Please, attach the installation logs (/var/log/YaST2 directory)

Created attachment 252817 [details]
Yast Logs

Attached a zip of the that directory with all logs.

Sorry, I should have done this before.  BTW, the log is from the installation time through all the changes described above.  Hope the information about the changed error is still present.

jozo - you propose and set windows section without Make active (disk remaping is not needed as it is on first disk) "sections":[$["__auto":true, "__changed":true, "__devs":["/dev/sda1"], "chainloader":"/dev/sda1", "name":"Windows", "original_name":"windows", "type":"other"]

other things in this bugreport - default windows should be all the time and I doesn't see switch default to linux (at end of bootloader work still windows is default.  Changing order of entries after kernel upgrade (new install is also kernel-upgrade) is handled in bug 427854

makeactive is not added automatically. this option is added if remapping is necessary (not in this case)

Could you verify that adding flag makeactive helps to windows boot?

Order of boot entry is handled in perl-Bootloader.

From your description is not clear if only windows has problem with star-up or openSUSE has also problem with booting. Could you write it exactly please?

Jozef, may not be able to try this out tomorrow as will not be able to spare this laptop (office one) tomorrow.

>> From your description is not clear if only windows has problem with star-up >> or openSUSE has also problem with booting. Could you write it exactly please?

It does not boot at all - neither Windows or the OpenSUSE, initial boot menu itself does not appear - a blinking cursor appears and it just sits there and nothing happens.

Created attachment 253731 [details]
menu.lst - working and non-working

- Before I tried this again, it was like this
- 3 entries in Boot Menu
1) Suse
2) Suse Failsafe
3) Windows (Default)

This was working

- Using Yast Bootloader changed Windows to be the first in the boot menu list.

Back to the problem scenario.  Blank screen, blinking cursor and no boot.

So it appears Putting Windows first in the list could be the problem.  Attaching the menu.lst of both working and notworking setups.  I'm not sure if this changes only the menu.lost or makes other changes too, which cause this problem to occur.

I will test it but IMO it can happend if there is broken booting of Windows and you select it like default during installation. There is used onetime boot for GRUB and it automatically tries boot the second stage of installation. If there is default Windows and booting of Windows is broken it can be cause why computer doesn't boot.

But I will test it and try to find problem.

I have the system up and working again.  If you want, you can ssh to the box and work for a duration.  I'm positive, if we launch the yast bootloader and move windows ot the top of the list and save it and reboot, we'll hit the issue.

I'm not sure if I can specify vnc boot, so that you can see/do the repair remotely to find out what's going on.

I did several tests with windows and installation of openSUSE 11.0/11.1 and it works. there is no problem with windows. 

I checked your settings again and again... configuration for windows is valid settings for bootloader too. there is no reason for problem with booting if you only change default boot entry and order of booting.

IMO there could be problem with using Repair but I am not sure. (you didn't attach logs from using Repair)

Coud you better describe what you are exactly do with Repair? There is chance that you also changed other settings for bootloader and it is really cause of problem with your booting.

Jozef, think the best way to move forward would be giving access to my setup.  I'm in India and if you can drop a mail as soon as you are in office on Monday, I think we can go online and work this out.

Currently it's working - we can note down the settings configuration.  We'll use yast boot loader - change windows as the first entry and then again note down the setting.  At this point if we reboot - it wont come up.  If VNC boot is possible at this time, I can allow you remote and do the repair, so that you will have live system to debug with.

Let me know if this works.

Torsten, it is really interesting bug ;-)
 - menu.lst includes for windows:

title Windows
    rootnoverify (hd0,0)
    chainloader +1

It is problem to boot windows if it is the first boot entry in menu.lst see comment #6 in other cases is possible to boot windows without problem.

- after change boot entry for windows to:

title Windows
    chainloader (hd0,0)+1

Windows boot without problem if it is the first boot entry in menu.lst

IMO it is really interesting because I did several test in VirtualBox with windows but it works.

Could you write me there any idea?

Neither the default entry number nor the "makeactive" should make any difference. (makeactive should go away, aling with 'Lose98 and previous versions).

What could make a difference is grub _looking_ at the NTFS or FAT.
If there is file system data that causes grub to hang please isolate that and report.

"rootnoverify" tells grub explicitly _not_ to look at the data.

I clicked too early: I rate this as ship_stopper- because it seems to be an isolated setup problem we're unable to reproduce

Torsten, thank you for your explanation what the mean "makeactive" and "rootnoverify" but it still doesn't explain why the system doesn't boot if Windows is the first boot entry and it is also default.

What is the worst?
"It does not boot at all - neither Windows or the OpenSUSE, initial boot menu
itself does not appear - a blinking cursor appears and it just sits there and
nothing happens." See comment #5

IMO it is bug of GRUB I can accept that windows doesn't boot but if boot menu missing it seems as bug for GRUB (there was only changed order of boot entries).

I test it and there was not problem with configuration.

Please check it again and if you decided that problem is not in GRUB close it like WORKSFORME. - I was not able reproduce it. :(

BTW: I was not able to reproduce it myself.

If this is the only system the problem is being seen I'm fine it with being closed.  Jozef, fixed my system such that now it boots even if Windows is the first entry.  (But we do have this system where the problem happened and probably we can make it happen - Jozef can tell if we can undo his fix so that system reverts to old state where the problem can be seen)

Filed it as critical as I could not boot my box, but if you don't see any obvious problem please go ahead and close it.  Or if you want access to the system to debug grub and/or something else, let me know and I'll make it available.

Thanks,

Some problem occurs here with OpenSuSE 11.1.
I deleted the whole harddisk, installed WinXPSP2 and OpenSuSE 11.1 plus Grub Dual-Boot and all was fine. Then I changed the order to Windows on top and marked it default with YAST2 and I couldn't boot any longer. I hacked me in again with a SuperGRUBCd and changed Windows to second position, default again, same problem.
I don't have access to the menu.lst since I'm writing this in the WinXP boot, but will copy it ASAP. Please fix this, with OpenSuSE 10.3 it worked and it will shy away new OpenSuSE Users who can't even boot into their windows any more.

reach me at frerk.meyer@gmx.de

I got it working by hand. The bug is YAST2 or the perl-bootloader script activates the /dev/sda3 extended partition, but not the /dev/sda5 linux logical partition where grub lives. I changed the boot flag with fdisk manually and now dual-boot works again. The bug happens even if windows is second place in the boot menu. Here are the partitions (from memory):
/dev/sda1 windows ntfs
/dev/sda2 linux swap
/dev/sda3 extended partition win95/lba
/dev/sda5 linux ext2/3 filling 100% of /dev/sda3

Hope it helps,
Frerk.meyer@gmx.de

Comment #16 is the exact same problem that was reported originally (first report was not sure about making default or making it first causing the problem, but turned out to be the make it first that proved troublesome).  I still have the laptop that showed the problem, in case anyone is interested.  But Jozef had done some debugging/changes on it, so that it now boots even with Windows as first entry and I have also online updated the system to latest code.

*** Bug 461320 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

(In reply to comment #17 from Frerk Meyer)
> I got it working by hand. The bug is YAST2 or the perl-bootloader script
> activates the /dev/sda3 extended partition, but not the /dev/sda5 linux logical
> partition where grub lives. I changed the boot flag with fdisk manually and now
> dual-boot works again. The bug happens even if windows is second place in the
> boot menu. Here are the partitions (from memory):
> /dev/sda1 windows ntfs
> /dev/sda2 linux swap
> /dev/sda3 extended partition win95/lba
> /dev/sda5 linux ext2/3 filling 100% of /dev/sda3
> 
> Hope it helps,
> Frerk.meyer@gmx.de
> 
I also have the same problem when I tried to make the windows partition to be default. It is nor first in menu. However when I try to change manually by fdisk boot flag from the extended partition (in my case it is /dev/sda4 to /dev/sda/sda6 logical partition where grub located I receive after reboot the message: "no active partition". If I make a boot flag to /dev/sda3 where windows vista is located I can boot vista. But even with with suse 11.1 repair installation I cannot boot into Linux. Any workaround solution is appreciated. 
 

Hi Frerk,

I got it working (eventually) by doing a complete re-install of Suse 11.1 making sure to set up the boot menu as I wanted it in during installation.  It only seems to be when you use Yast to change the menu that it screws up.

I don't have details to hand, but from memory there is a screen during installation that displays a summary of what it will install.  Click on the heading for the boot loader and hidden behind it is a screen to setup the menu options during installation.

Hope this helps.

Reg Whitton

I don't recollect how I originally did it, but if this is the secret to reproducing the issue, then probably it'll help development reproduce and address this.

Check comment #2, attachment #252817 [details],
y2log, lines 14530 and up:
' ##YaST - activate'
' '
' title Windows'
'     root (hd0,0)'
' '
' ###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###'

Happens 5 time with "chainloader", 3 times without, and finally one with.
This should not happen.

When is "rootnoverify" written to the menu entry?

rootnoverify is added automatic by perl-Bootloader (IMO always). If it is problem please ask Josef Reidinger about it. Next there exist also problem with parted (it always rewrites content of the first 512B of extended partition -> the result is unbootable system if grub stage1 is in extended. see bugs #467576 and also bug #461613

Special bug #461613 described problem when grub stage1 is extended and user start yast2-bootloader. The problem was that yast2-bootloader always call parted and it rewrote extended -> unbootable system.

Torsten please try to reproduce problem without using yast2-bootloader or please use yast2-bootloader version 2.17.50 where is problem with parted solved maybe it is just duplicate of bug #461613

Finally, someone with windoze <sf> was able to test.
It works in 11.1 final.

Closing the bug.