Having Boot Issues System is Down

[creolecat]

djemos,

I am getting the following:

Attempt to remount root device as read-write failed! This is going to cause serious problems.

If you're using the UMSDOS filesystem, you **MUST** mount the root partition read-write! You can make sure the root filesystem is getting mounted read-write with the 'rw' flag to Loadlin:

loadlin vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 rw (replace /dev/hda1 with your root device)

Normal boot disks can be made to mount a system read-write with the rdev command: rdev -R /dev/fd0 0

You can also get into your system by using a boot disk with a command line like this on LILO prompt line: (change the root partition name as needed)

LILO: mount root=dev/hda1 rw

Please press ENTER to continue, then reboot and use one of the above methods to get into your machine and start looking for the problem.

None of this is getting me anywhere. I need some further assistance if someone could help.

[djemos]

Try to boot in single mode from lilo to check your filesystem
type linux single at the lilo boot prompt or type ctrl-x then linux single
Then be sure that your disk is not full type df -ah
If you are using one partition for /home and / be sure to umount filesystem ( type cat /etc/fstab and see if your disk is sda or hda)
sudo umount /dev/hda1 (or /dev/sda1)
then run
sudo e2fsck -v -y /dev/hda1 (or /dev/sda1)

OR
boot with slackel dvd live or slackel usb live if you have created one
and then run
e2fsck -v -y /dev/hda1
then reboot

If all went OK, i suggest to install grub and grub-scripts and use grub to boot your system not lilo.

[creolecat]

Booting with USB live, I can see /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2 using Gparted. Neither are showing as full sda1 = 78.12 GiB, used 12.43.
But there is no disk listed in the cat /etc/fstab command, neither sda or hda. Running the e2fsck -v -y /dev/hda1 does not fix the issue.
I'm thinking my fstab file is messed up by not having a disk shown. Oh, yes I am using GRUB, not LILO. I can get to the GRUB> prompt, but can't do much with it.

[djemos]

You cannot see anything because what you see /etc/fstab in live environment.
mount /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2 partitions from pcmanfm from live environment and look in /where/is_mounted_dev_sda1/etc/fstab
or /where/is_mounted_dev_sda2/etc/fstab if you have an EFI partition.
What is your boot loader lilo or grub. It is an 64bit system?

Your disk is sda not hda

so run sudo e2fsck -v -y /dev/sda1 (but i think there is no problem with filesystem)
by the way this is a first installation? Or your system was running and then boot problems happened?
Do you use grub to boot? Did you installed grub? It is an 64 bit system? It has EFI partition. How did the installation?
Did you update your kernel? If so did you run sudo update-grub after kernel update? Did you change anything lately in your system?
Write more information.
In the end if you have back up critical data then do a new installation.

My /etc/fstab
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
/dev/sda4 / ext4 defaults 1 1
/dev/sda6 none swap defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 /boot/efi vfat defaults 1 0
none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0

As you see there are two partitions an EFI in /dev/sda1 and a second for the system in /dev/sda4 (There is no separate partition home)
And a third /dev/sda6 swap partition.

[creolecat]

djemos,

This installation has been on this Dell 1525 for a couple of years now. I have it installed on a Solid State Drive. I did not upgrade the kernel, only the updates that come down. I checked using fdisk -l, and Gparted and see all of the partitions, Slackel = sda1 etx4, Puppy = sda2 etx4, 14gb unallocated, no swap.
Also not showing a boot flag for /dev/sda1 in Gparted or fdisk. Does Slackel add the EFI partition automatically? I may need to reinstall to default partition scheme. Let me know what you think

I looked at my partitions and was able to mount them in pcmanfm, as you said. I backed up my files and was warned sudo e2fsck -v -y /dev/sda1, would destroy my file system, so I aborted that command. I do not have the EFI partition shown in the fstab file, which I found mine says this:

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext4 defaults 1 1

[djemos]

I created a live usb with persistent and upgraded the system then system could not boot. Because some packages like mount need the glibc-2.25.
So when glibc package is upgraded in slackware, this package has to be upgraded first before all the others.
To do it, follow these steps. (Do not use sudo.)
1. Become root

Code: Select all

su

2. Download the packages without install it.

Code: Select all

slapt-get -i -d glibc glibc-i18n

3. Then go to init 1

Code: Select all

init 1

4. upgrade the package

Code: Select all

upgradepkg /var/slapt-get/slackware/l/glibc* 

5. go to init 4

Code: Select all

init 4

6. become again root and upgrade the rest packages

Code: Select all

su
slapt-get --upgrade

Another method, If you have already break your system, is to boot with live usb or live dvd
and install the glibc missing package in the system
to do it first mount your system (/dev/sda2) somewhere or within pcmanfm
download the glibc and glibc-i18n packages somewhere and use this command to install the system

Code: Select all

su
installpkg --root /where/your/dev/sda2/is/mounted glibc-2.25-x86_64-2.txz 
installpkg --root /where/your/dev/sda2/is/mounted glibc-i18n-2.25-x86_64-2.txz

then reboot

[Papasot]

I actually had the same problem, after updating one of my Slackel installations (surprisingly enough, it didn't happen when I updated the others). I don't think the problem is related to usb-persistent installations. It happened to me in an actual disk installation (not a persistent usb). I was about to post a solution, but djemos was quicker and already posted the solution.

The key fact here is that, while booting, the system is complaining about GLIBC's version (creolecat forgot to mention that). It was that complain about GLIBC that made me figure out what to do to fix the problem. What I did was to boot from Slackel live usb (always handy to have one), mount my installed system on /mnt/floppy, and install the GLIBC-related packages, just as djemos says in the last paragraph of the previous post. It worked.

[djemos]

I used a live usb with persistent because i did not want to make a real installation in virtual box. Running a live usb with persistent is like to run a real installation except kernel update where a new initrd has to be created.
I did also later, a real slackellive kde 4.14.21 kde installation in vmware where after installation of live iso and reboot, i upgraded the system and then system broke. Then i did what you wrote before, boot with live iso, and installed the glibc new package.
But it has to be written clearly in documentation that users have to check first if there is a new glibc package and before upgrading the system, install first the glibc package in init 1 mode for safe.
In this last update in current tree, things was worst because mount package was also upgraded and could not run and mount the system because of glibc-2.25 dependence.
It is sometimes painful to maintain a stable system in slackware current tree.
So sorry for the troubles.

[Papasot]

But it has to be written clearly in documentation that users have to check first if there is a new glibc package and before upgrading the system, install first the glibc package in init 1 mode for safe.

I added that in my personal notes, with big fat letters.

It is sometimes painful to maintain a stable system in slackware current tree.
So sorry for the troubles.

Everybody using a "current" distribution knows that, occasionally, something might be broken, especially when we are upgrading core parts of the system, such as GLIBC. So, at least as far myself is concerned, no complains whatsoever.

Slackel is actually very stable. Given its "rolling distro" nature, I expected way more issues than that. My previous experience with Debian "testing" says that, each time I did a system upgrade on Debian, I was scared, because I had minor or major issues very often. This is far from being the case in Slackel. I can't complain just because the system broke in one case, and that during upgrading GLIBC, one of the most essential packages - even then, it was pretty easy to fix it.
I can only thank the developer, because I can use use the latest kernel, latest version of essential applications and GCC, even on an old netbook, where Slackel actually works very well.