grub doesn't auto-load kernel, time/date auto-change, k3b cannot load

kenji1903 · 12-29-2004, 09:54 PM

Hi,

Here's HW my specs:
AMD64 2800+
Asus K8V SE Deluxe mobo
1GB DDR400 RAM
Asus ATI 9200 pro
2*200GB Seagate ATA100 HDD
Asus 8x DVD+/-RW
Gigabyte 52x CD-RW

Running as a non-internet fileserver:
software RAID1
Redhat 9 + 2.6.6 kernel
samba 3.0.6

i'm not sure whether the problem is in my settings or my hardware!

Prob 1) at first things are fine with grub, I don't remember doing anything weird but now I have to load the kernel manually. It says loading grub stage 1.5, then i was spit into grub>.
I tried booting with the RH9 CD, went to linux rescue, and did the following in grub prompt:
grub> root (hd0,0)
grub> setup (hd0)
grub> quit
i rebooted but the same problem still persists...

Prob 2) After i manually load root, vmlinuz and initrd, i login to the system and find my time and date changed for no reason.
My hardware clock is normal /usr/sbin/hwclock --show, i had to reset my time everytime i reboot my server...

Prob 3) K3B take forever to load. I installed it from an RPM package.

Prob 4) redhat-samba-config cannot load. It did ask for root passwd but nothing comes out after I type in the passwd...

I tried to simulate the problems above with another test PC:
Intel P4 2.4GHz
Asus P4PE-X mobo
512MG DDR400 RAM
40GB + 80 GB Seagate ATA100 HDD
GeForce MX440
16x DVD-ROM
52x CD-RW

Running as test-internet DNS and fileserver:
software RAID1
Redhat 9 + 2.6.6 kernel
samba 3.0.9

1) I got to install GRUB again, working merrily
2) no problems with date/time
3) I can burn CDs with K3B
4) same problem as the above system, still cannot solve...

Hope to get some tips and comments from you all!

misc · 01-01-2005, 03:27 PM

1) Reinstall GRUB with the grub-install command.
2) Did you configured a wrong timezone? Do you use a NTP server?
3) k3b: The RHL9 package from http://fedora.us is good and recommended.
4) Start the tool inside an X terminal, such as xterm. What do you get?

kenji1903 · 01-02-2005, 06:43 PM

thanks for the reply!

1) I'm using RAID1, will it matter which drive i install grub into? also, do I boot from "linux rescue" or can I do this installation after I log in? just to comfirm, is this correct?
/sbin/grub-install /dev/hda

2) I checked the time zone, here's my /etc/sysconfig/clock

Code:

ZONE="Asia/Shanghai"
UTC=true
ARC=false

nope, no NTP server

3) Fedora packages work with Redhat? Doesn't matter, I'll give it a try anyway

I got my package from http://dag.wieers.com/packages/

4) I did that and here's the error:

Code:

[root@iserver download-22-12]# redhat-config-samba
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/redhat-config-samba.py", line 20, in ?
    mainWindow.MainWindow(debug_flag)
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/mainWindow.py", line 58, in __init__
    self.samba_data = sambaParser.SambaParser(self)
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/sambaParser.py", line 24, in __init__
    self.parseFile()
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/sambaParser.py", line 55, in parseFile
    token = self.createToken(line)
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/sambaParser.py", line 127, in createToken
    token = sambaToken.SambaToken(sambaToken.SambaToken.SAMBA_TOKEN_KEYVAL, (name, value), self.parent)
  File "/usr/share/redhat-config-samba/sambaToken.py", line 20, in __init__
    raise AttributeError, value
AttributeError: ('smb ports', '137 138 139 445')

I commented out smb ports and tried to start again, the same message appeared but the last line is:

Code:

AttributeError: ('profile acls', 'yes')

Commented that line out as well and it worked! What's wrong having those 2 lines in my smb.conf?

Cheers misc!

~WiLL~

misc · 01-02-2005, 08:42 PM

Quote:

1) I'm using RAID1, will it matter which drive i install grub into?

Uhm? With Software (!) RAID1, you install the bootloader into the Master Boot Record and have a separate /boot partition which cannot be RAID1.

Quote:

also, do I boot from "linux rescue" or can I do this installation after I log in? just to comfirm, is this correct?
/sbin/grub-install /dev/hda

Yes.

Quote:

2) I checked the time zone, here's my /etc/sysconfig/clock

How big is the clock skew each time you reboot? Remove the /etc/adjtime file prior to rebooting.

Quote:

3) Fedora packages work with Redhat? Doesn't matter, I'll give it a try anyway

I got my package from http://dag.wieers.com/packages/

You misunderstood me. http://fedora.us started as a Red Hat Linux add-ons provider and still provides those, too. You don't get k3b at Dag Wieer's repository.

Quote:

4) I did that and here's the error:
[root@iserver download-22-12]# redhat-config-samba
AttributeError: ('smb ports', '137 138 139 445')
AttributeError: ('profile acls', 'yes')
Commented that line out as well and it worked! What's wrong having those 2 lines in my smb.conf?

Don't know. Maybe those settings are not yet supported. Consider creating a config file from scratch using the tool.

kenji1903 · 01-02-2005, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Uhm? With Software (!) RAID1, you install the bootloader into the Master Boot Record and have a separate /boot partition which cannot be RAID1.

I reckon that if i have 2 drives, the MBR should be in either one of those drives?
How do I check the location of the original MBR?
I've setup hda1 and hdc1 to be md0 which is /boot... what should i do?

Quote:

How big is the clock skew each time you reboot? Remove the /etc/adjtime file prior to rebooting.

From memory, it's 12 hours i think...
i'll just rename it, will get back to you later in the day as users are logged on the server now.

Quote:

You misunderstood me. http://fedora.us started as a Red Hat Linux add-ons provider and still provides those, too. You don't get k3b at Dag Wieer's repository.

Oh, really? thanks!
I tried installing samba for FC1 on my redhat once and it didn't work... that was long ago though

Well my k3b will load if i load it via xterm but not when i click on the icon...
Here's the message i got from xterm:
Session management error: Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed
Session management error: Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed
mcop warning: user defined signal handler found for SIG_PIPE, overriding

I get this sort of message when i run gedit from xterm, it goes:
Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed
What you reckon is wrong?

Quote:

Don't know. Maybe those settings are not yet supported. Consider creating a config file from scratch using the tool.

That's weird... testparm didn't give me any errors. i did write it from scratch, took me ages to do that!

misc · 01-03-2005, 12:00 AM

Quote:

I reckon that if i have 2 drives, the MBR should be in either one of those drives?
How do I check the location of the original MBR?

The first sector of every drive can be the MBR.

Quote:

I've setup hda1 and hdc1 to be md0 which is /boot... what should i do?

That doesn't give you full RAID1, since GRUB doesn't do Software RAID. It would load its files from the physical drive you configured to load from (specifically partition (hd0,0) which is /dev/hda1), and in case that fails, it would not load from the mirror drive.

Quote:

Here's the message i got from xterm:
[I]Session management error: Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed

No comment, since you modified Red Hat Linux 9 by replacing core packages. It would be a waste of time trying to debug what impact all the changes could have. It looks as if you somehow misconfigured/disabled X server access authorization.

kenji1903 · 01-03-2005, 12:28 AM

Quote:

That doesn't give you full RAID1, since GRUB doesn't do Software RAID. It would load its files from the physical drive you configured to load from (specifically partition (hd0,0) which is /dev/hda1), and in case that fails, it would not load from the mirror drive.

That's the problem I had when I first used RAID1 with grub, but later on I found on article on Dell's website regarding using RAID1 with grub on RHEL3. So their workaround was to install grub on the MBR of the second drive as well:

Code:

grub> device (hd0) /dev/hdc
grub> root (hd0,0)
grub> setup (hd0)

I've tried this method on a test system and it works OK. The only problam is you have to do this everytime you do raidhotadd your /boot back into the RAID array.

Quote:

No comment, since you modified Red Hat Linux 9 by replacing core packages. It would be a waste of time trying to debug what impact all the changes could have. It looks as if you somehow misconfigured/disabled X server access authorization.

Well, i've been getting this message since the first time I installed redhat half a year ago.
What can I do to enable authorization? programs work fine though, just that the message is kinda irritating...

misc · 01-03-2005, 12:49 AM

Try running "xhost +" as a test.

kenji1903 · 01-03-2005, 01:59 AM

Code:

# xhost +
access control disabled, clients can connect from any host

btw, i'm logged into the machine as a user but as root in console

kenji1903 · 01-03-2005, 06:13 AM

My server's time/date is working fine now, thanks!

I tried installing grub into the MBR using:

Code:

/sbin/grub-install /dev/hda

and I get this:
/dev/md0 does not have any corresponding BIOS drive
removed /dev/hda1 from the /dev/md0 array but it still gave me the same message...

aus9 · 01-16-2005, 01:56 AM

kenji1903

my howto does not have any raid as I don't use it.

WHICH MEANS MY ADVICE IS SUSPECT

FYI I believe hardware failure....the only reason for raid is a risk I am prepared to take. If you are in business....well good for you.

2) Have you read this which is mentioned in one of your thread replies
http://lists.us.dell.com/pipermail/l...ly/014331.html

3) I would modify that slightly....
you mention that grub that with the find command finds
hd0 and hd1

so you would in a terminal ....NOT grub-install as I want you to get feedback....
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)

root (hd1,0)
setup (hd1)

4) I started a thread that no-one else replied to (boo hoo) that has some links I recommend you view that may help you
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...aid+controller

in particular if you are pressed for time is this raid howto on another forum
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.p...ight=grub+raid

aus9 · 01-16-2005, 02:03 AM

additional comments ....I am still SUSPECT

the reason for putting grub into both mbrs....remember every floppy...cd....hd has a mbr is that when your hd fails....the reason for having raid to begin with....you change your bios to boot drive 2 which would find the drive2 mbr which has grub in mbr which has grub booting files in /boot

do you agree?

2) Instead of raid.....would you consider, if no-one solves this current issue of using your drives in non-raid ie normal mode.....with backups to cdrs or tape drives and /or backup of partitions with www.partimage.org?

kenji1903 · 03-15-2005, 06:28 PM

G'day Aus,

It has been a long time

I reformatted my server last night but reckon this problem will occur again some time later, so it's better if i can get a solution now. Feedback (before I reformat):

Code:

grub> root (hd0,0)
Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0xfd

grub> setup (hd0)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... no
Checking if "/grub/stage1" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/stage2" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/e2fs_stage1_5" exists... yes
Running "embed /grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd0)"... 16 sectors embedded
suceedded
Running "install /grub/stage1 (hd0) (hd0)1+16 p (hd0,0)/grub/stage2 /grub/grub.conf"... suceedded
Done.

grub> root (hd1,0)
Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0xfd

grub> setup (hd1)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... no
Checking if "/grub/stage1" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/stage2" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/e2fs_stage1_5" exists... yes
Running "embed /grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd1)"... 16 sectors embedded
suceedded
Running "install /grub/stage1 (hd1) (hd1)1+16 p (hd1,0)/grub/stage2 /grub/grub.conf"... suceedded
Done.

Looks OK to me, but grub still won't boot by itself...
Your posts are pretty informative, cheers!

Quote:

the reason for putting grub into both mbrs....remember every floppy...cd....hd has a mbr is that when your hd fails....the reason for having raid to begin with....you change your bios to boot drive 2 which would find the drive2 mbr which has grub in mbr which has grub booting files in /boot

do you agree?

Agree~

I'm using RAID as an addition to my DVD backups, I'm using tar by the way

The power supply in China's new industrial areas are not stable as i get voltage spikes and power outages pretty often... I do have a UPS connected to the server, just that local Chinese products are of very low quality

aus9 · 03-16-2005, 05:37 AM

ok so we now have grub in mbr because your feedback shows .......succeeded

so grub fails for only 3 reasons

1 grub can not handle the hardware......but as grub on screen i don't think so
2 you have not built a kernel or are using a kernel that does not have sata support built in or correct modules found.......likely
3 your bios is soooo old you have a cylinder 1024 issue mentioned in my howto.......unlikely but go into bios and look for lba SETTING
make sure its turned on........or flash your bios if you have a real old one like 5 years old.

so lets assume its the SATA drive......as you can see from my specs......i am on a sata and guess what I have grub heh heh
/boot/config is the file for how the kernel was compiled

open this file and do a control F for find function to search for this entry ......I have a via sata....you need to check what ASUS uses
CONFIG_SCSI_SATA=y.......this is good for all mobos
when you find this line you will notice some more juicy stuff.
my std MDK kernel included this line
CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_VIA=m but my own kernel was made yes....but this is for only VIA CHIPSETS

yours may differ

kenji1903 · 03-21-2005, 06:37 PM

I reckon that was the problem too, but my drives are PATA so GRUB must have support for them...
My BIOS is flashed to the lastest one already

Hmm... are SATA drives playing nice with Linux now?
I am planning to upgrade my existing drives to SATA, heard the support can be better though. Any problems and comments from a current user such as yourself?

I'll keep that in mind when i compile kernels for SATA drives, what about those Promise, etc drivers in the kernel? Are you using them as well?