FS#3473 - Grub won't install unless you save menu.list in installer (System Configuration)
Attached to Project:
Arch Linux
Opened by No Need (Qootie) - Monday, 14 November 2005, 02:34 GMT
Last edited by Judd Vinet (judd) - Friday, 25 November 2005, 00:53 GMT
Opened by No Need (Qootie) - Monday, 14 November 2005, 02:34 GMT
Last edited by Judd Vinet (judd) - Friday, 25 November 2005, 00:53 GMT
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Details
Hi,
I've been trying to install and have a go with ArchLinux 0.7.1 but it took me more than 3-4 hours since I haven't noticed that there was a bug with the installer. Problem : I tried to install ArchLinux 0.7.1 with GRUB BootLoader, but failed. I had Error 15, 17 and GRUB GRUB GRUB... errors randomly on reboot after exiting the installer. Reason : I am not sure but solved the issue by following the solution I figured out in the section below. Solution : Before you proceed to Installing Boot Loader, you have to go in to "Configuring System" menu and open and then save "menu.list" even though you don't make a change to the file. Otherwise, GRUB won't install properly. Installer won't even ask where do you want to install bootloader to (for ex. MBR) , if you don't open and save the file "menu.list". Official installation help page (http://www.archlinux.org/docs/en/guide/install/arch-install-guide.html#commoninst1) says "Configuring System" can be skipped if you are in a hurry. I believe a straight forward installer has a big role in a lightweight OS, that's why I gave this bug a High severity. I hope this helps towards development. Regards. |
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But even if this little check was bypassed, there is no reason (technical or otherwise) that GRUB wouldn't install properly. I will try to reproduce this, but I have my doubts.
I was choosing the GRUB bootloader, and a message appeared: "Make sure you have edited menu.lst" or something like that.
I didn't notice that message, and after rebooting, It gave me "GRUB Error 22".
The intent is to force the user to actually LOOK at his/her bootloader config before blindly installing it. The installer does try to auto-generate the correct menu.lst, but I didn't want anyone trusting it entirely, so the message is there to force the user to double-check their config first.
Bootloader configs are the only ones that the script forces you to examine manually. This made sense, since a broken bootloader means an unbootable system.
Moral: Read the dialogs when they come up!
It is a bug indeed. You can have a look at the menu.lst file, and if everything is correct automatically, you can simply exit without saving. And if you don't save it, GRUB fails to install. It is a bug. It is not simple a matter of not reading the dialogs. In my case, menu.lst was created correctly and I exited without saving. Then GRUB didn't install. And it took me hours before I've noticed it :o( So I assume (since I am not in the development), the menu.lst file is not generated in the filesystem unless you save it in the installer. So the real moral is; dialog should say (if it's not a bug) "make sure you save the menu.lst file before proceeding to install GRUB. Otherwise, don't fire a bug like it's not working!" :o)
But I have heard of intermittent problems with the installation of GRUB itself. Could it be this? If you can reliably reproduce this, could you help me narrow it down a bit? Does GRUB fail to install when you select "Install Bootloader" (see VC5) or does it fail to find menu.lst when you first boot up the new system?
If you don´t save the menu.lst and proceed to ¨Install Bootloader¨, the installer doesn´t ask for where to install the installer (MBR, HDA, etc.)
Installer continues as if it installed the bootloader. And when you try to boot, it says ¨GRUB GRUB GRUB GRUB GRUB ...¨ or ¨GRUB 15¨ (I am not sure about GRUB 15, I can´t remember if it was 15 or 22).
On the other hand, if you do save the menu.lst, it does ask where to install the boot loader and everything is fine.
P.S. Just to be on the safe side; I am talking about the version 0.7.1 right?
I´ll try to reproduce but what is VC5?
Sorry, I did a couple test runs today but I couldn't reproduce the problem. Here's what I did (with the 0.7.1-pre1 install CD).
1. A "normal" installation process right up to Configure System. When I edit menu.lst, just exit the editor immediately and do not save anything.
2. Select "Install Bootloader" and install GRUB to the MBR (/dev/hda).
The setup script asked me where to install GRUB and when I selected /dev/hda, it complied with no errors. I checked VC5 (ALT-F5) for any error output and there was none.
Maybe there is another problem. Just to be sure, try skipping editing menu.lst and try to install the bootloader.
If you confirm that works as well, there must be something else then.
In that case, perhaps I need to get a fresh copy of the latest .iso in case there is an upgrade :o)
It may be some sort of intermittent hardware glitch on that specific box. I've heard of other people having bootloader problems, where GRUB would not install properly the first time, but a second try always worked. I could never reproduce them, so I couldn't diagnose the problem further.
If you can reproduce it, it'd be helpful to know when GRUB is actually failing. If you check VC5 after attemping to install (ALT-F5), look for any errors there. If you see errors, that means GRUB never actually installed properly.
It turns out you are right. I can't reproduced the bug either. I did exactly the same thing before but it didn't fail to install the boot loader. There must had been something else.
I am sorry to take your time.