[SOLVED] Startx failed after system upgrade - Elilo hits the wrong kernel

hazel · 05-01-2023, 08:39 AM

I couldn't find that file in my Slackware-14.2 system, but I don't know if I ever updated a kernel in that. I remember making an initrd at installation, but it didn't leave a command trace behind.

allend · 05-01-2023, 09:07 AM

From the ChangeLog for Slackware 15.0

Quote:

Tue Oct 10 18:08:31 UTC 2017
...
a/mkinitrd-1.4.11-i586-5.txz: Rebuilt.
Save a copy of the command line used to create the initrd as "command_line"
in /boot/initrd-tree/ and within the initrd itself. Also save a copy of
/etc/mkinitrd.conf if it exists.

colorpurple21859 · 05-01-2023, 01:39 PM

This is what I used in the initrd.conf for the kernel:

Code:

-k "$(readlink /boot/vmlinuz | cut -d- -f3-)"

Someone else came up with it.
I don't know if it will still work in slackware-15

allend · 05-02-2023, 01:59 AM

That code is seen in post #5 in the thread linked in post #31 and post #75 of this thread.
As discussed in the following post, that code is problematic for 32bit kernel names.

jazzi · 06-14-2023, 08:02 PM

Thanks for all the help and associated knowledge shared, I learned more than what I needed.

By the way, I found slackpkg+ has a way to get this initrd image generated and copied automatically, just uncomment the following line in the /etc/slackpkg/slackpkgplus.conf as long as package slackpkg+ installed.

Code:

set PLUGIN_ZLOOKKERNEL=enable

jostber · 11-24-2023, 11:13 AM

I had the same issue with an empty /boot/efi a short while ago after repairing the system due to the the laptop froze running a slackpkg upgrade-all. For some reason an error like this had crept into my /etc/fstab leading to the efi partition not mounting.

Code:

dev/nvme0n1p1 SYSTEM /boot/efi        vfat        defaults         1   0

These fixes were required to enable eliloconfig to work again:

(As root or with sudo):

Code:

fdisk -l | grep EFI | awk '{print $1}'

mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /boot/efi

mount -t efivarfs efivarfs /sys/firmware/efi/efivars

Would it be useful to add these as tests in eliloconfig to avoid this issue?

breaker · 02-01-2024, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

An example of /etc/grub.d/40_custom below:

Code:

 #!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
    menuentry 'Slint ISO' {
    insmod part_gpt
    insmod part_msdos
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 163f42f7-bf65-4290-a93f-761b8bb38bc6
    set isofile='slint64-15.0-3.iso'
    loopback loop /repo/x86_64/slint-15.0/iso/$isofile
    linux (loop)/linux quiet vga=normal load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ro printk.time=0 LANG=en_US.utf8
    initrd (loop)/initrd
    }

This can be handy to boot an installer without writing the ISO on an optical disk or USB stick, just storing it an existing partition (if GRUB is installed, of course).

I also use it to test a new installer in bare metal (not in a VM), thus with access to all files in the machine. This allows me to correct the installer's scripts "on the fly" when I find mistakes, without rewriting an ISO and burning it again on an installation media. As I make a lot of mistakes this saves me a lot of time.

Automatize kernel upgrades is not difficult: what Didier can do, Patrick can do way better, it's just not The Slackware Way so far.

Ah yes, this brings back so many fun memories. When GRUB2 first came out, I had a lot of time to play with it.
Check out this forum post from Linux Mint where we fleshed out using search with labels for partitions.
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtop...222330#p222330

Also, you can make any number of entries, not just 40_custom. I would make whatever number.

I was really excited about the loopback feature:
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtop...220639#p220639

I don't bother with the variable using set isofile just to keep it looking simple.

Certainly these are usually needed these days - insmod part_gpt insmod part_msdos

Now that EFI and GPT are used.

It is fun to boot into grub and drop to the command line. It is a good exercise to learn to boot a system by typing commands, loading modules, etc. It has saved me more than once when a system would not boot.