Btrfs-gui

[steve7233]

While trying to solve my Lubuntu install problem where I want to install Lubuntu 14.04 beside kubuntu14.04, so I can see if I can get wifi and Ethernet working in Lubuntu 14.04. I have a BTRFS problem. Lubuntu thinks my BTRFS partition has no installed system! I found this program: http://carfax.org.uk/btrfs-gui/ When I run it it says my sub volumes have a JSON problem. This is a problem in Ubuntu as another user had a problem. Its at the bottom of the web page. I guess my next step is to find the BTRFS mailing list.

[steve7233]

I found the mailing list archives via a google search. Hopefully there is a fix some place.

List: linux-btrfs
Subject: Re: Announcing btrfs-gui
From: cwillu <cwillu () cwillu ! com>
Date: 2011-11-23 17:39:02
Message-ID: CAE5mzvgbYyvU4tNnzr3sWcY=QGTTqceW4X=uLiswy-eM4F9rHg () mail ! gmail ! com
[Download message RAW]

On Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 6:33 AM, Hugo Mills <hugo@carfax.org.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 01:24:57AM +0100, Amedee Van Gasse wrote:
>> On 02-06-11 01:20, Hugo Mills wrote:
>> > Â Â Unless the traffic gets too high-volume, or unless someone
>> >important objects, I'm going to suggest that bug reports should go to
>> >this list for now (cc'd me, if you like). Note that this isn't an
>> >"offical" btrfs project -- it's just something I knocked together on
>> >my own.
>>
>>
>> I seem to have stumbled upon a bug.
>> During install, Ubuntu gives the user the option to use btrfs as the
>> root filesystem. It automatically creates two subvolumes, @ (for /)
>> and @home (for /home, only if no other partition is used for /home),
>> like this:
>>
>> mount | grep btrfs
>> /dev/sda6 on / type btrfs (rw,subvol=@)
>> /dev/sda6 on /home type btrfs (rw,subvol=@home)
>> /dev/sda6 on
>> /tmp/btrfs-gui-kl6zx1/12624/eba4f1e9-5b55-4e14-abb8-5a3cf3625c56
>> type btrfs (rw,subvolid=0)
>>
>> When gtrfs-gui scans for filesystems, it gives the error
>> Root helper exception: b'@' is not JSON serializable
> [snip]
>
> Â Mmm... That could be fun.
>
> Â Thanks for the bug report. I hope I'll have time to look into this
> next week.

Looks like a unicode screwup; python 3 doesn't do implicit unicode
conversions anymore, so passing a bytestring to the json module isn't
supported. The solution will be something along the lines of
"subvol.decode('ascii')" (or possibly utf-8 if you're willing to
silently break on the admittedly obscure case of a non-ascii subvolume
name in an installation using an encoding other than utf-8).
--

Not so obscure if it is a problem with the Ubuntu installers partition program.

[oshunluvr]

That program hasn't been updated since 2011. That's 6 YEARS AGO. Do you have any idea how much has changed in btrfs-tools since then? A LOT. No way should you be using that. Get if off your computer - now. I would totally disregard anything you got from the output of that program. If fact, any other software you're using from 2011 should also be removed - just my opinion.

Unless you have a lot more reason than the above to believe you have an issues with your btrfs file system, I'd step back and look at the actual issue.

Let's start with the actual problem: You say Lubuntu does not detect your Kubuntu install? Why would you assume this is a file system problem? Sounds more like a GRUB problem. If it's not detecting your btrfs file system, likely Lubuntu did not include btrfs support since it's a light-weight (aka minimal) installation.

You'll have to be more specific about what is actually the issue and what you've tried before any real trouble-shooting can occur.

[Snowhog]

Lubuntu has included btrfs support since version 10.10 (2010-10-10 release date).

[steve7233]

I think snowhog is right. The installer allows me to formate a BTRFS partition. I just quit the installer until I am sure of what I want to do. I know the sub volume is on there. I suspect if I rename them then they would probably encode properly. That's just a guess. Not changing anything until I am sure of what I want to do. It seems to be the installer not liking the codes that the file name uses. Probably an oops by the Ubuntu devs.

[GreyGeek]

I think snowhog is right. The installer allows me to formate a BTRFS partition. I just quit the installer until I am sure of what I want to do. I know the sub volume is on there. I suspect if I rename them then they would probably encode properly. That's just a guess. Not changing anything until I am sure of what I want to do. It seems to be the installer not liking the codes that the file name uses. Probably an oops by the Ubuntu devs.

Snowhog is right.

You quit the instaler before any actions were taken, or mid-stream during the installation?

[#]BTRFS[/#]

[oshunluvr]

Actually, I recall that os-prober doesn't find installations in subvolumes - at least not on the same file system (partition). You will have to create a suitable /etc/grub.d/40_custom file, then Kubuntu will be in your Lubuntu grub menu.

Mount the Kubuntu subvolume somewhere and copy the first boot menuentry from it's /boot/grub/grub.cfg and paste it into the Lubuntu /etc/grub.d/40_custom. Here's an example from my install:

[FONT=monospace][COLOR=#000000]menuentry 'GNU/Linux' --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-8f0c1661-4e84-4512-b875-23bcfd5be1d8' {[/COLOR]
        recordfail
        load_video
        gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
        insmod gzio
        if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
        insmod part_gpt
        insmod btrfs
        set root='hd2,gpt3'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd2,gpt3 --hint-efi=hd2,gpt3 --hint-baremetal=ahci2,gpt3  8f0c1661-4e84-4512-b875-23bcfd5be1d8
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 8f0c1661-4e84-4512-b875-23bcfd5be1d8
        fi
        linux   /@KDEneon/boot/vmlinuz-4.11.0-14-lowlatency root=UUID=8f0c1661-4e84-4512-b875-23bcfd5be1d8 ro rootflags=subvol=@KDEneon   
        initrd  /@KDEneon/boot/initrd.img-4.11.0-14-lowlatency
}

[/FONT]

Copy this into your 40_custom, run sudo update-grub, and reboot. You should see it in your grub menu then. Unfortunately, this won't update itself so if you boot to Kubuntu and update the kernel, you would have to repeat this process. A better solution is to build a custom menuentry that simple reads the grub.cfg from Kubuntu directly. Like this:

[FONT=monospace][COLOR=#000000]menuentry 'Kubuntu' {[/COLOR]
    insmod part_gpt
    insmod btrfs
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root <YOUR BTRFS PARTITION UUID HERE> 
    configfile /@Kubuntu/boot/grub/grub.cfg
}[/FONT]

Of course, use your own subvolume name that you have Kubuntu installed in.

[steve7233]

Snowhog is right.

You quit the instaler before any actions were taken, or mid-stream during the installation?

Before the partitions were modified of course. I have been using Linux since the 20th century. Just like you.

[GreyGeek]

Ah, a Centurion!

[vinnywright]

the OP said ,,,

Lubuntu thinks my BTRFS partition has no installed system!

wile he is looking at the installer ,,,,the installer is just going to show the BTRFS partition NOT the subvolumes in it ,,,,,(he has not installed Lubuntu yet) and it is a good thing you quit as lubuntu would have used the same subvolume names ,,,and efectivly wiped your 14.04 install (if it's in the BTRFS partition you were going to install Lubuntu to and you have not renamed the subvolumes yet ,,edited the fstab and the boot/grub/grub.cfg.)

an installer never shows the contents of the partitions it sees .

VINNY

[steve7233]

the OP said ,,, wile he is looking at the installer ,,,,the installer is just going to show the BTRFS partition NOT the subvolumes in it ,,,,,(he has not installed Lubuntu yet) and it is a good thing you quit as lubuntu would have used the same subvolume names ,,,and efectivly wiped your 14.04 install (if it's in the BTRFS partition you were going to install Lubuntu to and you have not renamed the subvolumes yet ,,edited the fstab and the boot/grub/grub.cfg.)

an installer never shows the contents of the partitions it sees .

VINNY

Wrong!

I found this. It seems like it might work: https://askubuntu.com/questions/4004...on-using-btrfs

[vinnywright]

Wrong!

I found this. It seems like it might work: https://askubuntu.com/questions/4004...on-using-btrfs

"wrong" is not saying vary much ,,,,,,,,,,if you could be more descriptive it would be of help .

you said

I have a BTRFS problem. Lubuntu thinks my BTRFS partition has no installed system! I found this program

just what dose this mean ,,,, ?

in what way dose it (Lubuntu) not think.

I will assume you mean show ,,,,,,so in what way were you looking ?

is the Lubuntu running live ,,,,,I must assume yes as you were trying to install it but quit,,,,,,,

The installer allows me to formate a BTRFS partition. I just quit the installer until I am sure of what I want to do

as I said the installer will not show the installs that are in the BTRFS partition ,,,so how were you looking for it.?

did you mount the BTRFS partition some where and the look in it ,,,,and see nothing ?

you have left a lot of questions to be assumed !

VINNY

[vinnywright]

Wrong!

I found this. It seems like it might work: https://askubuntu.com/questions/4004...on-using-btrfs

prity much the same info as @hear

https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post310672

VINNY

[vinnywright]

hears some more show and tell for you ,,,,,on multi booting BTRFS ,,,,,,,

hear is the hard drives @hear

vinny@vinny-Bonobo-Extreme:~$ sudo parted -l
[sudo] password for vinny: 
Model: ATA HGST HTS725050A7 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size    Type      File system     Flags
1      8225kB  323GB  323GB   primary   btrfs           boot
3      323GB   379GB  56.3GB  primary   ext4
4      379GB   496GB  117GB   extended
6      379GB   436GB  57.0GB  logical   ext4
5      436GB   496GB  59.8GB  logical   ext4
2      496GB   500GB  4295MB  primary   linux-swap(v1)

Model: ATA HGST HTS721010A9 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name     Flags
1      1049kB  1000GB  1000GB  btrfs        primary

the 500GB drive is for the OS's 5 of them ,,,2 in sda1 BTRFS and 1 each in sda 3,5 and 6

the 1TB drive is for data ,,,also BTRFS

the OS in /sda6 (Neon-/dev/stable) is controlling grub at boot .

I have in /etc/grub.d/40_custom ,,,,,,,,,,,

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry 'Kubuntu-14.04' {
set root='(hd0,msdos3)'
configfile /boot/grub/grub.cfg
} 

menuentry 'Debian-8' {
set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
configfile /boot/grub/grub.cfg
} 

menuentry 'Kubuntu-17.04' {
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
configfile /@17.04/boot/grub/grub.cfg
}

menuentry 'Neon-lts' {
insmod btrfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
linux /@/vmlinuz root=UUID=ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31 rootflags=subvol=@ ro quiet splash
initrd /@/initrd.img
}

the Kubuntu-17.04 is what we will look at as it was renamed to allow Neon-LTS to be installed ,,,the Neon-LTS looks different from the rest because I did not let the installer install grub with this one ,,,,,,this stanza boots it .

this is the Kubuntu-17.04 /etc/fstab as it currently is

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31 /               btrfs   defaults,subvol=[COLOR=#ff0000]@17.04[/COLOR] 0       1
# /home was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31 /home           btrfs   defaults,subvol=[COLOR=#ff0000]@home17.04 [/COLOR]0       2
# swap was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=98d20e91-1908-48a9-b713-c4aa0fd8b055 none            swap    sw              0       0

#TB-drive
/dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1    btrfs     rw,relatime,space_cache,compress=lzo     0    0

all I changed hear was the names in red ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

and this the /boot/grub/grub.cfg from the 17.04 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just the first part of the menuentry section for it (it is quite long with 5 installs to look at ) and is all that has to be edited for the first boot after editing everything ,,,,then running "sudo update-grub" will set it all striate.

menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_msdos
insmod btrfs
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31
else
 search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31
fi
   linux   [COLOR=#ff0000] /@17.04[/COLOR]/boot/vmlinuz-4.10.0-33-generic root=UUID=ff5d66d4-35b6-4c9c-a64e-8dfbe2aa1e31 ro rootflags=[COLOR=#ff0000]subvol=@17.04 [/COLOR] quiet splash $vt_handoff
initrd    [COLOR=#ff0000]/@17.04[/COLOR]/boot/initrd.img-4.10.0-33-generic
}

all you nead to change hear is the parts in red to reflect what you renamed your subvolumes to .

hear is a view inside the BTRFS partition ,,,,(note) from a booted install in the BTRFS partition you cant see any of this unless you mount the partition some where in the file system)

vinny@vinny-Bonobo-Extreme:~$ sudo mkdir /mnt/test

vinny@vinny-Bonobo-Extreme:/mnt$ sudo mount -t btrfs /dev/sda1 /mnt/test

vinny@vinny-Bonobo-Extreme:/mnt/test$ ls
@  @17.04  @17.04snap  @home  @home17.04  @home17.04snap  ubiquity-apt-clone  var

the @ and @home are the Neon-LTS ,,,the rest ,,,,,,self explanatory.

the *buntus default to installing the system as @ and @home ,,,this is why you must rename to do a second install or the first gets over written .

hope this helps some ,,,,,,

VINNY

[GreyGeek]

*deleted*