Hard Drive install issues from Lan boot initrd

Forum: HD Install
Topic: Hard Drive install issues from Lan boot initrd
started by: drcrunch

Posted by drcrunch on Dec. 29 2006,17:24

Ok, folks, Rookie here.
Status: I have a working LAN boot install of DSL using the initrd boot tip. The client is up and running fine, OK, I cannot get past the server to the web yet, but that will remain my issue until I ask for help. The problem that I am having at this time involves the installation to the hard drive. I use "sudo su" then cfdisk, break up the hard drive into hda1 (bootable) , hda2 thru hda4. Then use the install in "tools" to install the DSL system to the drive..all of this seems to go well. I get to the installation of the bootloader and it just vanishes (I think I see an error message but cannot see it clearly or long enough to tell what it is). I mount and check the hda2 partition and it has the files from the transfer. I have tried going to the hard drive files and running lilo.real -m to get it installed that way but it bounces with an error of cannot write /boot/boot003.0 (something close to that..I am not infront of the offending box). I have no antiviral stuff sunning that I am aware of, no bios protection of the MBR, and this phenomenon is the same from client to client (Netier boxes). Has anyone run into this before? If it is a permissions problem, how does I fix it?

Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Dec. 31 2006,18:27

Open a terminal and run the script from there to see the error output, i.e. frugal_grub.sh

Posted by drcrunch on Jan. 04 2007,07:55

OK, root access shell.
frugal_grub.sh
tell it to go to hda2 to install
format (yes or no) no change in outcome
Source of iso
I am on a lan install so no cdrom, no floppy, cannot get to the web yet (I am working on that).
I have a copy on USB stick; therefore a local install. Mount that as /mnt/sda1...give that a try...
give the absolute pathway to the iso file...
format, yes
mkdir cannot create directory /mnt/staging: file exists
installation continuing...no errors
setting up grub...(looks OK)
grub installation completed....(this is new)
Power down, reset the bios away from net boot
Hey, that's grub, it's launching...its' booting...it's up.

That was very cool. Now, why was it giving the cannot write error to /boot/boot etc with lilo? Once I went to the coomand line i got the option for the source of the file. Or do I stop looking a gift horse in the mouth and get on with the lan problems?

Thanks for the insight.

Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Jan. 04 2007,21:14

Oh, if you wanted to use lilo, it would be frugal_install.sh

To write to /boot manually with lilo you'd have to relink/remount the root dir with a frugal installation. You can open up frugal_install.sh and scroll down to the lines that contain it.

Posted by drcrunch on Jan. 05 2007,12:30

I am fine with grub. It's booting, that's what is important. I was just wondering why it acted goofy from the LAN boot. In the past installing from the cd or usb fob was easy, and even this time I had to resort to the fob once the system had booted over LAN. These clients will not do a USB boot. I was wondering where the glitch was when I had it on the LAN only. I have ten other clients to play with and a feasible solution, that is cool, but a more rapid deployment over a lan boot would be better. I will try the frugal install from the desktop on the next victim, sorry, thin client.