Problem with installer (ubi-partman) and Kubuntu version of grub

[efflandt]

I hadn't updated Kubuntu Natty regular install on 8 GB USB for about a month due to the holidays and other things. After tried to update it Sunday, it would not boot because it could not find /dev/sdb1, which is strange, because it apparently was able to find the rest of grub and the kernel there and should be using UUID instead of /dev/sdb1.

So I tried doing a fresh install from daily build downloaded tonight from iso on USB, and kept getting an error when it got to Disk Setup that Partitioner does not have info about default partitions on that architecture, and that ubi-partman failed with exit code 10. But it was an Intel laptop with msdos partition table and NTFS and ext3 partitions on hard drive, FAT32 on USB iso booted from, and ext2 on the USB stick I was trying to reinstall to. Somehow by going back and forth I got to the Disk Setup and picked /dev/sdc1 for / and /dev/sdc for grub, and installed.

When install finished and I rebooted, the grub menu came up and Ubuntu logo with moving dots under it, but it then dropped to BusyBox. When I booted to (recovery), which still ended up in busybox, the visible boot messages revealed why. Apparently Kubuntu hard codes grub menuentries like root=/dev/sdc1 instead of using UUID, making it completely unsuitable for external flash or drive that may end up as a different drive on different computers. For example it would end up as a different drive on my desktop than on my laptop.

Kubuntu Natty (the wrong way, note root=/dev/sdc1 in vmlinuz line):

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.37-12-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(/dev/sdc,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root e7cd4ed7-58c3-4a4e-a9d0-0ad5853c6fae
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37-12-generic root=/dev/sdc1 ro  vt.handoff=7 quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.37-12-generic

Ubuntu Natty (the right way, note root=UUID=... on vmlinuz line) on different drive:

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.37-12-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	savedefault
	set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(/dev/sdb,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root e70810eb-379d-4f9f-9087-54c2f1cd96f9
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37-12-generic root=UUID=e70810eb-379d-4f9f-9087-54c2f1cd96f9 ro  vt.handoff=7 quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.37-12-generic

This was a problem earlier in Kubuntu Natty grub, then it was fixed, but now it is broken again. Regular Ubuntu has always worked as any drive, so it is not a grub problem, it is the way Kubuntu configures grub. Who controls how grub is configured in Kubuntu?

[dibl]

Re: Problem with installer (ubi-partman) and Kubuntu version of grub

Context: We're discussing a developmental version that is some 10 or 12 weeks pre-release -- there is no expectation of correct performance.

I tried doing a fresh install from daily build downloaded tonight from iso on USB, and kept getting an error when it got to Disk Setup that Partitioner does not have info about default partitions on that architecture, and that ubi-partman failed with exit code 10. But it was an Intel laptop with msdos partition table and NTFS and ext3 partitions on hard drive, FAT32 on USB iso booted from, and ext2 on the USB stick I was trying to reinstall to. Somehow by going back and forth I got to the Disk Setup and picked /dev/sdc1 for / and /dev/sdc for grub, and installed.

This looks like something went wrong right at the beginning of your process -- the partition table was not read or something like that. Assuming you have an error-free ISO image/CD, then I would say start disconnecting drives that are not the subject of your project, to simplify the scenario.

I can't replicate your issue -- I installed a Natty daily build on Sunday evening, on a VM, using the downloaded ISO image, and here is the menu entry it automatically generated:

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.37-12-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(/dev/sda,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 90b44383-b057-420f-adc1-6709f1ee31f2
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37-12-generic root=UUID=90b44383-b057-420f-adc1-6709f1ee31f2 ro  vt.handoff=7 quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.37-12-generic

So I dunno -- did it change after I installed, or could there be some earlier issue on your ISO file?

Also, don't forget -- for any PC in which the USB stick is to be the booted OS, to the USB stick it will always be /dev/sda1, unless you do a fancy setup to put Linux on a later partition on the USB stick, like this. In other words, while it is absolutely true that to an OS booted on a PC, the USB device's /dev/sdx ID can be assigned randomly, that fact is irrelevant to the function of grub on the USB device -- it is only expected to boot itself, /dev/sda1.

[Fintan]

Re: Problem with installer (ubi-partman) and Kubuntu version of grub

an error when it got to Disk Setup that Partitioner does not have info about default partitions on that architecture, and that ubi-partman failed with exit code 10

I am getting the same after trying yesterdays nightly.

I have never been able to install an alpha from the live cd, so I tried the alt CD.
No luck there my machine hangs at the "ASUS" screen with the cd in the player.

[Fintan]

Re: Problem with installer (ubi-partman) and Kubuntu version of grub

Got it done the other day. Had to start the machine with out the alt-cd in the player and then sneak it in after the "ASUS" screen.

all is well now