Arch Linux

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

I'm presented with the following output against an awful blue background:

    usb ... new USB device found, idVendor=xxx, idProduct=xxx, bcdDevice=xxx
    usb ... new USB device Strings: Mfr... Product... SerialNumber...
    tsc: Refined TSC clocksource calibration: Clockrate
    clocksource: tsc: ... mask: .... max_cycles: ..., max_idle_ns: ... ns
    clocksource: Switched to clocksource tsc
    usb ...: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci-pci
    usb ...: New USB device found, idVendor=..., SerialNumber=...
    usb ...: New USB device strings: Mfr=..., Product=..., SerialNumber=...
    usb ...: Product: ...
    usb ...: Manufacturer: ...
    ata1.00: ATA-9 ..., ..., max UDMA/133
    ata1.00: xxx sectors, multi 8: LBA48 NCQ (depth 32), AA
    ata1.00: configured for UDMA/133
    scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ATA     XXX     18D8 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] xxx 512-byte logical blocks: (512GB/477 GiB)
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3A 00 00
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Preferred minimum I/O size 512 bytes
    sdb: sdb1
    scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ATA     XXXX PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
    sd 2:0:0:0 [sdb] XXXX 512-byte logical blocks: (32.0GB/29.8 GiB)
    sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
    sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
    sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
    sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Preferred minimum I/O size 512 bytes
    scsi 3:0:0:0: CD-ROM       XXXX DVD+-RW SNXXXX XXXX PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
    sdb: sdb1
    sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
    sda: sda1 sda2 sda3
    sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI Disk
    /dev/root: Can't open blockdev
    fbcon: Taking over console
    VFS: Cannot open root device "/dev/mapper/root" or unknown-block(0,0): error -6
    Please append a correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions:
    0800       XXXX sda
    driver: sd
    0801      XXXX sda1 <PART-UUID>
    0802      XXXX sda2 <PART-UUID>
    0803      XXXX sda3 <PART-UUID>
    0810    XXXX sdb
    driver: sd
    0811      XXXX sdb1 <PART-UUID>
    List of all bdev filesystems:
    fuseblk
    Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)
    CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not Tainted 6.12.7-arch1-1 ...
    Hardware Name......
    Call Trace: ....

Please forgive my rough transcription of the output I am presented with.  I summarized non-crucial stuff to provide a touch of context as opposed to omitting it altogether.

I pretty much followed this setup to a T:  https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-cry … _partition.  My setup involves a boot partition, a swap partition, and an encrypted root partition.  The root partition was encrypted with a simple:

# cryptsetup -v luksFormat /dev/sda3

and a filesystem was written after unlocking it.  This works fine, I can chroot back into it via liveUSB. 

My mkinitcpio hooks look like:

HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole block sd-encrypt filesystems fsck)

I even tried putting keyboard before autodetect, as well as adding back in keymap and consolefont, no dice. 

I'm using rEFInd to boot, and I have the following config option:

"Boot with standard options"    "rd.luks.name=<UUID>=root root=/dev/mapper/root rw"

I've tried with and without specifying a few other options, such as specifying an initramfs file and microcode, etc.  eg:

"Boot with standard options"    "rd.luks.name=<UUID>=root root=/dev/mapper/root rw initramfs=intel-ucode.img initramfs=initramfs-%v.img

The only difference that makes is that if I include the second initramfs option, I'll get an error specific to it not being found - it doesn't seem to process the `%v` properly despite documentation saying to use it. 

The UUID specified in my kernel parameters (eg `rd.luks.name=...`) is the UUID (not PART-UUID) of the block device, and not the decrypted /dev/mapper/root UUID. 

The observed behavior is as follows: I boot my computer, the bootloader loads just fine, immediately upon trying to boot, my screen is filled with this blue background with the above error text.  The computer is fully unresponsive to anything other than holding down the power button.  Ctrl+alt+del doesn't reboot or have any effect, and of course TTYs don't exist yet. 

The expected behavior: I am prompted for a decryption password for my root volume. 

As mentioned above: My setup involves a boot partition, a swap partition, and an encrypted root partition.  This works fine, I can chroot back into it via liveUSB. 

I'm almost 100% confident my encrypted partition itself is not the culprit.  I think it's some weird kernel related problem?  But I can't seem to find any help whatsoever online.  It can't be the fstab as I'm not getting to that point yet, but even so it looks correct (root partition points to the decrypted /dev/mapper/root device as it should).  I've re-created my initramfs about a dozen times, so it's not that the hooks aren't present in the actual image(s).  I set the locale to `en_US.UTF-8` and ran `locale-gen`.  I set lang to `LANG=en_US.UTF-8`.  I set the keymap to `KEYMAP=en` (avoids hook build error, which I think would be superficial but I ruled it out anyways).  I don't know what else to do. 

I should also add that sdb in my logs above is some OEM installed cache/RAID type drive.  I don't need it, and Linux isn't touching it.  I don't think it's related at all to my problems, but I sure as heck can't find any other ideas of things to try so I figured I'd mention it. 

I should also highlight that it prints out PART-UUIDs in the error logs as opposed to UUIDs, and I am specifying UUIDs for the kernel parameter option.  I've tried using PART-UUIDs, but it of course doesn't work. 

I've setup extremely similar root encryption on several other devices before, and I've never experienced this problem.  I really don't know what else to try at this point.  I've checked that my kernel parameters are correctly spelled >5 times, and that the UUID is correct.  Could someone point me in the right direction?  I feel like I skipped some step somewhere but I cannot for the life of me figure out what that step would be.  Thanks.

nl6720

The Evil Wiki Admin

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 667

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

There's no such thing as an "initramfs=" kernel parameter. It's "initrd=".
The %v in /boot/refind_linux.conf requires that the extra_kernel_version_strings option is set in refind.conf for it to work with Arch's kernels. The note in https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/rEFInd … _by_rEFInd explains it. Though if you only have one kernel installed, you shouldn't even need to specify initrd in /boot/refind_linux.conf for rEFInd to autodetect the default initramfs image.

Did the initramfs image get generated without errors? Post the output of:

# lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

There's no such thing as an "initramfs=" kernel parameter. It's "initrd=".

Apologies, that was a transcription error.  I was using initrd when I tried, but as mentioned above I get the same problem with a full omission of that argument.

Did the initramfs image get generated without errors? Post the output of: # lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img

Yes, it did.  There's no errors other than the standard erroneous, "possibly missing firmware for xxx" messages.  I'll try to get a full output posted later today or tomorrow.

macromal

Member

Registered: 2024-08-03

Posts: 26

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

Use the command blkid to get the UUID of the LUKS superblock. I do it with a script so I don't get confused:

if [ "$encrypt" -eq 1 ]; then
	params="cryptdevice=UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value "$luks_part"):cryptlvm root=/dev/vg1/root"
	sed -i "/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=/ s|\"\"|\"$params\"|" /etc/default/grub
fi

Last edited by macromal (2025-01-04 00:27:23)

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

Use the command blkid to get the UUID of the LUKS superblock. I do it with a script so I don't get confused:

if [ "$encrypt" -eq 1 ]; then
	params="cryptdevice=UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value "$luks_part"):cryptlvm root=/dev/vg1/root"
	sed -i "/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=/ s|\"\"|\"$params\"|" /etc/default/grub
fi

To answer your pre-edit question: GPT with UEFI.  I don't think that is related though since I wouldn't be reaching my bootloader if I had problems with that part of my config.

To address the rest of your comment, I have verified that my UUID is correct already.  That GRUB script would need to be modified to rEFInd.  Even if it was ready for rEFInd, given that I'd be typing it by hand I'm also more likely to make a mistake in that transcription than I would be to just re-type the UUID directly.  I have appended the output of lsblk into my rEFInd config file and copied the UUID directly even to be safe. 

Did the initramfs image get generated without errors? Post the output of:

# lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img 

Here's the exact mkinitcpio.conf:

# vim:set ft=sh
# MODULES
# The following modules are loaded before any boot hooks are
# run.  Advanced users may wish to specify all system modules
# in this array.  For instance:
#     MODULES=(usbhid xhci_hcd)
MODULES=()

# BINARIES
# This setting includes any additional binaries a given user may
# wish into the CPIO image.  This is run last, so it may be used to
# override the actual binaries included by a given hook
# BINARIES are dependency parsed, so you may safely ignore libraries
BINARIES=()

# FILES
# This setting is similar to BINARIES above, however, files are added
# as-is and are not parsed in any way.  This is useful for config files.
FILES=()

# HOOKS
# This is the most important setting in this file.  The HOOKS control the
# modules and scripts added to the image, and what happens at boot time.
# Order is important, and it is recommended that you do not change the
# order in which HOOKS are added.  Run 'mkinitcpio -H <hook name>' for
# help on a given hook.
# 'base' is _required_ unless you know precisely what you are doing.
# 'udev' is _required_ in order to automatically load modules
# 'filesystems' is _required_ unless you specify your fs modules in MODULES
# Examples:
##   This setup specifies all modules in the MODULES setting above.
##   No RAID, lvm2, or encrypted root is needed.
#    HOOKS=(base)
#
##   This setup will autodetect all modules for your system and should
##   work as a sane default
#    HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
##   No autodetection is done.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup assembles a mdadm array with an encrypted root file system.
##   Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H mdadm_udev' for more information on RAID devices.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf keyboard keymap consolefont block mdadm_udev encrypt filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup loads an lvm2 volume group.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf block lvm2 filesystems fsck)
#
##   This will create a systemd based initramfs which loads an encrypted root filesystem.
#    HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole sd-encrypt block filesystems fsck)
#
##   NOTE: If you have /usr on a separate partition, you MUST include the
#    usr and fsck hooks.
HOOKS=(base systemd keyboard autodetect microcode modconf kms keymap consolefont sd-vconsole block sd-encrypt filesystems fsck)

# COMPRESSION
# Use this to compress the initramfs image. By default, zstd compression
# is used for Linux ≥ 5.9 and gzip compression is used for Linux < 5.9.
# Use 'cat' to create an uncompressed image.
#COMPRESSION="zstd"
#COMPRESSION="gzip"
#COMPRESSION="bzip2"
#COMPRESSION="lzma"
#COMPRESSION="xz"
#COMPRESSION="lzop"
#COMPRESSION="lz4"

# COMPRESSION_OPTIONS
# Additional options for the compressor
#COMPRESSION_OPTIONS=()

# MODULES_DECOMPRESS
# Decompress loadable kernel modules and their firmware during initramfs
# creation. Switch (yes/no).
# Enable to allow further decreasing image size when using high compression
# (e.g. xz -9e or zstd --long --ultra -22) at the expense of increased RAM usage
# at early boot.
# Note that any compressed files will be placed in the uncompressed early CPIO
# to avoid double compression.
#MODULES_DECOMPRESS="no"

And here's the requested command output:

# lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img:

==> Image: /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Created with mkinitcpio 39.2
==> Kernel: 6.12.8-arch1-1
==> Early CPIO: 52.75 MiB
==> Size: 10.36 MiB
==> Compressed with: zstd
  -> Uncompressed size: 25.69 MiB (.403 ratio)
  -> Estimated decompression time: 0.070s

==> Included modules (408):
  842				  cec				  hid-accutouch			  hid-megaworld			  hid-vrc2			  nouveau			  sl811-hcd
  842_compress			  chacha-x86_64			  hid-alps			  hid-mf			  hid-waltop			  nvme				  sm3
  842_decompress		  chacha20poly1305		  hid-apple			  hid-microsoft			  hid-wiimote			  nvme-auth			  sm3-avx-x86_64
  adc-keys			  chacha_generic		  hid-appleir			  hid-monterey			  hid-winwing			  nvme-core			  sm3_generic
  adiantum			  chcr				  hid-asus			  hid-multitouch		  hid-xiaomi			  ohci-platform			  sm4
  adp5520-keys			  cmac				  hid-aureal			  hid-nintendo			  hid-xinmo			  opencores-kbd			  sm4-aesni-avx-x86_64
  adp5588-keys			  crc16				  hid-axff			  hid-nti			  hid-zpff			  oxu210hp-hcd			  sm4-aesni-avx2-x86_64
  adp5589-keys			  crc32-pclmul			  hid-belkin			  hid-ntrig			  hid-zydacron			  padlock-aes			  sm4_generic
  aegis128			  crc32_generic			  hid-betopff			  hid-nvidia-shield		  hv_vmbus			  padlock-sha			  snd
  aegis128-aesni		  crc32c-intel			  hid-bigbenff			  hid-ortek			  hyperv-keyboard		  parkbd			  snd-rawmidi
  aes_ti			  crc32c_generic		  hid-cherry			  hid-penmount			  i2c-algo-bit			  parport			  snd-seq-device
  aesni-intel			  crc8				  hid-chicony			  hid-petalynx			  i8042				  pcbc				  soundcore
  af_alg			  crct10dif-pclmul		  hid-cmedia			  hid-picolcd			  i915				  pcips2			  sparse-keymap
  algif_aead			  cros_ec_keyb			  hid-corsair			  hid-pl			  iaa_crypto			  pcmcia			  sr_mod
  algif_hash			  cryptd			  hid-cougar			  hid-plantronics		  idxd				  pcmcia_core			  ssb
  algif_rng			  crypto_engine			  hid-cp2112			  hid-playstation		  idxd_bus			  pcrypt			  ssb-hcd
  algif_skcipher		  crypto_null			  hid-creative-sb0540		  hid-primax			  industrialio			  pinephone-keyboard		  stowaway
  altera_ps2			  crypto_safexcel		  hid-cypress			  hid-prodikeys			  intel-gtt			  pkcs8_key_parser		  streebog_generic
  amlogic-gxl-crypto		  crypto_simd			  hid-dr			  hid-pxrc			  intel_qat			  platform_profile		  sunkbd
  ansi_cprng			  crypto_user			  hid-elan			  hid-razer			  iqs62x			  poly1305-x86_64		  tca6416-keypad
  applespi			  ct82c710			  hid-elecom			  hid-redragon			  iqs62x-keys			  poly1305_generic		  tca8418_keypad
  arc_ps2			  cts				  hid-elo			  hid-retrode			  isp116x-hcd			  polyval-clmulni		  tcrypt
  aria-aesni-avx-x86_64		  curve25519-generic		  hid-emsff			  hid-rmi			  jbd2				  polyval-generic		  tee
  aria-aesni-avx2-x86_64	  curve25519-x86_64		  hid-evision			  hid-roccat			  keywrap			  pps_core			  tls
  aria-gfni-avx512-x86_64	  cxgb4				  hid-ezkey			  hid-roccat-arvo		  lcd				  ps2-gpio			  tm2-touchkey
  aria_generic			  cypress-sf			  hid-ft260			  hid-roccat-common		  led-class-multicolor		  ps2mult			  trusted
  asn1_encoder			  deflate			  hid-gaff			  hid-roccat-isku		  libarc4			  ptp				  ttm
  asus-wmi			  des3_ede-x86_64		  hid-gembird			  hid-roccat-kone		  libchacha			  qat_420xx			  twl4030_keypad
  async_memcpy			  des_generic			  hid-generic			  hid-roccat-koneplus		  libchacha20poly1305		  qat_4xxx			  twofish-avx-x86_64
  async_pq			  dlink-dir685-touchkeys	  hid-gfrm			  hid-roccat-konepure		  libcurve25519			  qat_c3xxx			  twofish-x86_64
  async_raid6_recov		  dm-bufio			  hid-glorious			  hid-roccat-kovaplus		  libcurve25519-generic		  qat_c3xxxvf			  twofish-x86_64-3way
  async_tx			  dm-crypt			  hid-goodix-spi		  hid-roccat-lua		  libdes			  qat_c62x			  twofish_common
  async_xor			  dm-integrity			  hid-google-hammer		  hid-roccat-pyra		  libpoly1305			  qat_c62xvf			  twofish_generic
  atkbd				  dm-mod			  hid-google-stadiaff		  hid-roccat-ryos		  libps2			  qat_dh895xcc			  uas
  atmel-ecc			  drm_buddy			  hid-gt683r			  hid-roccat-savu		  lkkbd				  qat_dh895xccvf		  usb-storage
  atmel-i2c			  drm_display_helper		  hid-gyration			  hid-saitek			  lm8323			  qt1050			  usbhid
  atmel-sha204a			  drm_exec			  hid-holtek-kbd		  hid-samsung			  lm8333			  qt1070			  userio
  authenc			  drm_gpuvm			  hid-holtek-mouse		  hid-semitek			  lrw				  qt2160			  video
  authencesn			  drm_ttm_helper		  hid-holtekff			  hid-sensor-custom		  lz4				  r8a66597-hcd			  virtio_blk
  bcma				  echainiv			  hid-hyperv			  hid-sensor-hub		  lz4_compress			  raid6_pq			  virtio_crypto
  bcma-hcd			  ecrdsa_generic		  hid-icade			  hid-sigmamicro		  lz4hc				  raid6test			  virtio_scsi
  blake2b_generic		  ehci-fsl			  hid-ite			  hid-sjoy			  lz4hc_compress		  rfkill			  vivaldi-fmap
  blowfish-x86_64		  ehci-platform			  hid-jabra			  hid-sony			  matrix-keymap			  rmd160			  vmac
  blowfish_common		  encrypted-keys		  hid-kensington		  hid-speedlink			  matrix_keypad			  rmi_core			  wmi
  blowfish_generic		  essiv				  hid-keytouch			  hid-steam			  max3421-hcd			  rpmb-core			  wp512
  camellia-aesni-avx-x86_64	  ext4				  hid-kye			  hid-steelseries		  max7359_keypad		  rtsx_usb			  xcbc
  camellia-aesni-avx2		  fcrypt			  hid-lcpower			  hid-sunplus			  mbcache			  rtsx_usb_sdmmc		  xctr
  camellia-x86_64		  ff-memless			  hid-led			  hid-thrustmaster		  md4				  samsung-keypad		  xen-hcd
  camellia_generic		  fsl-mph-dr-of			  hid-lenovo			  hid-tivo			  michael_mic			  seqiv				  xhci-pci-renesas
  cast5-avx-x86_64		  gcm				  hid-letsketch			  hid-tmff			  mmc_block			  serio				  xhci-plat-hcd
  cast5_generic			  geniv				  hid-lg-g15			  hid-topre			  mmc_core			  serio_raw			  xor
  cast6-avx-x86_64		  gf128mul			  hid-logitech			  hid-topseed			  mpr121_touchkey		  serpent-avx-x86_64		  xtkbd
  cast6_generic			  ghash-clmulni-intel		  hid-logitech-dj		  hid-twinhan			  mtk-pmic-keys			  serpent-avx2			  xts
  cast_common			  ghash-generic			  hid-logitech-hidpp		  hid-u2fzero			  mxm-wmi			  serpent-sse2-x86_64		  xxhash_generic
  cbc				  gpio_keys			  hid-macally			  hid-uclogic			  n5pf				  serpent_generic
  ccm				  gpio_keys_polled		  hid-magicmouse		  hid-udraw-ps3			  newtonkbd			  serport
  ccp				  gpu-sched			  hid-maltron			  hid-viewsonic			  nhpoly1305			  sha1-ssse3
  ccp-crypto			  hctr2				  hid-mcp2200			  hid-vivaldi			  nhpoly1305-avx2		  sha256-ssse3
  cdrom				  hid-a4tech			  hid-mcp2221			  hid-vivaldi-common		  nhpoly1305-sse2		  sha512-ssse3

==> Included binaries (20):
  blkid					  fsck					  mkswap				  sulogin				  systemd-tmpfiles
  busybox				  journalctl				  modprobe				  switch_root				  systemd-tty-ask-password-agent
  dmsetup				  kmod					  mount					  systemctl				  udevadm
  e2fsck				  loadkeys				  setfont				  systemd-cryptsetup			  umount

==> Hook run order:
  keymap

nl6720

The Evil Wiki Admin

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 667

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

In rEFInd, when you press F2 (twice) to edit the cmdline, does it show an initrd parameter there?

macromal

Member

Registered: 2024-08-03

Posts: 26

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

Try using the blkid command instead of lsblk to get the UUID of the LUKS superblock. The piece of script is irrelevant.

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

In rEFInd, when you press F2 (twice) to edit the cmdline, does it show an initrd parameter there?

Yes, but removing it makes no difference.

Try using the blkid command instead of lsblk to get the UUID of the LUKS superblock. The piece of script is irrelevant.

It's the same UUID.

I'd like to highlight again that the error presented in the blue screen output lists PART-UUIDs of my block devices rather than UUIDs.  I can't find an rd.luks valid option for using PART-UUIDs over UUIDs, and attempts to use PART-UUIDs where UUIDs go, or use rd.luks.PARTUUID=... are of course not working. 

Intentionally misspelling my UUID with the correct rd.luks.name=... syntax gives the same behavior as I currently have.  It's like that argument/parameter isn't being read at all.  The only time I'll see a relevant error to arguments I've passed in there are when I've got something like

rootflags=x-systemd.device-timeout=0

in there.  It'll complain about x-systemd not being found as mentioned above.

Last edited by Formal-Aardvark2205 (2025-01-04 17:08:29)

nl6720

The Evil Wiki Admin

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 667

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

In rEFInd, when you press F2 (twice) to edit the cmdline, does it show an initrd parameter there?

Yes, but removing it makes no difference.

I was asking to make sure rEFInd successfully appends the initrd parameter (it needs to be there).

Currently your kernel isn't using the initramfs image at all. I can only guess that the initrd parameter is specified incorrectly.

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

I was asking to make sure rEFInd successfully appends the initrd parameter (it needs to be there).

That's just not true, unless I'm completely misunderstanding what you're saying. It sounds like you're saying you HAVE to specify an initrd parameter.  https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/REFInd … linux.conf

"If you do not specify an initrd= parameter, rEFInd will automatically add it by searching for common RAM disk filenames in the same directory as the kernel."

I have never used initrd parameters on any installation prior, and I have never had issues with this including on several other nearly identical DMCrypt/LUKs encrypted root setups.  I even just changed the "esp/EFI/refind/refind.conf extra_kernel_version_strings" option to ensure nothing has changed upstream which would require this now, given the warning on the Wiki (which I would think is erroneous for single kernel setups).  Obviously rEFInd needs to find the file, but the argument does not need to be present in the config given standard names for the default Arch kernel.  I've never had to so much as change refind.conf options to have this work out of the box. 

Unless something changed upstream with rEFInd to change this and the Wiki is lagging behind, but I would assume this would have broken one of my other systems by this point.  I'll try any suggestions of options to change though, seeing as something somewhere clearly isn't behaving as it should.

Last edited by Formal-Aardvark2205 (2025-01-07 02:04:34)

nl6720

The Evil Wiki Admin

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 667

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

You misunderstood. The wiki is correct, you don't have to manually specify the initrd parameter for the default initramfs since rEFInd will add it itself. But the initrd parameter must still be passed to the kernel. By looking at the kernel cmdline (using the F2 key in rEFInd menu) you'll see if rEFInd has added a correct initrd parameter (the automatically added initrd will be shown in that line).

Formal-Aardvark2205

Member

Registered: 2025-01-02

Posts: 6

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

Ah, I see what you mean!  It defaults to:

initrd=\initramfs-linux.img

I guess when I was manually editing that line to remove that via the bootloader's interface at boot time via F2, it's different from editing the config file directly in behavior.  That's very unintuitive. 

For one reason or another, removing the backslash from that parameter works now!  I didn't change much in the config, really I think the only option I ever changed was the above extra_kernel_version_strings per wiki and I did upgrade the kernel at one point.  Why is it defaulting to a backslash here, and/or why doesn't a backslash work if it's the default (for this system)?  I have a separate boot partition for my ESP and refind should be aware of that given that it successfully installs to it, so why does it try to find it in the root partition as such?  Very strange.

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.

nl6720

The Evil Wiki Admin

Registered: 2016-07-02

Posts: 667

Re: DMCrypt/LUKs kernel parameter boot issue - Can't open blockdev

Why is it defaulting to a backslash here, and/or why doesn't a backslash work if it's the default (for this system)?  I have a separate boot partition for my ESP and refind should be aware of that given that it successfully installs to it, so why does it try to find it in the root partition as such?  Very strange.

If you're mounting the ESP to /boot then initramfs-linux.img is at the root of the ESP (where vmlinuz-linux resides). See the warning about initrd path in https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/rEFInd … linux.conf.
I have no idea why initrd=initramfs-linux.img works for you and initrd=\initramfs-linux.img doesn't. I could be some UEFI bug.