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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 6:07 am Post subject: Endless install |
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Hey, thanks for the great distro!
Very interested in getting SMS installed on my Acer EasyStore.
There is no VGA or anything so I'm flying blind.
Able to get the thing to boot live off a thumb drive and I've ssh'd in to start the installation process.
I partitioned drives and created swap.
Ran install.
It said "be patient! this could take up to 10 minutes..."
I waited an hour or so with no luck and rebooted due to, well, impatience. Could it really take longer than that?
I didn't see the activity light on my thumb drive flashing so I figured it was probably not installing anything...
ideas? |
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gerasimos_h
Site Admin
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Greece
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| Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 8:34 am Post subject: |
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You can try installing it again for start.
Here is the part that is copying your files
| Code: | dialog --title "COPYING PROCESS" --infobox "SMS-text-installer is copying the system to your harddisk.\n\n Please be patient ... it may take up to 10 minute$
cp -R --preserve /{bin,boot,dev,etc,home,lib,root,sbin,srv,usr,var} /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/ 2>/dev/null
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The fact that your usb flash drive stop blinking, could mean your copy is finished, but something hang during
| Code: | mkdir /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/mnt 2>/dev/null
mkdir /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/proc 2>/dev/null
mkdir /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/sys 2>/dev/null
mkdir /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/tmp 2>/dev/null
cp /mnt/live/mnt/*/boot/vmlinuz /mnt/`cat $TMP/pout | cut -b 6-10`/boot/ 2>/dev/null |
The installation on a modern PC takes 10 minutes top, so just look for errors during copy stage.
If hangs again do a Ctrl+C to terminate installer and look mount points and if creation of directories are done.
gerasimos_h
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Superb! Mini Server Project Manager
http://sms.it-ccs.com |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:36 am Post subject: |
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gerasimos_h, thanks for the quick response.
Apparently the big cp -R --preserve line is the hang-up. I ran it independently and it never completed. However, when I looked in the mnt folder, I confirmed that it did indeed copy (most of) the files.
Is it possible there is some kind of infinite loop in the file system?
So, I tried commenting out the cp line and a couple others from the install script and ran it, hoping everything would finish-up 'naturally'. The install script completes and tells me to reboot, but...
No luck. My machine just beeps at me angrily when I attempt to boot from the drive. Is there something I need to press on the keyboard to get it to boot correctly?
There is one part of the install that is kind of confusing to me. Right after it tells me the Linux partitions it has found, and asks me for the file system format, it asks for a number... "/dev/hdaX" or something. My main Linux partitions are called sdc3 and sdc4, so I always enter 3, but I'm not sure if that's correct.
Also, when I check the /mnt folder during installation, it is apparently copying all of the linux files directly to /mnt... so there is /mnt/tmp, /mnt/opt, etc.
I'm as close as I've ever been with SMS, so I'm hoping this will actually work! |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:43 am Post subject: |
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Ah, there is one other important detail I have failed to mention...
The drive is not inserted at boot time. Since I have no monitor, I am just removing the hard drive to force the machine to boot from the USB stick.
Once booted into sms, I plug the drive back in and run rescan-scsi-bus. The Windows partition on the drive (not set to bootable, but the first partition) shows up as /dev/disk/by-label/SYS, and the linux partitions also become visible in various places of /dev
However, I cannot mount the sdc4 partition (where I want to install linux) because the file system is not yet initialized (says "can't read superblock"). I assume this is not a problem for the installer, but please let me know if there is something extra I need to do in regards to the drive.
Thanks again! |
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gerasimos_h
Site Admin
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Greece
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:08 am Post subject: |
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When asking for "/dev/hdaX" add "/dev/sdc4" if that's your partition.
"Can't read superblock" is not a good thing, either your filesystem is bad and needs repair or your partition table is bad, or you use wrong mount otpions maybe.
Since you unplug the drive easily, you can plug it on a desktop computer and make the install there and once it finished, plug it back to your easystore.
It will boot.
Have you try boot options, del, f2 for bios or f8,f12 esc for boot menu?
So you don't have to plug your drive while on power.
Another option is to plug your drive once you see the SMS boot menu ( before SMS start) so it will see your disks during boot up, and mount them automatically.
gerasimos_h
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Superb! Mini Server Project Manager
http://sms.it-ccs.com |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:30 am Post subject: |
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I took away all of the error squelching and here's a taste of what comes up during install:
| Code: |
cp: will not create hard link `/mnt/sdc4/home' to directory `/mnt/sdc4/home'
cp: will not create hard link `/mnt/sdc4/dev' to directory `/mnt/sdc4/dev'
cp: cannot open `/sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio0/drvctl' for reading: Permission denied
cp: cannot open `/sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio1/drvctl' for reading: Permission denied
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Then, later on, these:
| Code: |
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:t-0000312/alloc_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:t-0000312/free_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:dt-0000576/alloc_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:dt-0000576/free_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:dt-0016448/alloc_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:dt-0016448/free_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:t-0004160/alloc_calls': Function not implemented
cp: reading `/sys/kernel/slab/:t-0004160/free_calls': Function not implemented
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I used Linux Live (http://old.linuxliveusb.com/) to create the bootable usb drive.
also I got this error eventually, which leads me to believe there is some kind of infinite loop... its a 2 TB drive...
| Code: |
error writing /etc/mtab.tmp: No space left on device
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I'm not even sure where to find more helpful error reporting.
Suggestions?[/code] |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:53 am Post subject: |
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I tried using the .bat file included in the iso for making the bootable key instead of LiLi
Results are similar. I commented out the long cp line and 'finished' the installation without the 2>/dev/null at the end of every line & saw this error:
| Code: |
Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed
Warning: /dev/sdc is not on the first disk
Fatal: Trying to map files from unnamed device 0x0011 (NFS/RAID mirror down ?)
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Is it a problem that my partition falls somewhere in the middle of the disk?
btw I picked "Linux Only" and I am installing SMS64 on 64-bit Intel Atom. Using recommended file system (ReiserFS)
Another thing I notice... sometimes formatting the target partition takes no time at all.. I use /dev/sdc3 for my main linux partition now (re-structured since last post). |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 11:09 am Post subject: |
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| gerasimos_h wrote: | When asking for "/dev/hdaX" add "/dev/sdc4" if that's your partition.
"Can't read superblock" is not a good thing, either your filesystem is bad and needs repair or your partition table is bad, or you use wrong mount otpions maybe.
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ty. problem solved.
| Quote: |
Since you unplug the drive easily, you can plug it on a desktop computer and make the install there and once it finished, plug it back to your easystore.
It will boot.
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I would love to do this, but the drive is SATA and it doesn't appear to work with the only other tower I have lying around here (ATA?). I have a friend with a Mac Pro, so I'll go see him tomorrow about it.
| gerasimos_h wrote: | Have you try boot options, del, f2 for bios or f8,f12 esc for boot menu?
So you don't have to plug your drive while on power.
Another option is to plug your drive once you see the SMS boot menu ( before SMS start) so it will see your disks during boot up, and mount them automatically. |
I have been button mashing, but I'll try more precise combinations.
Thanks again for your help! |
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gerasimos_h
Site Admin
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Greece
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| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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What are the specs of your easystore? Are those of H340?
If that's your NAS, then your systems run on a RAID volume probably, so you need to find your RAID array and not single disks.
When you boot into sms type "fdisk -l" to list partitions and post the output.
| jchok wrote: | | error writing /etc/mtab.tmp: No space left on device |
That's what it says, but for your unionfs, meaning your ram actually, since you boot SMS from a live media.
If this is happening during copy, then you copy everything to yourself (Live media) and not on your disk.
| jchook wrote: | | and I am installing SMS64 on 64-bit Intel Atom. Using recommended file system (ReiserFS) |
You can install SMS64 but if your RAM is 2GB, you can install SMS32 as well with no problem, and you might wanna choose ext4 as your filesystem.
| jchook wrote: | Warning: /dev/sdc is not on the first disk
Fatal: Trying to map files from unnamed device 0x0011 (NFS/RAID mirror down ?) |
That smells like a RAID disk, if you type "fdisk -l" will know for sure.
gerasimos_h
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Superb! Mini Server Project Manager
http://sms.it-ccs.com |
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jchook
Junior Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:55 am Post subject: |
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Hey, gerasimos_h, thanks so much for all of your help.
Your thoughts about the RAID are very likely. I imagine this thing was designed to support such features out of the box.
However, I ended up hooking the drive into my friend's Mac Pro and installing Ubuntu Server 10.10 (also command-line interface, has good ol' apt-get, ssh and LAMP environment upon install (including PHP 5.3.3) and fit on a regular CD).
We used ext3 in hopes that it would be more easily recognized by the Mac. Also fdisk -l returns nothing at this point. I believe the ubuntu installer zapped the whole drive and any RAID configurations along with it, which is something I did not try during my attempts to install SMS (wanted to hold on to the WHS partition, oh well...).
I thank SMS for giving me a working /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules file that allowed Ubuntu to connect via DHCP to my network. If it wasn't for SMS, I'd still be scratching my head about that one.
Also, I will forever keep a bootable SMS thumb drive around at all times. I'm sure it will be essential for troubleshooting this box in the future (problems are inevitable, I suppose).
So, thanks again for the great distro! And thanks for your help!
Say hello, EasyStore H340!
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gerasimos_h
Site Admin
Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 1757
Location: Greece
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| Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 11:58 am Post subject: |
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When you hooked up your drive at friend's mac pro, have you try to install SMS?
Have you got any errors?
A RAID array requires 2 or more disks depending of the array (RAID 1,0,10,50 e.t.c) so if you have only one disk you are not in a RAID array.
I'm trying to troubleshoot your situation for making SMS installation easier 
If I were to choose a distro, ubuntu would be my very last choice, but that's just me  .
I believe you will have no problems.
gerasimos_h
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