This forum has been archived. All content is frozen. Please use KDE Discuss instead.

PC-Bug? Installer fails with "grub-install /dev/sda1"

Tags: None
(comma "," separated)
User avatar
NeonStorm
Registered Member
Posts
6
Karma
0
OS
After Canonical uses Unity exclusively and you can't choose your old gnome2-session without deinstalling the half system, I have tried Kubuntu.

I installed it successfully on my laptop, but it failed to install itself on my PC in the very same way I installed it on my laptop :'(

Steps to reproduce my Problem ( at least on my own hardware ;) ):
  • Try to install it ( not the text mode )
  • Check the fields for the third party and update packages.
  • Select a manual partition task.
  • Make at least one 4 GB swap and one 20 GB system root partition ( brtfs ) - I even tried to use a 1 GB "/boot"-Partition with ext2, it doesn't matter.
    • The partition with the "/boot" folder was "/dev/sda1" at every try.
    • Notice: You can let the installation window crash with a mount option like "/mnt/<XD>"
  • Select "/dev/sda" or "/dev/sda1" for the bootloader installation.
  • Use regular data for the username, password, language, etc.
  • Wait for the installation of the basic system.
  • Wait for the downloads.
  • Wait till you get an error message that "grub-install /dev/sda1" failed and it is a critical kind of an error.

Code: Select all
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo grub-install /dev/sda1
rm: cannot create `/boot/grub/915resolution.mod': Permission denied
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo chmod 0777 /boot/grub
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo grub-install /dev/sda1
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a device for /boot/grub (is /dev mounted?).
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ /dev
bash: /dev: Is a directory
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls /dev/sda1
/dev/sda1
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls /boot/grub/z*
/boot/grub/zfsinfo.mod  /boot/grub/zfs.mod


I don't know how I can fix it, what is broken or how to resume to the installer without restarting the whole live-session.

Can you help me please?
Should I provide some logfiles?
( I have no idea which are the important files for this problem ).
User avatar
Wizard
Registered Member
Posts
99
Karma
0
OS
First, I wonder why do you use separate /boot at all? Do you have LVM, RAID, brtfs? Returning to your problem, chroot to your installed system before running grub-install ;)
User avatar
NeonStorm
Registered Member
Posts
6
Karma
0
OS
First, I wonder why do you use separate /boot at all? Do you have LVM, RAID, brtfs?

If you look at my list:
Steps to reproduce my Problem ( at least on my own hardware ):
, you will see that I have written nearly all information for which you asked.

I tried it - not use it - with separate /boot, because I used a relatively new file system for my directory root.
I have done it to exclude some sources for errors, etc.
User avatar
NeonStorm
Registered Member
Posts
6
Karma
0
OS
I have done "chroot /target", because sda2 is mounted at "/target".
sda2 = the root directory on the hard drive for the installed system.

Now:
  • "grub-install /dev/sda1" returns a error message which tells me that it is a bad idea to install grub on a not formated partition.
  • "grub-install /dev/sda" - without "1" - tells me of a sucessful installation.



if the main problem is solved now, why did the system installer forget to chroot to "/target" and how can I get it to do that before it installs grub?

What is about the access violation - does it only happen because it tries to do this action at the live system's /boot folder?
User avatar
Wizard
Registered Member
Posts
99
Karma
0
OS
NeonStorm, I have really no idea why it behaved like this, maybe /boot was read only or it tried chrooting to /boot instead of /. I think you should fill a bug on launchpad.
User avatar
NeonStorm
Registered Member
Posts
6
Karma
0
OS
I have disabled the second hard drive in my BIOS
-> That shouldn't affect the installation, because I have completely ignored it.

I use EXT4 instead of brts with a ext2 /boot partition now-

Also I have installed it on "sda" instead of "sda1"

All system partitions are primary - not logical!

After my second installation with this configuration ( the first ended up in an initramfs-console ) I have a working system now :D

---

I think either the brtfs or the second HDD have confused the installer >:D
User avatar
Wizard
Registered Member
Posts
99
Karma
0
OS
What did you use as /boot before? brtfs? :>
I would notify ubiquity developers about this issue, it's an OS installer, it just can't fail :)


Bookmarks



Who is online

Registered users: Bing [Bot], blue_bullet, Google [Bot], rockscient, Yahoo [Bot]