Unable to boot 2.6.24.14 or newer kernels with SCSI cd changer attached

mjbraun · 02-17-2009, 06:32 AM

I have a 200-disc SCSI-attached CD changer that I'd like to make use of, and I'm currently running Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex). However, ever since upgrading from kernel 2.6.22.14-generic to kernel 2.6.24.14-generic (and all subsequent kernels) the boot process hangs and drops out to initramfs/busybox while the CD changer initializes itself (i.e. it checks all 200 element slots for discs).

After around 7 minutes, I get a message that ch0 has finished and that a SCSI disk is attached. However, I'm stuck in initramfs.

I increased the root timeout value to 10 minutes and the system will boot, but what then happens is I get numerous error messages from within Gnome that I can't mount the audio disc (which is is in the changer for testing).

I'm at a loss as to how best to diagnose and resolve the situation. Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated!

The error I get is:

Code:

Begin: Waiting for root file system... ...
Done.
     Check root= bootarg cat /proc/cmdline
     or missing modules, devices: cat /proc/modules ls /dv
ALERT! /dev/disk/by-uuid/5767f0bf-9340-4c3a-9e2b-7afe3b1114e5 does not exist. Dropping to a shell.

The (truncated) dmesg output from the running 2.6.22-14-generic boot is:

Code:

<SNIP>
[  118.836191] scsi2 : Adaptec AIC7XXX EISA/VLB/PCI SCSI HBA DRIVER, Rev 7.0
[  118.836194]         <Adaptec 2940 Ultra SCSI adapter>
[  118.836196]         aic7880: Ultra Wide Channel A, SCSI Id=7, 16/253 SCBs
[  118.836197] 
[  118.836869] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:02:0b.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) ->
IRQ 16
[  118.889932] ohci1394: fw-host0: OHCI-1394 1.0 (PCI): IRQ=[16]
MMIO=[ec184000-ec1847ff]  Max Packet=[2048]  IR/IT contexts=[4/8]
[  118.898517] shpchp: Standard Hot Plug PCI Controller Driver version: 0.4
[  118.898541] piix4_smbus 0000:00:14.0: Found 0000:00:14.0 device
[  118.898715] agpgart: Detected Ati IGP9100/M chipset
[  118.905832] agpgart: AGP aperture is 64M @ 0xe4000000
[  118.917611] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:14.5[B] -> GSI 17 (level, low) ->
IRQ 18
[  119.011967] input: PS/2 Generic Mouse as /class/input/input2
[  119.428211] scsi 2:0:2:0: CD-ROM            PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[  119.428238]  target2:0:2: Beginning Domain Validation
[  119.430667]  target2:0:2: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  119.431991]  target2:0:2: Domain Validation skipping write tests
[  119.431996]  target2:0:2: Ending Domain Validation
[  119.438401] scsi 2:0:3:0: CD-ROM            PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[  119.438424]  target2:0:3: Beginning Domain Validation
[  119.440872]  target2:0:3: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  119.442135]  target2:0:3: Domain Validation skipping write tests
[  119.442140]  target2:0:3: Ending Domain Validation
[  119.448520] scsi 2:0:4:0: CD-ROM            PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[  119.448545]  target2:0:4: Beginning Domain Validation
[  119.450979]  target2:0:4: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  119.452294]  target2:0:4: Domain Validation skipping write tests
[  119.452299]  target2:0:4: Ending Domain Validation
[  119.458705] scsi 2:0:5:0: CD-ROM            PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[  119.458731]  target2:0:5: Beginning Domain Validation
[  119.461149]  target2:0:5: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  119.462456]  target2:0:5: Domain Validation skipping write tests
[  119.462460]  target2:0:5: Ending Domain Validation
[  119.470054] scsi 2:0:6:0: Medium Changer    JVC      CD-CHG MC-1200
1.02 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[  119.470080]  target2:0:6: Beginning Domain Validation
[  119.501913]  target2:0:6: Ending Domain Validation
[  119.992466] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
[  120.165728] ieee1394: Host added: ID:BUS[0-00:1023]
GUID[00301bb100009a6d]
[  120.634783] Adding 2931820k swap on /dev/hdc5.  Priority:-1 extents:1
across:2931820k
[  121.346340] EXT3 FS on hdc1, internal journal
[  121.667091] sr0: scsi-1 drive
[  121.667513] sr 2:0:2:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0
[  121.675645] sr1: scsi-1 drive
[  121.676054] sr 2:0:3:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr1
[  121.694454] SCSI Media Changer driver v0.25
[  121.695202] sr2: scsi-1 drive
[  121.695677] sr 2:0:4:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr2
[  121.700406] sr3: scsi-1 drive
[  121.700828] sr 2:0:5:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr3
[  121.716046] ch0: type #1 (mt): 0x2000+1 [medium transport]
[  121.716051] ch0: type #2 (st): 0x1+200 [storage]
[  121.716054] ch0: type #3 (ie): 0x4000+1 [import/export]
[  121.716056] ch0: type #4 (dt): 0x3001+4 [data transfer]
[  121.725497] ch0: dt 0x3001: ID 5, LUN 0, name: PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01
[  121.737404] sr 2:0:2:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 5
[  121.737781] sr 2:0:3:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 5
[  121.738165] sr 2:0:4:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 5
[  121.738604] sr 2:0:5:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 5
[  121.738977] ch 2:0:6:0: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 8
[  121.762428] ch0: dt 0x3002: ID 4, LUN 0, name: PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01
[  121.782824] ch0: dt 0x3003: ID 3, LUN 0, name: PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01
[  121.842549] ch0: dt 0x3004: ID 2, LUN 0, name: PLEXTOR  CD-ROM PX-32CS
1.01
[  121.842560] ch0: INITIALIZE ELEMENT STATUS, may take some time ...
[  122.887340] audit(1231905243.746:3):  type=1505 operation="profile_load"
info="unsupported interface version" pid=4078
[  123.142881] audit(1231905244.246:4):  type=1505 operation="profile_load"
info="unsupported interface version" pid=4083
[  123.219799] audit(1231905244.246:5):  type=1505 operation="profile_load"
info="unsupported interface version" pid=4087

<SNIP>

[  169.092631] (scsi2:A:5:0): No or incomplete CDB sent to device.
[  169.092755] scsi2: Issued Channel A Bus Reset. 2 SCBs aborted
[  169.093111] ch0: ... finished
[  169.094174] ch 2:0:6:0: Attached scsi changer ch0
[  169.446036]  target2:0:5: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  169.459827] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.
[  170.598339]  target2:0:2: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  170.603793]  target2:0:3: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  170.609267]  target2:0:4: FAST-20 SCSI 20.0 MB/s ST (50 ns, offset 15)
[  171.465687] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.
[  173.591760] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.
[  175.598051] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.
[  177.645293] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.
[  179.649795] sr3: CDROM not ready yet.

I appreciate any suggestions for what steps to undertake next!

Ranguvar · 02-17-2009, 11:45 PM

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4482542 may help a little.

knudfl · 02-18-2009, 07:49 AM

Suggest : Go back to the kernel, that worked.

Changing the kernel is not always an upgrade, just a change.
A newer kernel often has new features ( some, you don't need ),
while other functions can be broken until a later version.

Bare in mind that just released versions of "Linux Enterprise"
are using e.g. kernel-2.6.18 to use the safest around.
.....

mjbraun · 02-18-2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ranguvar

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4482542 may help a little.

Ranguvar: Thank you very much for looking into my problem. Sadly, that was a post by me!

I recognize that the hardware is obscure as heck, but I imagine that there is probably a simple solution, as newer kernels shouldn't break the system.

But I will keep digging!

mjbraun · 02-18-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knudfl

Suggest : Go back to the kernel, that worked.

Changing the kernel is not always an upgrade, just a change.
A newer kernel often has new features ( some, you don't need ),
while other functions can be broken until a later version.

Bare in mind that just released versions of "Linux Enterprise"
are using e.g. kernel-2.6.18 to use the safest around.
.....

Knudfl: Thank you very much for your advice, and I'm thinking that may be the only option. However, I'm also thinking it may be a bit selfish on my part: if there's a chance to squash a bug that possibly affects others, I should dig into it to report back to the maintainers. Also, it might be a great chance to learn more about my system and Linux in general! I just wish I had a better idea as to how to approach debugging the problem.

Ranguvar · 02-22-2009, 12:47 AM

Found something while configuring my kernel:

"Probe all LUNs on each SCSI device"
If you have a SCSI device that supports more than one LUN (Logical Unit Number), e.g. a CD jukebox, and only one LUN is detected, you can say Y here to force the SCSI driver to probe for multiple LUNs. The vast majority of SCSI devices only have one LUN, and so most people can say N here. The max_luns boot/module parameter allows to override this setting.

May or may not be it. I suggest looking into that parameter, seeing if you can find the configs for the old and new kernel and compare them to see the differences which may have triggered your problem, and trying to configure your own kernel.

Good luck