[SOLVED] 14.2 install goes normally, but will not reboot, gives grub command line instead

porphyry5 · 03-18-2021, 04:12 PM

asus L210, installing slackware 14.2
system has uefi bios that permits usb install if Esc key held down when Power switch pressed. I disabled Secure Boot as slackware was not acceptable, unsigned.

I deleted every partition shown by cgdisk on /dev/mmcblk0, and set up 3 partitions,

Code:

1 type EF00 300MB
2 type 8300 20GB
3 type 8300 15GB, this last for /home

Install proceeded normally, but slackware would not reboot, gave me grub command line instead. Nor could I boot the install from the slackware usb, any of the choices offered led to Kernel Panic.

Back in the uefi bios, I noticed a difference, it no longer offered boot option from HDD, showing it only as a Storage device.

I then reinstalled Lubuntu 18.04, which succeeded, and also restored the HDD as a boot option in the uefi bios. So I assume the way I partitioned the HDD in slackware offended the bios, but I have no clue as to why. Any suggestions?

I reinstalled slackware, using the same partitions created by lubuntu, but got the same result, reboot went to grub command line instead. But the uefi bios still shows the HDD as 1st boot option.

Now I have reinstalled lubuntu, side-by-side with slackware. On the reboot grub offered both slackware and lubuntu as boot options, but choosing slackware led to Kernel Panic again.

Emerson · 03-19-2021, 09:06 AM

Probably Grub does not know how to access NVMe drive. I have no Grub experience, it is not suitable for me, therefore can't tell how to configure Grub for NVMe access, but they have excellent documentation online for you to read.

colorpurple21859 · 03-19-2021, 10:38 AM

Quote:

gave me grub command line

Did your run

Code:

 grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

after running grub-install?

colorpurple21859 · 03-19-2021, 02:02 PM

Quote:

but choosing slackware led to Kernel Panic again.

I think you need to create a /boot/initrd.gz to boot slackware on a nvme drive.

Emerson · 03-19-2021, 02:24 PM

Hold your horses, Grub can't even find the kernel, it is Grub issue right now, not kernel-initrd. At least this is what initial post tells, although the 'kernel panic' remark is confusing.

porphyry5 · 03-19-2021, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emerson

Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.

But what if you do both?

Thanks for the referral to grub documentation. I love slackware, eventually, when one finally gets it going, probably on the principle that we love that which makes us suffer. ubuntu is like windows, a convenient annoyance that works out of the box.

porphyry5 · 03-19-2021, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

Did your run

Code:

 grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

after running grub-install?

No, but why should I have needed to, this isn't Arch?

porphyry5 · 03-19-2021, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

I think you need to create a /boot/initrd.gz to boot slackware on a nvme drive.

OK, so given Emerson's 2nd post, I'll do another install and try grub command at its command line.

colorpurple21859 · 03-19-2021, 02:56 PM

Quote:

No, but why should I have needed to, this isn't Arch?

You are right Slackware isn't Arch, Slackware isn't like any other distro either, so yes you have to run grub-mkconfig. Slackware does not auto-run grub-mkconfig or mkinitrd during kernel updates either.

Emerson · 03-19-2021, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porphyry5

OK, so given Emerson's 2nd post, I'll do another install and try grub command at its command line.

Hope you don't mean installing Slackware again? All you need to do is chroot and run grub-mkconfig.

Regarding your question about that oriental proverb. Can't answer that. It would be off topic. Not to mention there is no way to sugarcoat it for you.

porphyry5 · 03-19-2021, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

You are right Slackware isn't Arch, Slackware isn't like any other distro either, so yes you have to run grub-mkconfig. Slackware does not auto-run grub-mkconfig or mkinitrd during kernel updates either.

Not disputing what you say but I would have thought then that the install disk would have said run mkconfig instead of just reboot.

But as there are 2 distros on my HDD, I think I'd better study up on Grub first, it would be mortifying to lose access to both of them for doing just one command. Thanks for your help, be back in a few days to report progress.

colorpurple21859 · 03-19-2021, 03:29 PM

Slackware installs lilo/elilo by default not grub. How did you install grub and/or what iso did you use?

Emerson · 03-19-2021, 03:36 PM

Two or more distros, one Grub is enough, you can add Slackware to your existing Grub install, I think it is somewhere in Lubuntu /etc, /etc/grub perhaps.

porphyry5 · 03-19-2021, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emerson

Hope you don't mean installing Slackware again? All you need to do is chroot and run grub-mkconfig.

I did, but at the very last moment I drew back, realizing I might thereby lose access to the only working distro on the machine. Think I'll take a few days to study grub and chroot before doing anything.

Quote:

Regarding your question about that oriental proverb. Can't answer that. It would be off topic. Not to mention there is no way to sugarcoat it for you.

You know 'off topic' is the finest red herring ever since the original seduced sober and industrious fox-hounds two hundred years ago.
Sugarcoat? is for pollyannas, those people who refer to realists as cynics.

porphyry5 · 03-23-2021, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

Slackware installs lilo/elilo by default not grub. How did you install grub and/or what iso did you use?

Slackware was the 1st install, which failed, so then I installed lubuntu side-by-side with the slackware so that I would have a system to work from on this machine.
This is the content of my slackware/boot dir

Code:

 /media/q/5bb5deec-0a16-4c5b-bc55-8d2fb1a8047f/boot $ ls
coffee.dat             inside.dat                 tuxlogo.bmp
config@                onlyblue.bmp               tuxlogo.dat
config-generic-4.4.14  onlyblue.dat               vmlinuz@
config-huge-4.4.14     README.initrd@             vmlinuz-generic@
elilo-ia32.efi         slack.bmp                  vmlinuz-generic-4.4.14
elilo-x86_64.efi       System.map@                vmlinuz-huge@
grub/                  System.map-generic-4.4.14  vmlinuz-huge-4.4.14
inside.bmp             System.map-huge-4.4.14

Also, there is no etc/mkinitrd.config, only the sample showing the defaults, which reads

Code:

# mkinitrd.conf.sample
# See "man mkinitrd.conf" for details on the syntax of this file
#
#SOURCE_TREE="/boot/initrd-tree"
#CLEAR_TREE="0"
#OUTPUT_IMAGE="/boot/initrd.gz"
#KERNEL_VERSION="$(uname -r)"
#KEYMAP="us"
#MODULE_LIST="ext4"
#LUKSDEV="/dev/sda2"
#LUKSKEY="LABEL=TRAVELSTICK:/keys/alienbob.luks"
#ROOTDEV="/dev/sda1"
#ROOTFS="ext3"
#RESUMEDEV="/dev/sda2"
#RAID="0"
#LVM="0"
#UDEV="1"
#MODCONF="0"
#WAIT="1"

Now I'm considering running

Code:

 sudo chroot /media/q/5bb5deec-0a16-4c5b-bc55-8d2fb1a8047f mkinitrd ...

but cannot figure how to specify what the input file should be. There is no existing .img file in boot/ to use, and otherwise mkinitrd defaults to $(uname -r), which will yield

Code:

 $ sudo chroot /media/q/5bb5deec-0a16-4c5b-bc55-8d2fb1a8047f/ uname -r
4.15.0-139-generic

which is lubuntu.

Found slackware mini-howto for mkinitrd and have now run

Code:

/media/q/5bb5deec-0a16-4c5b-bc55-8d2fb1a8047f mkinitrd -c -k 4.4.14 -m ext4

which has duly generated /boot/initrd-tree and /boot/initrd.gz