machine
3) Post more information about your machine where the bug will be reported.

Regards,
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#3 by Burninbush » 21 Apr 2011, 17:20

With that in mind, the error is encountered after Porteus finds the media and waits for the full 9 seconds. Note that after that, I'm asked for a .dat file, and that posixovl isn't enabled. Now, the no posixovl is to be somewhat expected, because the flash drive is a FAT32. In the question asking if I want to save changes to a data archive, if I answer "y", then it complains of insufficient space on the drive, and blinks the Caps Lock LED. (7.1 GB are free!), but if I answer "n" then the boot process continues, but no data is preserved, as is to be expected if it can't be saved somewhere. >agrieman

+++++++++++++++++++++

Ahhh ... I'm not clear this is either a bug or an error? The only safe way to store changes on a vfat filesystem is through the use of a container.dat file -- as you describe the situation, that's what the script is enforcing. In other words, if you want to save changes, you must do it as the system tells you. This is different behavior from slax and previous versions of Porteus -- a good thing.

Please correct me if I've misunderstood you.

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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#4 by agreimann » 21 Apr 2011, 18:34

@Burninbush: Hooray! You're here! This is certainly cool... So far, I've found several cool Slax people here. :D

I will look closer into the problem. This is indeed a clean installation of the newest nightly--I copied the /boot and /porteus directories to USB, and ran the prompt installer, as usual. The MD5 is okay. The machine's specifications on the affected system are: 3.2 GHz dual core Intel P6100 64-bit (AMD64 compliant) processor, 4 GB RAM, and the make and model is a HP G72-b43WM. I'm still looking into the error--I understand the technicalities of running FAT32 media--and I understand posixovl by default isn't enabled on it--since you mention requirements for the Linux Live script have changed, I'll take a better look. :) As of right now, I'm writing up an installer--see the "Build an OFFICIAL installer" thread for details. Give me time, guys...

Oh, and, thanks for your replies! They're appreciated! I only hope I'm helping the rest of the Porteus team to work together to fix this.

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Hamza
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#5 by Hamza » 21 Apr 2011, 18:48

@agreimann
Thanks a lot!
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#6 by Ahau » 21 Apr 2011, 19:06

I believe this is an error somewhere, and fanthom will be able to better address it, as he wrote the script in the initrd that performs this operation. The standard procedure for choosing "y" to use a .dat container is for one to be created by the script (which does check the amount of available space on the drive), but not mounted for use on the initial boot; the .dat container created by the script could then be used by typing it in at boot time as a cheatcode (i.e. changes=/porteus/agreimanns_changes.dat), or adding the file location to your porteus.cfg file in the same way. It sounds like your flashdrive is not being properly detected and/or mounted in order to create the .dat container.
Please take a look at our online documentation, here. Suggestions are welcome!

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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#7 by agreimann » 21 Apr 2011, 22:16

OK--I'm still working on the installer... it is about 50% complete so far, and completely conforms to Windows & Windows Aero guidelines, just to let you guys know how that's coming. Now, let me address the situation. Ahau is certainly right--what is happening is that something has went wrong in the "new" scripts released in this nightly. The flash media is not being detected properly (at least not on my system), which results in an error, even if the directories are written cleanly. This is an error. If only we could track it down to what nightly it started in...

Now, the **current** release works very well. This is what convinces me something went wrong. So there's the update I promised. Thanks, guys.

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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#8 by fanthom » 22 Apr 2011, 20:50

@agreimann
"if I answer "y", then it complains of insufficient space on the drive, and blinks the Caps Lock LED"
what partitions do your ave there? any u3 stuff? please show me output of
fdisk -l /dev/sdX
(your pendrive letter)
Please add [Solved] to your thread title if the solution was found.

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Hamza
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#9 by Hamza » 22 Apr 2011, 21:00

@ agreimann

Sorry , you don't respect this rule
4. Include logs and tell us commands executed. Most wanted are: /var/log/dmesg and /var/log/messages. Use pastebin.com for long and multiple files. Jayflood's 'Porteus System Info' tool can be also very helpful - you can launch it from Kmenu/Lxde menu and receive a lot of useful info about your system straight on the desktop.
Remember: nobody can help you if they don't know what's wrong, or what you did to get the error you received. Providing this information will greatly aid others in assisting you, and will allow us to diagnose your problem easier and sooner.
But , I apologize because , this bug is at boot (at initrd) , you cannot report any logs.

If you have a shell console , try ls /mnt/live/var/log/* , if you get any logs , could you save them on an external drive or an HD?
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Ahau
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#10 by Ahau » 22 Apr 2011, 22:15

I just tested with 2 different FAT32 flash drives, in 64 bit RC1, and both successfully created a save.dat file at /mnt/sdb1/save.dat. I'm willing to test more configurations, if we get more of an idea what the issue might be.
Please take a look at our online documentation, here. Suggestions are welcome!

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Hamza
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Re: Boot error on latest release

Post#11 by Hamza » 22 Apr 2011, 22:18

I think , it is an issue with Boot Device. It can make an issue with some files.

Have you tested your current ISO with another device?
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