[SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 04:50:51

I want to configure a system with multiple disk drives. (two of which have an EFI parition)

My Problem;
When I have multiple drives attached to my system, Arch will not boot. (it will when only the drive with Arch is attached)

What changes do I need to make, to the existing system, so that it will boot?

What I Know, and have Done;

(Based on; https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=201243)
I assume the device naming, since it uses an arbitrarily assigned device ID is becoming misaligned with what the bootloader expects, when multiple drives are attached. Therefore, I assume that when the bootloader tries to find /dev/sda2 (root), it basically goes 'hang on, this isn't as described... nope'. Originally I got some prompt from ramfs, (I am uncertain what ramfs is, looks like it caches stuff from the disk in RAM?) Though, this doesn't happen any more since I made the below changes.

I tried giving the Arch root, and only the Arch root partition, a label by-uuid-label. Then I gave that to the systemd-boot config as the root
That didn't solve my issue. Now when I try booting Arch with all drives attached, Arch will just hang at a black screen. (instead of a prompt from ramfs)

I rather like working in the Linux environment, but I require Windows for a project I am working on at the moment. So I am hardly using the
Arch system; it's kind of inconvenient to pull a side panel off and swap cables around. Could I have some help with this?

Trivia;
My System;
I have a system with 3 disks. Arch is on one, Windows 10 on another, and one is just for mass storage.
(if relavant; i7 5820k, nVidia GTX 760, 16GB RAM, Asus X99 Pro, (2 SSDs, 1 HDD))
I use systemd-boot as my boot loader for Arch.

Last edited by AndyWM (2015-08-29 18:46:53)

DoctorT · 2015-08-29 07:15:25

It's a wild guess but it's likely an issue with your UEFI getting confused as to which EFI partition to boot from.

It would be an idea to stick to one EFI partition where all your operating systems are listed.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-08-29 12:10:52

DoctorT wrote:

it's likely an issue with your UEFI getting confused as to which EFI partition to boot from.

+1

It is possible to specify from which ESP the system will boot by using the `efibootmgr` command to manually create NVRAM entries and boot from them using your machine's firmware options.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/EF … bootmgr.29

Your post is a little confusing -- you first say that Arch will not boot and then say that it will (but only when the drive is attached; how you expect your system to boot *without* the drive attached I have no clue).

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 16:46:25

Sorry if it was confusing, I'll state more concisely. The machine has multiple disk drives, neither OS is on the same disk. So Arch will boot when its the only disk attached to the SATA bus. It'll fail to boot if the Windows drive is also there, it will fail to boot storage drive is there. The EFI partitions are not on the same disk.

I'll give the efibootmgr approach a shot, but it's my understanding that Windows has a habit of overriding your preferences here when it's booted?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-08-29 16:54:21

AndyWM wrote:

it's my understanding that Windows has a habit of overriding your preferences here when it's booted?

Windows may attempt to usurp your custom NVRAM entries with it's own.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … boot_order

EDIT: How are you attempting to boot?

Post your configuration files.

Also post the output of:

# parted -l
# efibootmgr -v
lsblk -f

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2015-08-29 16:58:36)

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 17:35:27

My current solution is to set the priority of the disk I want to use in UEFI. Arch uses systemd-boot; for which the config is;

title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options root =/dev/disk/by-label/arch rw

Parted;

Model: ATA Samsung SSD 850 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 538MB 537MB fat32 boot, esp
2 538MB 20.5GB 20.0GB ext4
3 22.0GB 26.3GB 4295MB linux-swap(v1)
4 26.3GB 500GB 474GB ext4

efibootmgr

BootCurrent: 0003
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0003,0002
Boot0002* Hard Drive
Boot0003* UEFI OS

lsblk

NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 465.8G 0 disk
|-sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot
|-sda2 8:2 0 18.6G 0 part /
|-sda3 8:3 0 4G 0 part [SWAP]
`-sda4 8:4 0 441.3G 0 part /storage

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 17:36:11

Other drive are not displayed because... well I can't boot into Arch when they're plugged in.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-08-29 17:46:28

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

post the output of:
# efibootmgr -v

Is there any particular reason why you decided to cross-post?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fo … ss-posting

You should have continued this in the original thread.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=201243)

You say:

when I try booting Arch with all drives attached, Arch will just hang at a black screen.

Do you see the systemd-boot menu when the other drives are attached?

EDIT: Also, please use code tags when posting terminal output.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2015-08-29 17:47:09)

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 18:11:14

What I have done does not meet the definition you linked to. I posted a very similar question in the same subforum, after my last one went ignored for weeks.
I also can't use a feature I was unware of, but thanks. WIll do in future.

As for when I try to boot with multiple drives. I don't the systemd-boot menu. Once the logo of the mainboard manufacturer has passed, the screen just remains black.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-08-29 18:14:32

This is the second thread you have started about the same problem, this is a waste of resources.

AndyWM wrote:

I don't the systemd-boot menu. Once the logo of the mainboard manufacturer has passed, the screen just remains black.

Do you see the menu if you hold the space bar down during boot up?

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 18:27:41

...
No, better. It booted straight into Arch... The only thing I have changed is I installed efibootmgr and parted for the information you wanted. I have used neither of these to modify anything though.

I'm really confused as to why this is working all of a sudden, but thanks, I guess... (only other thing I did was hotplug the sata cables for the other drive while already booted)

I'll also not repost in the future, though I still not entirely convinced a long dead thread wastes resources. I also linked to it in this one for further information.
Should I mark this as solved?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-08-29 18:32:32

AndyWM wrote:

Should I mark this as solved?

If your problem is fixed then yes, I think you should.

It is vexing not to find out what was going on though

AndyWM · 2015-08-29 18:46:26

Oh.

That's not the only thing I did - I unplugged a load of USB devices, after those same device were stopping Windows from booting properly. I think my original solution from the original thread worked, in as far as the 'hey I can't find root /dev/sda2' issue went away. Maybe one of those devices screwed Linux over as much as they did Windows.

Arch Linux

#1 2015-08-29 04:50:51

[SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#2 2015-08-29 07:15:25

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#3 2015-08-29 12:10:52

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#4 2015-08-29 16:46:25

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#5 2015-08-29 16:54:21

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#6 2015-08-29 17:35:27

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#7 2015-08-29 17:36:11

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#8 2015-08-29 17:46:28

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#9 2015-08-29 18:11:14

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#10 2015-08-29 18:14:32

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#11 2015-08-29 18:27:41

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#12 2015-08-29 18:32:32

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

#13 2015-08-29 18:46:26

Re: [SOLVED] Arch will not Boot when Multiple Drives are Attached?

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