Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

Strider · 2009-08-04 10:29:03

I installed arch with lvm and raid following the wiki http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ins … AID_or_LVM.
Arch is installed besides Windows Vista and Fedora. I added a grub entry to my already existing grub installed by Fedora. Here's the menu.lst :

# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE:  You have a /boot partition.  This means that
#          all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
#          root (hd0,1)
#          kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_fedora-lv_root
#          initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/sda
default=0
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,1)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Fedora (2.6.29.6-213.fc11.x86_64)
    root (hd0,1)
    kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.29.6-213.fc11.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_fedora-lv_root rhgb vga=0x376
    initrd /initrd-2.6.29.6-213.fc11.x86_64.img
title Fedora (2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64)
    root (hd0,1)
    kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_fedora-lv_root rhgb quiet
    initrd /initrd-2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64.img
title  Arch Linux
    root (hd0,5)
    kernel /vmlinuz26 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_arch-lv_root
    initrd /kernel26.img
title Windows
    rootnoverify (hd0,0)
    chainloader +1

For arch, here are some config files :
rc.conf (note the USELVM='yes'):

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# USEDIRECTISA: use direct I/O requests instead of /dev/rtc for hwclock
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="en_US.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Europe/Brussels"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=()

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/hosts
#
HOSTNAME="myhost"

# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
# 
# DHCP:     Set your interface to "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
# Wireless: See network profiles below
#
wlan0="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(eth0)

# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
 
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network.d
#
# This now requires the netcfg package
#
#NETWORKS=(main)

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond)

mkinitcpio.conf (note the mdadm and lvm2 hooks added, also the images were build correctly during the install and contained the hooks mentioned) :

# 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="piix ide_disk reiserfs"
MODULES=""

# BINARIES
# This setting includes, into the CPIO image, and additional
# binaries a given user may wish.  This is run first, so may
# be used to override the actual binaries used in a given hook.
# (Existing files are NOT overwritten is already added)
# BINARIES are dependancy 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 anyway.  This is useful for config files.
# Some users may wish to include modprobe.conf for custom module options,
# like so:
#    FILES="/etc/modprobe.conf"
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
# 'modload' may be used in place of 'udev', but is not recommended
# '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 pata scsi sata filesystems"
#
#    This is identical to the above, except the old ide subsystem is
#    used for IDE devices instead of the new pata subsystem.
#    HOOKS="base udev autodetect ide scsi sata filesystems"
#
#    This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
#    No autodetection is done.
#    HOOKS="base udev pata scsi sata usb filesystems"
#
#    This setup assembles an pata raid array with an encrypted root FS.
#    Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H raid' for more information on raid devices.
#    HOOKS="base udev pata raid encrypt filesystems"
#
#    This setup loads an lvm2 volume group on a usb device.
#    HOOKS="base udev usb lvm2 filesystems"
HOOKS="base udev autodetect pata scsi sata mdadm lvm2 filesystems keymap usbinput"

# COMPRESSION
# Use this to compress the initramfs image. With kernels earlier than
# 2.6.30, only gzip is supported, which is also the default. Newer kernels
# support gzip, bzip2 and lzma.
#COMPRESSION="gzip"
#COMPRESSION="bzip2"
#COMPRESSION="lzma"

The fstab file (note that the syntax of the devices are slightly different than as specified on the grub entry, but lvdisplay uses this format and it was also mentioned in the wiki) :

# 
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
#
# <file system>        <dir>         <type>    <options>          <dump> <pass>
none                   /dev/pts      devpts    defaults            0      0
none                   /dev/shm      tmpfs     defaults            0      0

#/dev/cdrom             /media/cd   auto    ro,user,noauto,unhide   0      0
#/dev/dvd               /media/dvd  auto    ro,user,noauto,unhide   0      0
#/dev/fd0               /media/fl   auto    user,noauto             0      0

/dev/vg_arch/lv_root / ext4 defaults 0 1
/dev/vg_arch/lv_swap swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/vg_fedora/lv_home /home ext4 defaults 0 1
/dev/vg_fedora/lv_music /music ext4 defaults 0 1
/dev/vg_fedora/lv_pictures /pictures ext4 defaults 0 1
/dev/md3 /boot ext3 defaults 0 1

I did not install grub from /arch/setup
After exiting the installer, I did adapt my /etc/mdadm.conf with the output of 'mdadm -D --scan'.

When boot arch linux, I get the famous message that it cannot find the root filesystem and advises to add 'rootdelay=10' to the kernel parameters (which I did but without success.
I am prompted with 'ramfs' and I can only reboot

Help is greatly appreciated since I really want to try out Arch to become my future distro ...

Thanks in advance

Dieter@be · 2009-08-04 10:42:20

Why not try the new RC image? it supports lvm natively.
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=77241

Strider · 2009-08-04 13:25:09

Dieter,

I'll give it a try (I'm downloading right now). Still would like to know what I did wrong though ...

I'll keep you posted.

Strider · 2009-08-04 15:15:58

Ok,

I tried with the new installer and still same problem.

Note that I have already all my raid arrays and lvm volume groups and logical volumes defined before I start the installer. All I do is to re-assemble my raid arrays and re-activate logical volume with 'vgscan' followed by 'lvchange -ay'. I then start the installer. All runs smoothly until I reboot

Dieter@be · 2009-08-04 15:46:53

Strider wrote:

Ok,
I tried with the new installer and still same problem.
Note that I have already all my raid arrays and lvm volume groups and logical volumes defined before I start the installer. All I do is to re-assemble my raid arrays and re-activate logical volume with 'vgscan' followed by 'lvchange -ay'. I then start the installer. All runs smoothly until I reboot

sorry, i went over your first post too fast. the new images won't help much.

your hooks look okay, but maybe you need mdadm parameters in menu.lst? not sure, i never used softraid

Strider · 2009-08-04 18:17:14

mdadm kernel parameters should not be necessary since i used the mdadm hook in mkinitcpio (according to the wiki)µ

Anybody else any suggestions ?

Strider · 2009-08-05 07:03:17

I've found the solution myself. There is a bug in the installer.

Here is what I did :

1) Start up the live cd. In my case i first configured my wireless dongle (still not supported by the installer ...) and I re-assembled all my raid arrays and re-activated all LVM logical volumes. I saved my raid config using the following :

dmadm -D --scan >> /etc/dmadm.conf

2) I re-entered the installer but this time I just mounted the filesystems I created the first time.
3) When installling the packages further down the road pacman noticed everything was already there and performed an upgrade (although there was nothing to upgrade for me) and in the last step rebuild my kernel image but this time mkinitcpio took into account my saved /etc/mdadm.conf when processing the hook 'mdadm'.
4) I rebooted and entered Arch glory

Note that mkinitcpio.conf did not do this the first time since pacman installed the raid packages from scratch ... with an empty dmadm.conf. So the subsequent mdadm hook in mkinitcpio had nothing to pick up ...

Dieter@be · 2009-08-05 07:34:07

Well, our installer doesn't support creating/reusing softraid with a fancy interface, so doing this yourself is how it is supposed to be (for now)

and what's up with the dongle? doesn't the installer list you the recognized interfaces and say something like 'if you need to load specific modules to support your network intface, do it now in a separate interface' after which you can use that interface?

Strider · 2009-08-05 08:38:30

Dieter,

there is nothing up with the dongle and indeed I get that message, that's why I configure it beforehand.
But if you see what is needed to each time configure it manually I do not think it's much work to include it in the installer itself. There is an increasing number of people who only have a wireless interface : it should be a welcome add-on to the installer.

Dieter@be · 2009-08-05 08:43:05

Strider wrote:

Dieter,
there is nothing up with the dongle and indeed I get that message, that's why I configure it beforehand.
But if you see what is needed to each time configure it manually I do not think it's much work to include it in the installer itself. There is an increasing number of people who only have a wireless interface : it should be a welcome add-on to the installer.

that sounds reasonable. I personally know sh** about wireless ifaces, so if you could make a feature request and tell us what we should do...

Arch Linux

#1 2009-08-04 10:29:03

Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#2 2009-08-04 10:42:20

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#3 2009-08-04 13:25:09

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#4 2009-08-04 15:15:58

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#5 2009-08-04 15:46:53

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#6 2009-08-04 18:17:14

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#7 2009-08-05 07:03:17

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#8 2009-08-05 07:34:07

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#9 2009-08-05 08:38:30

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

#10 2009-08-05 08:43:05

Re: Fresh Arch Install with raid1 and lvm won't boot

Board footer