Bug 465125 - Install DVD "repair system" fails "boot installed system" and "install new boot loader"
Summary: Install DVD "repair system" fails "boot installed system" and "install new bo...
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX
Alias: None
Product: openSUSE 11.1
Classification: openSUSE
Component: YaST2 (show other bugs)
Version: Final
Hardware: x86 openSUSE 11.1
: P3 - Medium : Major with 10 votes (vote)
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Josef Reidinger
QA Contact: Jiri Srain
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2009-01-10 16:06 UTC by Casual J. Programmer
Modified: 2010-06-23 08:29 UTC (History)
6 users (show)

See Also:
Found By: Beta-Customer
Services Priority:
Business Priority:
Blocker: ---
Marketing QA Status: ---
IT Deployment: ---


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Description Casual J. Programmer 2009-01-10 16:06:12 UTC
After installing os11.1 from scratch (DVD) I ventured to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst with yast2. While no error was indicated, after reboot I get an error from the boot loader stating

Error: No Operating System
Operating System not found.

Trying to fix things with the Repair System option from the DVD results in:

1. Boot installed System

Yast2 message box saying: "No Linux root partition found" OK

2. Install new boot loader

Yast2 message box saying: "No valid root partition found. Go back and select all scan options. Afterwards restart scanning." OK

This also happens after fixing the original issue and system is bootable.

Not sure what information to gather, please advise...
Comment 1 Alexander Orlovskyy 2009-01-12 14:54:52 UTC
Please describe exactly what you changed in menu.lst and what was original issue ?
Comment 2 Dainius Masiliunas 2009-01-14 15:16:41 UTC
I have this issue as well, and it's fairly easy to replicate. Boot the DVD, go into "Repair Installed System", choose "Expert Options" and try one of those options mentioned here - "boot installed system" or "install a new boot loader". The first one won't find the partition, and the second will report success but nothing really happens, plus it suggests wrong parameters. Even more, after pressing Finish you arrive in a DOS-styled red window system which tells you that an error occurred, and you have to navigate to "Exit or Reboot" and again "Exit or reboot".
Now if you tried to go to "Install" from the DVD, and choose Repair from there, it would work like a charm.

My full story about how I got in need of repairing the system is here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/alternative-computing/linux-support/334523-another-dual-boot-issue-winxp-opensuse.html

Also, bug #463231 is a duplicate of this.
Comment 3 Jiří Suchomel 2009-02-18 19:35:41 UTC
Could you try not running repair system from DVD menu, but actually starting an installation from it and selecting Repair from the second screen of installation (other options at that screen are, AFAIR, "Install" and "Upgrade").
Comment 4 Dainius Masiliunas 2009-02-19 15:14:50 UTC
Sure, that's the way it's meant to be done, but in the next OpenSUSE release this version mismatch should be resolved, at least by linking "Repair" to "Install" and stopping the confusion that way.
Also, I believe this bug should no longer be NeedInfo?
Comment 5 Jiří Suchomel 2009-02-19 19:52:07 UTC
(In reply to comment #4)
> Sure, that's the way it's meant to be done ...

Sorry, I overlooked that you actually write exactly the same thing.

> but in the next OpenSUSE release
> this version mismatch should be resolved,

Sure.

> Also, I believe this bug should no longer be NeedInfo?

I'd rather wait if original reporter confirms that the other way works for him.

If yes, it could be solved as a duplicate of bug. 450944
Comment 6 Dainius Masiliunas 2009-02-19 20:05:16 UTC
Yes, bug #450944 is similar, however it's not listed that Install new Boot Loader is also malfunctioning - even though it reports success, it uses wrong options and doesn't write anything at all.
Comment 7 Jiří Suchomel 2009-02-19 20:11:21 UTC
The reason why I count them as duplicates is different behavior of the same repair system started from different places.
Comment 8 John Middlebrook 2009-02-27 20:45:43 UTC
Installed KDE4 only - no WIndows. System turned out to be slow, panel icons do not align, widgets in taskbar (lock & log) shifted to left against panels, clock filling remaining space to right. Update and othher widgets disappeared. The following was posted as "Repair Tool", but no helpful info came back.

I have a problem, which I am sure is with GRUB.The live cdrom repair "fixes" faulty boot and partitions, but after accepting, an error message comes up with "Installation Error". I have tried reinstalling several times, but some files remain with the original modification date. Find files "GRUB" returns:

file:///usr/share/doc/packages/pm-utils/examples/hooks/01grub, size 652, modified 03/12/2008
file:///usr/lib/pm-utils/sleep.d/99Zgrub, size 6214, modified 03/12/2008
file:///boot/grub, size 4096, modified 20/02/2009
file:///usr/lib/grub, size 4096, modified 10/12/2008
file:///usr/sbin/grub size 119512 modified 03/12/2008
file:///usr/share/doc/packages/grub, size 4096, modified 10/12/2008
file:///usr/share/YaST2/include/bootloader/grub size 4096, modified 20/02/2009
file:///usr/lib/grub/nbgrub, size 183746, modified 03/12/2008
file:///usr/lib/grub/pxegrub, size 184500, mofified 03/12/2008

The system is supposedly up to date from recent downloads. I am at a loss to explain how some files remain unchanged after reloading. Is the bug, indeed here?

Insstallation was "new" from 10.3.
Comment 9 Josef Reidinger 2009-03-19 15:47:52 UTC
Could you please post what error message appear? And also logs from repair can help (ctrl+f2 and copy /var/log/YaST2/y2log to usb, floppy or via net)
Comment 10 John Middlebrook 2009-03-20 22:02:44 UTC
ctrl+f2 gives nothing, No action.

Repair tool gives same errors each time it is run:

Check Boot Loader Configuration File.
Boot loader error (system only boots from DVD)
/boot/grub/device.map not valid
Repair - Repaired

Section Management, etc - OK

Boot Loader Error Detected
/boot/grub/device.map.not valid
Reapir - installed successfully
OK
Finish
Really finish? - yes
Restart - OK
Red Warnibg:
An error occurred during the installation
Only otion - OK
To reboot.

YaST2 contains 1303 lines - do you want them?

See my previous thread. Are original install dates valid?
Comment 11 Josef Reidinger 2009-03-21 09:27:10 UTC
OK, it is my mistake, it is ctrl+alt+f2 (as you in X window). With out logs I don't know why repairing fail and without logs It is hard to know.
Comment 12 Axel Braun 2009-08-18 15:05:01 UTC
Quite annoying, this bug costed me some hours today: Bith repair options (from starting scree -> repair installed system AND via installation -> Repair) did NOT work!
Actually I killed ths system, was easier than juggling around for some additional time to get grub up and running....
Comment 13 Josef Reidinger 2009-08-18 15:21:47 UTC
(In reply to comment #12)
> Quite annoying, this bug costed me some hours today: Bith repair options (from
> starting scree -> repair installed system AND via installation -> Repair) did
> NOT work!
> Actually I killed ths system, was easier than juggling around for some
> additional time to get grub up and running....

So you can at least provide necessary logs to help another users. Also my time resources is very limited, so I welcome any patch for this problem as repair module doesn't have high priority.
Comment 14 Axel Braun 2009-08-18 16:22:20 UTC
Back to the PC in trouble..I just changed the timeout to 2 and the default boot entry - and had the error again.
Unfortunately the saving of the log failed, but when trying via 
Install -> repair installed system
I checked the second page and cheanged the setting from 'boot from boot partition' to 'boot from MBR'. Afterwards it worked.
Comment 15 Josef Reidinger 2009-08-20 14:04:48 UTC
Sorry, but without logs I don't know where should be problem, as repair use many other yast modules.
Comment 16 Axel Braun 2009-08-21 07:12:02 UTC
Sure, but a good start would be to change the default location from 'Boot partition' to MBR. When I have the possibility to play around with that machine agein I will try to reproduce the problem.
Comment 17 Gottfried Mueller 2009-08-21 14:26:18 UTC
Today I have the same problem. I inserted 2 other disks from my old system. Now my boot disk is /dev/sdd (changed to the first position in BIOS). After the new installation of openSuse 11.1 there was no problem booting from this disk. The boot sequence of the disks from the BIOS was detected correctly. When you start the repair of the system (independent from the way like DVD menu or over the installation), the bootloader is always detected as an error. Remember you can boot the openSuse system without problems. When you try to repair in this section the bootloader configuration you have no chance booting again. The configuration is destroyed. By the way: in this section also no other OS will detected at the same disk from the current existing grub configuration (without boot error) and the /dev/sda of my new hardware configuration is my old disk with an old openSuse installation (10.3) containing a MBR booting the old system.

These are my additional comments.

Gottfried Müller
Comment 18 Josef Reidinger 2010-06-23 08:29:33 UTC
yast2-repair is dropped now, so no fixes will be done