[SOLVED] Cannot replace AntiX with other distro

Klaas Vaak · 07-17-2019, 07:33 AM

Hi Bodge99, thanks for this detailed process description. Do you have a PhD in Linux by any chance?
Wow, this is truly amazing, but somewhat intimidating for a beginner newbie like me. Nevertheless, I will give it a try when I find a decent, long, distraction-free time slot.

bodge99 · 07-18-2019, 01:52 PM

Hi,

No PhD in Linux unfortunately, just quite a few late nights getting recalcitrant hardware working mixed in with "how does this work?" and "how do I do this?"...

Just take everything one step at a time.. I've tried to be as detailed as I can without making the post **too** long.
You might need to read up a little to fully understand the process used etc. but I would say this.. If you are totally stuck or just don't understand something then just ask..

Just a couple of things that might help with understanding things a little better:

Don't attempt to copy a system that is running.. This would be asking for problems. Boot a totally separate Linux from another source and use the tools from this active system to modify other installations.

UUID's (Universally Unique IDentifiers) are used to identify a particular partition **exactly**. The earlier method used such designations as /dev/sda1 to identify a specific partition (e.g. in fstab). Potential problems with this type of designation used here is that it's possible that a connected storage device (e.g. a flashdrive) could be detected by the system at boot time as /dev/sda . This could result in the boot manager not being able to locate the system drive. The kernel would therefore be inaccessible and you would just have a blank screen with some sort of arcane error message. This sort of thing does tend to frighten the non-technical or "normal" user.

The names used for the kernel and initrd are named here according to Ubuntu/Mint conventions. The names could actually be just about anything.. It's the file *contents* that are important. This said, any typed filenames and paths (also UUID's) in such files as grub.cfg MUST be accurate. Any typo's here will cause any boot attempt to fail. That's why I created a text file with the eMMC's partition UUID's.
You can then just copy & paste info from one file to another using a basic text editor.

Emmc partition designations (embedded MultiMediaCard):
These may appear a little strange to anyone who is used to seeing something like sda2 (second partition on the first storage device) or sbc5 (fifth partition on the third storage device).

Looking at an example of an eMMC partition. e.g. mmcblk0p2

The "mmc" part shows that the device is classed as a multimedia card. i.e. It is within the "general class" of MMC devices.
The "blk0" part shows that this is the first device of this block device class that is detected by the system. You'll probably be aware that many things "count from zero" in the computer world.
The "p2" part... yep, you're correct, the second partition on the device.

Hope that this helps..

Bodge99

Klaas Vaak · 07-19-2019, 01:50 AM

Thanks for this further clarification, Bodge.

Klaas Vaak · 07-31-2019, 03:44 AM

Hi Bodge, you probably did not think I was going to do this (your proposal in comment #135), and I must admit it was somewhat daunting, but yesterday I grabbed the bull by the horns, read your instructions carefully again, then realised it is not that difficult. So I installed Mint 19.1 XFCE to a thumb drive, which took about 1.5 hours.

This morning I tried to update (450 MB worth), but the process eventually got stalled because it failed on gconf2, and when it tried to recover it failed too. So I decided to leave it at that and do updates when Mint would be installed on the eMMC.

I then used UKUU to install the latest stable kernel, which is 5.2.4. After restarting I launched Firefox - no close/minimise/maximise buttons. Same for the file manager. Shut down, tried again, same problem. Shut down, restarted with the old kernel, and guess what: those buttons did not appear either, PLUS the panel at the bottom of the screen disappeared a second after the launch completed.

All this has taken me the whole of this morning because the thumb drive is extremely slow.

As an aside, I used my main computer with only Mint installed to install Mint on the thumb drive. My grub menu now shows that 2nd version of Mint at the top of the menu, so when I start my laptop I have to have the thumb drive in. I believe deleting a menu entry in grub is not difficult, though I would not know how to do that, and I am nervous about changing system files. The app Grub Customiser, a GUI-based app, is probably the simplest way to do it for some like me.

bodge99 · 07-31-2019, 04:08 AM

Hi,

Sorry to here that you are having minor problems still..

Re. gconf2, You could try manually installing this using apt (as root). In a terminal:

Code:

apt install gconf2

If you get the error message

Code:

Package gconf2 is not configured yet.

then try:

Code:

dpkg-reconfigure gconf2

If that doesn't work, try:

Code:

apt purge gconf2
apt install gconf2

Are you sure that you have sufficient room on the flashdrive?

You are correct, Grub Customizer would probably the easiest tool to remove the flashdrive Mint entry, just run it when the flashdrive is disconnected.
If you haven't yet added Grub Customizer to your system then I'd recommend using the PPA for this:

Code:

add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
apt update
apt install grub-customizer

Bodge99.

Klaas Vaak · 07-31-2019, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodge99

Hi,
Sorry to here that you are having minor problems still..

Re. gconf2, You could try manually installing this using apt (as root).

Can't I leave it till Mint is installed on the eMMC machine? The thumb drive is extremely slow :-(
Furthermore, the main problem is the latest stable kernel 5.2.4. It did what I described above. Now, I can't simply try all of them out, going down the ladder till I find one that behaves correctly.
Can you remember which version worked when you tried it on your friend's eMMC machine?

Quote:

Are you sure that you have sufficient room on the flashdrive?

The recommended hard disk space is 15 GB. I have allocated 25 GB for the root partition.

Quote:

You are correct, Grub Customizer would probably the easiest tool to remove the flashdrive Mint entry, just run it when the flashdrive is disconnected.
If you haven't yet added Grub Customizer to your system then I'd recommend using the PPA for this:

Code:

add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
apt update
apt install grub-customizer

Bodge99.

Installation done as per your instruction. But when I open it (see attachment), it just shows ubuntu (= linux mint) as the main line even though in the grub menu there are 2 main lins:
* the 1st one says linux mint 19.1 xfce
* the 2nd one says linux mint 19.1 xfce (nvme disk/sda1)

It's the 1st line I want out, but it does not show up.

Edit: I have also attached a copy of the /boot/grub.cfg.txt file.

bodge99 · 07-31-2019, 07:01 AM

Hi,

If you are running grub-customizer with the flashdrive disconnected then the tool will only see your main installation (assuming that you only have Mint on your main drive). Your screenshot shows that three kernel versions have been detected. This looks perfectly normal, you've probably just had two kernels added as part of the upgrade process over time.

All you need to do here is to "save".. This will give you a standard grub.cfg that suits your system.

It's worth gaining some appreciation of how Grub boots the system.. For those times when "something goes wrong". Believe me, it can happen..
I'll supply (later on) a basic grub.cfg and instructions on how to use it that will work with your main system.

Yes, you should be able to leave fixing any missing packages until you have the installation copied to the eMMC.

One thing I have noticed with the Mint 19.1 installation ISO's is that wifi performance is **VERY** slow. I've seen it on machines with differing wifi cards.
A workaround (for me) was to use a wired connection. I've just created a Mint 19.1 Cinnamon flashdrive and updated it. This took about 15 minutes.

One machine that I installed 19.1 Cinnamon to (Intel wifi) remained slow until kernel 5.2 was installed (I just jumped to this version). I assume that this is just down to older firmware as the slowness disappeared.

The latest kernel should be fine for use on the Lenovo..

Bodge99

Klaas Vaak · 07-31-2019, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodge99

Hi,

If you are running grub-customizer with the flashdrive disconnected then the tool will only see your main installation (assuming that you only have Mint on your main drive). Your screenshot shows that three kernel versions have been detected. This looks perfectly normal, you've probably just had two kernels added as part of the upgrade process over time.

All you need to do here is to "save".. This will give you a standard grub.cfg that suits your system.

OK, I'll try that and see later how that works out.

Quote:

It's worth gaining some appreciation of how Grub boots the system.. For those times when "something goes wrong". Believe me, it can happen..
I'll supply (later on) a basic grub.cfg and instructions on how to use it that will work with your main system.

Thanks for you offer, but please do not spend so much time on me. I am grateful you try to help me fix the antiX problem, doing extra work on other things makes me feel embarrassed.

Quote:

Yes, you should be able to leave fixing any missing packages until you have the installation copied to the eMMC.

That's what I'll do then.

Quote:

One thing I have noticed with the Mint 19.1 installation ISO's is that wifi performance is **VERY** slow. I've seen it on machines with differing wifi cards.
A workaround (for me) was to use a wired connection. I've just created a Mint 19.1 Cinnamon flashdrive and updated it. This took about 15 minutes.

Good point, will keep that in mind.

Quote:

The latest kernel should be fine for use on the Lenovo.

No, it is not! That's the point I made when I reported my findings above. Kernel 5.2.4 has messed up the buttons, and even the panel at the bottom of the screen when I boot with the original kernel (4.15-0.20), which surprised me. There may well be more issues but I did not look around for them since these 2 are show stoppers in their own right.
That's why I am stuck now.

bodge99 · 07-31-2019, 08:16 AM

Hi,

The kernel version you are using has not caused your missing button issue.. This will be down to missing packages including gconf2. I don't know why this failed.. I can only assume a repo glitch of some sort.

I would now look at copying across to the eMMC and see how you go from there.. If Xfce turns out to be borked then I'll talk you through purging and reinstalling it.. Note: look at your desktop manager this way: It "sits on top of a Linux system". You could add Mate or Cinnamon etc. if you so wish.. With this you log out of one desktop and login to another.

Just to clarify a little: Grub-customizer will search the running system for installations that it recognises. i.e. It will find any installation on any **currently** attached device. It ignores your current grub.cfg as you are probably going to use the tool to overwrite it anyway.

Also, don't be embarrassed.. Nobody is born knowing this stuff.. We were all newbies once.

Bodge99.

colorpurple21859 · 07-31-2019, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Also, don't be embarrassed.. Nobody is born knowing this stuff.. We were all newbies once.

So very true, and there is so much to remember I don't think anyone can possibly remember it all, let alone when the powers to be decide to change how something is done due to security reasons or whatever else.

bodge99 · 07-31-2019, 01:36 PM

Klaas Vaak:

As you are using Ukuu now, I thought this might help:
From one of my earlier posts

Quote:

A quick note on Ukuu:

Ukuu obtains its list of kernels from https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/
These are Ubuntu modified versions of those shown at https://www.kernel.org/
The Ubuntu versions may be a day or so behind the latest stable versions.

If you find that your installation of Ukuu doesn't show the latest version then it is possible that your ukuu cache may be corrupt.
The easiest way to rectify this is to run the following:

Code:

sudo ukuu --clean-cache

The next time that you run:

Code:

sudo ukuu-gtk

The cache will be rewritten from scratch.

Bodge99

Klaas Vaak · 08-01-2019, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodge99

Code:

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt1 {Your flashdrive Mint EFI partition, your specific designation here may differ}
mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt2 {Your eMMC EFI partition}
cd /mnt2
rm -r *

Now copy everything from your Mint EFI partition to your eMMC partition:

Code:

cp -a /mnt1/. /mnt2/

This where I got stuck. When I boot from the AntiX flashdrive, the EFI partition /dev/mmcblk0p1 is mounted at /media/mmcblk0p1, and the system /dev/mmcblk0p2 is mounted at /media/rootantix17.4.1.

The Mint flashdrive is mounted as follows:
EFI /dev/sdb1 is mounted at /media/sdb1-usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_B
System /dev/sdb2 is mounted at /media/sdb2-usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_B

If I do mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt1/sdb1-usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_B
it says that mount point /mnt1/sdb1-usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_B does not exist.
Note: I created mnt 1 and 2 as per your instructions and checked with the File Manager that they exist: they do indeed !

(BTW, I have not created a swap partition on the Mint flashdrive.)

colorpurple21859 · 08-01-2019, 07:49 AM

unmount the partitions first with

Code:

umount /dev/sdb1
umount  /dev/mmcblk0p1
umount /dev/mmcblk0p2

Then try and mount them.

Klaas Vaak · 08-01-2019, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

unmount the partitions first with

Code:

umount /dev/sdb1
umount  /dev/mmcblk0p1
umount /dev/mmcblk0p2

Then try and mount them.

I unmounted sdb1 and sdb2, which is in accordance with GParted - see screenshot attached.
When I try to unmount the mmcblk partitions, it says that they are not mounted, which is not what GParted shows - see screenshot2 attached. And in fact, when I check in the File Manager it also shows mmcblk0p1 and 2 mounted in the media folder. And that makes sense because unmounting the antix partitions would shut down the system. But it seems I am missing something fundamental.

So, I need 2 instructions:
* if, and how to unmount the mmcblk partitions
* specific instructions how to mount on mnt 1 and 2. For example Bodge wrote:

Code:

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt1 {Your flashdrive Mint EFI partition, your specific designation here may differ}

The bit between the curly brackets needs to be made specific now that I have given the designations and screenshots of what there is.

rokytnji · 08-01-2019, 08:46 AM

Sounds like automount in AntiX is enabled. Something that could have disabled during the install process with F keys at live boot screen. Before install.

Quote:

F4: Mounting Options

The Live system will dynamically update the fstab file whenever a usb drive gets plugged in. You can also choose to have drives mounted automatically when they are plugged in.

automount -- mount drives when they are plugged in
mount=usb -- in addition, mount all usb drives at boot time
mount=all -- in addition, mount ALL devices at boot time
mount=off -- disable all extra mounting

Might wanna turn it off

https://antixlinux.com/forum-archive...ces-t6382.html

Edit: In case you wanna compare files

~/.desktop-session/automount.conf

Code:

#configuration file for auto-mount script
#goes in ~/.desktop-session

automount=TRUE
fm_usb=TRUE
fm_optical=TRUE
vp_dvd=FALSE
mp_audio=FALSE
dvd_command=
audio_command=
SPACEFM_OVERRIDE=FALSE

to see if you have automount enabled. I do on this chromebook.