[SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

xtian · 2013-08-25 22:55:54

Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black screen

I'm trying to install ArchLinux onto an existing Luks encrypted HDD, formerly dual boot with Fedora 17.

First,I left the Windows partition unchanged and erased the root partition. Then I booted to the ArchLinux, mounted and decrypted the LVM encrypted volume group partitions and followed along with the Beginner's Guide Installation Instructions. This progressed without a hitch; near as I can tell. I can boot to grub select kernel interface, but no further.

So I forgot something...the encrypted volume. I found the archLinux page dm-crypt with LUKS and tried my best to follow along encouraged by the first line, "The installation of a LUKS-encrypted system is largely the same as installing an unencrypted system."

And that's where I stand. I edited the grub.cfg to boot to run level 3, but the kernel doesn't seem to load at all and never starts to give me the chance to enter the password. So now I'm not sure if its the LUKS encryption after all. (maybe its my _next_ problem)

Any ideas?

Last edited by xtian (2013-09-17 22:03:48)

cfr · 2013-08-25 23:11:45

Welcome to Arch.

Could you please explain your partition set up? Posting fstab would be a good way to do this.

I'm not clear from your description what is encrypted and what is not or what is in LVM and what is not.

xtian · 2013-08-26 15:24:13

Sure, here's the layout,

# lsblk -fa
NAME   FSTYPE   LABEL          UUID                                   MOUNTPOINT
sda
├─sda1 vfat                            xxxx-xxxx
├─sda2 ext4                           xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   /boot
└─sda3 crypto_L                     xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  └─luks-93xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (dm-0) LVM2_mem               xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ├─cryptVG-root (dm-1)       ext4                     xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   /
    ├─cryptVG-swap (dm-2)     swap                   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   [SWAP]
    ├─cryptVG-home (dm-3)    ext4     home      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   /home
    └─cryptVG-local (dm-4)      ext4     local       xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   /usr/local

I left sda1 alone. Reinstalled on sda2 (/boot) and sda3 (cryptVG-root). I also remade swap. I didn't see an opportunity to set /usr/local, so I may simply free up this space after copying the data. But for home I set up a sub directory for the new install and left the old user in place (something I've been wanting to accomplish for some time as anaconda is not so nice to old user files).

qinohe · 2013-08-26 17:28:10

Hi, please show us your kernel line, the one identifying the boot path.
If have a feeling that is the first place to start looking, namely grub boots, but if you enter a selection, it stalls.

cfr · 2013-08-26 22:28:35

I second that.

Also, as far as I know the UUIDs of your partitions are not sensitive security-wise and obscuring them may prevent people from helping you, depending on what the problem is. If you really don't wish to reveal them, substitute for them consistently i.e. use the same substitution for each ID in the output of lsblk -fa, in fstab and in the kernel command line.

Post /etc/default/grub if you are autogenerating grub.cfg.

xtian · 2013-08-26 23:16:28

I've made a pastebin of the requested data (grub.cfg, fstab, #lsblk -fa). Here's a quote from the grub.cfg. It was autogenerated, and I did manually edit it in an attempt to correct the issue by copying some of the data from the original, and adding the runlevel 3:

linux   
/boot/vmlinuz-linux 
root=/dev/mapper/cryptVG-root 
ro 
rd.md=0 
rd.dm=0 
SYSFONT=True 
rd.lvm.lv=cryptVG/root 
KEYTABLE=us 
rd.lvm.lv=cryptVG/swap 
LANG=en_US.UTF-8 
rd.luks.uuid=luks-93b3841a-917c-4266-ae14-df6f145b2c72 
vga=0x318 
3

PS. On a funny note, I didn't redact the information because I thought it sensitive. I was replying quickly and simply used an old record and put the x's for the old UUIDs. haha. Rest assured, the pastebin has the current data.

Last edited by xtian (2013-08-26 23:18:24)

cfr · 2013-08-27 00:07:31

OK. I've only seen it done this way on Fedora and I am almost certain it will not work on Arch. Did you read the wiki at all? Your kernel command line needs to work with your initramfs and that is not the same beast as Fedora's.

Please post /etc/default/grub. As far as I can tell that tells grub to find files on a non-existent partition. It is also looking in what should be the wrong directory. Are you sure that your boot partition was correctly mounted during install? Especially when you installed the kernel, installed grub to disk and generated grub.cfg.

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-27 00:08:44)

qinohe · 2013-08-27 09:29:26

Looking at your kernel line, I'm curious how you created it.

linux   /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/cryptVG-root ro rd.md=0 rd.dm=0 SYSFONT=True rd.lvm.lv=cryptVG/root KEYTABLE=us rd.lvm.lv=cryptVG/swap LANG=en_US.UTF-8 rd.luks.uuid=luks-93b3841a-917c-4266-ae14-df6f145b2c72 vga=0x318 3

Now I have a LVM on top of Luks too on one of my machines, but my kernel line, looks more like this

linux   /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/cryptVG-root ro cryptdevice=/dev/sda2:cryptVG ro quiet

xtian · 2013-08-27 14:10:16

OK. I've only seen it done this way on Fedora and I am almost certain it will not work on Arch.

That's the kind of response I was sort of looking for. Something to help me when I _review_ the Arch wiki and look for what I missed. As I see it I've got to do some fix'n in the middle of three things:
- partition with Luks encryption (already there from the previous install)
- install Win for dual boot (already there)
- install the Arch OS (installed)

cfr · 2013-08-27 20:38:08

cfr wrote:

Your kernel command line needs to work with your initramfs and that is not the same beast as Fedora's.
Please post /etc/default/grub. As far as I can tell that tells grub to find files on a non-existent partition. It is also looking in what should be the wrong directory. Are you sure that your boot partition was correctly mounted during install? Especially when you installed the kernel, installed grub to disk and generated grub.cfg.

You should also post mkinitcpio.conf. That isn't what is causing your initial problem, I don't think, but it is crucial for getting the initramfs configured to work with lvm-on-luks. The most immediate issue, though, is /etc/default/grub. Unless you plan to always maintain grub.cfg manually, you don't want to edit it directly as it will be overwritten when you next generate it. Instead, set /etc/default/grub up so that the generated file is correct.

It is perfectly possible to maintain grub.cfg manually on Arch. I do this myself. But most people autogenerate.

Last edited by cfr (2013-08-27 20:41:32)

xtian · 2013-08-27 23:28:32

Look what I found, Arch Boot Proicess

//EDIT, I must have been tired, Proicess = Process

Last edited by xtian (2013-08-28 14:36:54)

cfr · 2013-08-27 23:54:48

xtian wrote:

Look what I found, Arch Boot Priocess

One wiki to rule them all...

But, yes, the wiki is (usually) great.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-08-25 22:55:54

[SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#2 2013-08-25 23:11:45

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#3 2013-08-26 15:24:13

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#4 2013-08-26 17:28:10

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#5 2013-08-26 22:28:35

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#6 2013-08-26 23:16:28

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#7 2013-08-27 00:07:31

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#8 2013-08-27 09:29:26

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#9 2013-08-27 14:10:16

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#10 2013-08-27 20:38:08

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#11 2013-08-27 23:28:32

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

#12 2013-08-27 23:54:48

Re: [SOLVED] Installation with LUKS encryption--ok to grub, then black s..

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