[gentoo-amd64] Re: Amoeba file system

[gentoo-amd64] Re: Amoeba file system

[Duncan]

Peter Humphrey <prh@gotadsl.co.uk> posted
200704072158.54016.prh@gotadsl.co.uk, excerpted below, on  Sat, 07 Apr
2007 21:58:53 +0100:

>> The problem is that, having found problems with the 64-bit grub, I long
>> ago got used to installing the 32-bit version, with "emerge --usepkg
>> grub-static". That works fine, but because grub is in the world file it
>> gets included in the wholesale reinstallation - but without the
>> --usepkg parameter.
> 
> What I should have finished by saying is that, after emerge grub-static,
> fdisk shows the boot partition /dev/hda1 as of type 0x92, Amoeba
> (whatever that is), and that Boot Magic can't recognise it and refuses
> to boot through it.

OK, to get some things straight.

1)  There is no such thing as 64-bit grub.  It's 32-bit (or rather, 16-
bit, but compiled with 32-bit gcc, which handles 16-bit real-mode apps 
like grub too).  To compile grub on amd64, you need either a multilib 
system, or a 32-bit chroot with a 32-bit toolchain.  If you are running 
64-bit only, you can't compile grub because it needs either a 32-bit gcc 
or a multilib gcc to compile.

2)  The package called grub-static is a 32-bit pre-compiled binary.  
Nothing is compiled merging it, it just merges the pre-compiled binary.  
Thus, --use-package in theory has little effect on it because it's pre-
compiled in any case.  (The exception would be if the ebuild has changed 
without changing the version, or if a different version would be merged 
without --use-package.)

It would appear that loading a current grub into the boot-sector on that 
partition causes it to be detected as amoebafs for whatever reason.  Your 
existing package apparently doesn't have that reason, and you can boot 
thru it.

For the time being, I believe your fix (taking grub out of world so it 
doesn't try to merge) should work.

However, as Jean-Marc suggests, there's little reason to chain grub thru 
partition-magic's boot-manager, when grub should handle booting virtually 
anything (including but not limited to Linux, BSD, and the various MS-DOS 
and MSWormOS platforms) you need to boot directly.  Thus, why not install 
grub into the main hard drive boot sector directly, and do away with the 
Partition-Magic boot-manager?  Then you'd be able to clear it out of the 
partition's boot-sector, and not need to worry about it.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

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[gentoo-amd64] Re: Amoeba file system

[Duncan]

Peter Humphrey <prh@gotadsl.co.uk> posted
200704091202.47469.prh@gotadsl.co.uk, excerpted below, on  Mon, 09 Apr
2007 12:02:47 +0100:

> I suppose what I meant was "the standard version that can be compiled on
> a multi-lib system that's mostly 64-bit", rather than a precompiled
> version (which is 32-bit).

Ahh... That makes more sense.  =8^)

That the issue seems to be a timing/race condition of some sort is 
interesting, but would explain why the issue seems so unusual.  No 
/wonder/ you can't find much else on what seemed like it should be a 
perfectly reproducible bug! Your system just falls in the wrong timing 
slot, it would seem. =8^(  I'm still wondering what the mechanism is, but 
this is a strange one, all right.  You should feel privileged that the 
fates favored you with something so unusual. =8^)  (Yeah, I know, about 
like those folks with the one in a million birth defect...  At least the 
computer isn't a part of your body you have to live with...)

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and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

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Re: [gentoo-amd64] Re: Amoeba file system

[Peter Humphrey]

On Monday 09 April 2007 12:41:45 Duncan wrote:

> At least the computer isn't a part of your body you have to live with...)

It does no harm to remind myself of that occasionally :)

-- 
Rgds
Peter Humphrey
Linux Counter 5290, Aug 93
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Re: [gentoo-amd64] Amoeba file system

[Peter Hoff]

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It might actually be a Windows issue rather than a grub issue. Historically Windows has been really picky about being on /dev/hda1. I've heard rumors that newer versions are less picky about it, but then again I recall hearing rumors that you never needed to defrag ntfs, so...

I'd probably repartition and reinstall (maybe using disk images to minimize the pain). I also recall seeing somewhere bootloader settings that would trick Windows into thinking it was on /dev/hda1, but I can't recall where. It may have been back in the lilo days. tldp.org is never a bad place to look.


----- Original Message ----
From: Peter Humphrey <prh@gotadsl.co.uk>
To: gentoo-amd64@lists.gentoo.org
Sent: Monday, April 9, 2007 7:14:45 AM
Subject: Re: [gentoo-amd64] Amoeba file system


On Monday 09 April 2007 14:49:18 Wil Reichert wrote:

> Going to guess here that your XP install isn't on the first partition
> of the drive its on?  Seem to recall problems with that and grub
> before.

It's on /dev/hda3.

So anyway, that's why I stick with Boot Magic.

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Peter Humphrey
Linux Counter 5290, Aug 93
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[gentoo-amd64] Re: Amoeba file system

[andrew]

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Peter Hoff wrote:
> It might actually be a Windows issue rather than a grub issue. Historically Windows has been really picky about being on /dev/hda1. I've heard rumors that newer versions are less picky about it, but then again I recall hearing rumors that you never needed to defrag ntfs, so...
> 
> I'd probably repartition and reinstall (maybe using disk images to minimize the pain). I also recall seeing somewhere bootloader settings that would trick Windows into thinking it was on /dev/hda1, but I can't recall where. It may have been back in the lilo days. tldp.org is never a bad place to look.
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Peter Humphrey <prh@gotadsl.co.uk>
> To: gentoo-amd64@lists.gentoo.org
> Sent: Monday, April 9, 2007 7:14:45 AM
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-amd64] Amoeba file system
> 
> 
> On Monday 09 April 2007 14:49:18 Wil Reichert wrote:
> 
>> Going to guess here that your XP install isn't on the first partition
>> of the drive its on?  Seem to recall problems with that and grub
>> before.
> 
> It's on /dev/hda3.
> 
> So anyway, that's why I stick with Boot Magic.
> 

It's been a while since I had Windows on a secondary partition, but when
I did (it was Windows 98) I think I needed to use GRUB's makeactive
command to make windows think it was on the first partition.

Andrew Long

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