[gentoo-user] Kernel build no update grub

[gentoo-user] Kernel build no update grub

[Harry Putnam]

Updating the kernel today, I referenced that piece of the
documentation and borrowed this command from it:

 genkernel --bootloader=grub all

However, not only did it not update grub.conf but grub.conf
disappeared entirely following the successful build.

I did find this in /var/log/genkernel.log:

[...]
emerge.log       rsnapshot_Home.log.6.gz    sandbox
fdisk.log        rsnapshot_Home.log.7.gz    scrollkeeper.log
fdisk.log.1.gz   rsnapshot_Home.log.8.gz    squid
fdisk.log.2.gz   rsnapshot_Home.log.9.gz    syslog
fdisk.log.3.gz   rsnapshot_Home.log_083105  syslog.0
fdisk.log.4.gz   rsnapshot_Mail.log         syslog.1.bz2
*     initramfs-modules-2.6.14-gentoo-r2.cpio.gz
* 
* Adding kernel to /boot/grub/grub.conf...
* 
* Kernel compiled successfully!
* 
* Required Kernel Parameters:
*     real_root=/dev/$ROOT
* 
*     Where $ROOT is the device node for your root partition as the
*     one specified in /etc/fstab
* 
* If you require Genkernel's hardware detection features; you MUST
* tell your bootloader to use the provided INITRAMFS file. Otherwise;
* substitute the root argument for the real_root argument if you are
* not planning to use the initrd...
* WARNING... WARNING... WARNING...
* Additional kernel cmdline arguments that *may* be required to boot properly...
* add "vga=791 splash=silent" if you use a bootsplash framebuffer
* Do NOT report kernel bugs as genkernel bugs unless your bug
* is about the default genkernel configuration...
* 
* Make sure you have the latest genkernel before reporting bugs.


Note the line that says:
* Adding kernel to /boot/grub/grub.conf...

So whats going on here?

Further I'm confused by the rest of it too.

It says if I want hardware detection I MUST tell my bootloader to use
the intitramfs  blah blah , but no clue at all as to how one might do
this.

I'm pretty sure I need some new kind of grub.conf but what should it
look like..

I've just appended what I think might be adequate to the original
lines....  yeah I saved a backup..

================================
default 1
timeout 05
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz

Title=gentoo
    root (hd0,0)
    kernel (hd0,0)/kernel-2.6.12-gentoo-r9 root=/dev/ram0
    linux-2.6.12-gentoo-r9
       init=/linux ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5
       video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70

    initrd (hd0,0)/initramfs-2.6.12-gentoo-r9

Title=gentoo-2.6.14-r2
    root (hd0,0)
    kernel (hd0,0)/kernel-2.6.14-gentoo-r2 root=/dev/ram0
    linux-2.6.12-gentoo-r9
       init=/linux ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5
       video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70

    initramfs (hd0,0)/initramfs-2.6.14-gentoo-r2


So am I in the ball park?

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Re: [gentoo-user] Kernel build no update grub

[Iain Buchanan]

On Wed, 2005-11-16 at 16:25 -0600, Harry Putnam wrote:
> Updating the kernel today, I referenced that piece of the
> documentation and borrowed this command from it:
> 
>  genkernel --bootloader=grub all

I've never trusted it...

> However, not only did it not update grub.conf but grub.conf
> disappeared entirely following the successful build.

for reasons like this!

> Note the line that says:
> * Adding kernel to /boot/grub/grub.conf...

for me, it just copied my windows grub entry, and duplicated that
exactly, instead of doing anything to any linux entries...

> Further I'm confused by the rest of it too.
> 
> It says if I want hardware detection I MUST tell my bootloader to use
> the intitramfs  blah blah , but no clue at all as to how one might do
> this.

You don't need the hardware detection, it doesn't mean that you won't be
able to use, say, usb; it just means that gentoo will attempt to probe
and load lots of modules for you.  This is useful for an install disk
which runs on multiple machine types, but for me, I don't use it.  I
only have to add two modules to /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6.

But you can of course do it that way.  It looks kind of cool.  All you
need is

title
   root ...
   kernel ...
   initrd ...

(You don't even need all of that, but this is the genkernel way.)

>From what you've posted, I think your grub.conf should look something
like this (I don't split the lines, so this should be 4 lines only
including the title):

title Gentoo 2.6.15_rc1
   root (hd0,0)
   kernel /kernel-2.6.14-gentoo-r2 root=/dev/ram0 real_root=/dev/hda5 video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70 CONSOLE=/dev/tty1
   initrd /initramfs-2.6.12-gentoo-r9

Make sure your display can actually handle 1152x864-24@70


> ================================
> default 1
> timeout 05
> splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
> 
> Title=gentoo
>     root (hd0,0)
>     kernel (hd0,0)/kernel-2.6.12-gentoo-r9 root=/dev/ram0

             ^ You don't need the (hd0,0) here if you specify root
(hd0,0)

>     linux-2.6.12-gentoo-r9

think this line shouldn't be there...

>        init=/linux ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5

try leaving out the init= and ramdisk= for now

>        video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70
> 

You seem to have a newline here.  Remove it!

>     initrd (hd0,0)/initramfs-2.6.12-gentoo-r9

      ^ don't need (hd0,0) here either

> So am I in the ball park?

looks good, did you actually try it?  what happened?

HTH, and post back with results!!
-- 
Iain Buchanan <iaindb@netspace.net.au>

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[gentoo-user] Re: Kernel build no update grub

[Harry Putnam]

Iain Buchanan <iaindb@netspace.net.au> writes:

> On Wed, 2005-11-16 at 16:25 -0600, Harry Putnam wrote:
>> Updating the kernel today, I referenced that piece of the
>> documentation and borrowed this command from it:
>> 
>>  genkernel --bootloader=grub all
>
> I've never trusted it...

This was my first time trying it.

>>From what you've posted, I think your grub.conf should look something
> like this (I don't split the lines, so this should be 4 lines only
> including the title):
>
> title Gentoo 2.6.15_rc1
>    root (hd0,0)
>    kernel /kernel-2.6.14-gentoo-r2 root=/dev/ram0 real_root=/dev/hda5 video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70 CONSOLE=/dev/tty1
>    initrd /initramfs-2.6.12-gentoo-r9


I'm trying it that way now.  I've set a few other resolutions in there
to test but the one I posted has been working ok (1152x864-24@70).

How can I tell which ones will work in advance?  Someone posted a
command to display some setting from /proc:

   cat /proc/fb0/modes

That doesn't show the one I've been using and I know it works so that
bunch must not be very complete.

But first lets see if the basic stuff works...

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Kernel build no update grub

[Iain Buchanan]

On Wed, 2005-11-16 at 20:29 -0600, Harry Putnam wrote:
> Iain Buchanan <iaindb@netspace.net.au> writes:

> > From what you've posted, I think your grub.conf should look something
> > like this

> I'm trying it that way now.  I've set a few other resolutions in there
> to test but the one I posted has been working ok (1152x864-24@70).
> 
> How can I tell which ones will work in advance?

Read up on the specs for your monitor?  If its not in the monitor's
manual, Google has worked well for me in the past - I search for
something like "X11 frequency <model-no>".  The reason I add X11 is
because there are a few X sites that have models and capable frequencies
to help you set up X, but the same numbers should work for fb.

>   Someone posted a
> command to display some setting from /proc:
> 
>    cat /proc/fb0/modes

first I've heard of it, I'll have to remember that :)  I'm using vanilla
sources atm, so I don't have it just now :(

> That doesn't show the one I've been using and I know it works so that
> bunch must not be very complete.

Maybe because the one you're using now is not "natively" supported by
your monitor, but it can still handle it.

> But first lets see if the basic stuff works...

ok
-- 
Iain Buchanan <iaindb@netspace.net.au>

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[gentoo-user] Re: Kernel build no update grub

[Harry Putnam]

Iain Buchanan <iaindb@netspace.net.au> writes:

>> But first lets see if the basic stuff works...
>
> ok

Well, I booted successfully but let me clean up something about
grub.conf.   First, I had forgotten I switched to lilo last time
around.  Kernel 2.6.9-gentoo-r1.   So quite a while ago.

Back then I made the last of several over the past year attempts to
get the frambuffer and splash stuff to work.  In the nearly two years
now that I've used gentoo, I've never gotten its hallmark to work.

I've wasted ungodly amounts of time on it several times.  Finally just
said fsck it and went back to lilo which served me well for 5-6 yrs.

But not before I'd done the step thru from docs repeatedly, gotten
help here repeatedly etc etc.

In the meantime I'd used grub for a year or two and sort of forgot I'd
switched back.

So cutting to the chase, I booted with lilo under this config.  Giving
myself several resolutions to try... and a fall back kernel, they all
worked.  I'm not sure how much of this is really necessary.
(I didn't actually test the 1152x1024 but believe it would work ok)
Anyway, thanks for the help, I incorporated your suggestions into the
kernel line here.

boot=/dev/hda
#default 1
prompt
timeout=50
#  vga=0x318 
# splashimage=/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

image=/boot/kernel-2.6.9-gentoo-r1
  label=gentoo
  read-only
  root=/dev/ram0
  append="init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5 hdc=ide-scsi hdd-ide-scsi video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70"
  initrd=/boot/initrd-2.6.9-gentoo-r1-1152x864

image=/boot/kernel-2.6.14-r2
  label=1152x864
  read-only
  root=/dev/ram0
  append="init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5 hdc=ide-scsi hdd-ide-scsi video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x864-24@70"
  initrd=/boot/initramfs-2.6.14-r2

image=/boot/kernel-2.6.14-r2
  label=1152x1024
  read-only
  root=/dev/ram0
  append="init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5 hdc=ide-scsi hdd-ide-scsi video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1152x1024-24@70"
  initrd=/boot/initramfs-2.6.14-r2

image=/boot/kernel-2.6.14-r2
  label=1280x1024
  read-only
  root=/dev/ram0
  append="init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda5 hdc=ide-scsi hdd-ide-scsi video=vesafb:mtrr,ywrap,1280x1024-24@70"
  initrd=/boot/initramfs-2.6.14-r2


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[gentoo-user] Re: Kernel build no update grub

[Harry Putnam]

Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:

> Updating the kernel today, I referenced that piece of the
> documentation and borrowed this command from it:
>
>  genkernel --bootloader=grub all
>
> However, not only did it not update grub.conf but grub.conf
> disappeared entirely following the successful build.

Let me tell this story again briefly... This was quite a knuckleheaded
move on my part.  Its been so long since I updated my kernel, I forgot
that I switched to lilo some mnths ago....  So, er I misinfomed the
genkernel tool.

I'm not sure that should have made any difference in what it did to
grub.conf or not..

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Kernel build no update grub

[Chris Cox]

On Wednesday 16 November 2005 22:24, Harry Putnam wrote:
> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
> > Updating the kernel today, I referenced that piece of the
> > documentation and borrowed this command from it:
> >
> >  genkernel --bootloader=grub all
> >
> > However, not only did it not update grub.conf but grub.conf
> > disappeared entirely following the successful build.
>
> Let me tell this story again briefly... This was quite a knuckleheaded
> move on my part.  Its been so long since I updated my kernel, I forgot
> that I switched to lilo some mnths ago....  So, er I misinfomed the
> genkernel tool.
>
> I'm not sure that should have made any difference in what it did to
> grub.conf or not..

It doesn't make any difference trust me.  I tried genkernel a few months ago 
with the --bootloader=grub option and it it removed everything in my 
grub.conf as well ; the file was 0 bytes afterwards. Lucky for me, I keep 
backups.
  I've never really liked Genkernel though and don't use it. Most of the time 
when I update my kernel it is pretty quick and easy:

I turn on the symlink USEflag which makes a new symlink of my new kernel.
So, after I emerge any new kernel source I just cd /usr/src/linux then 
zcat /proc/config.gz >.config  which copies the config from my current kernel 
then run make oldconfig (any new changes will prompt you); then make 
menuconfig if I want to change anything, otherwise make all install 
install_modules

Then just reboot.  I already have grub configured to use either the vmlinuz 
symlink in /boot which points to my latest kernel image or the fallback  
vmlinuz.old which is my previous kernel image.  The make install copies these 
files into /boot automaticly.


-- 
Chris
Linux 2.6.14-gentoo-r2 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) XP
 01:39:55 up 21:54,  8 users,  load average: 3.21, 2.61, 2.39
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