Oh so stuck - Kickstart Install & %post failure
This is a discussion about Oh so stuck - Kickstart Install & %post failure in the Everything Linux category; This is a composite of posts I've left elsewhere at other Linux sites. I'm still hoping for some answers. I've got an xw8000, dual Xeon system. I'm attempting to load RH9 from a vendor CD that has a ks.
This is a composite of posts I've left elsewhere at other Linux sites. I'm still hoping for some answers.
I've got an xw8000, dual Xeon system. I'm attempting to load RH9 from a vendor CD that has a ks.cfg file in the top directory. The vendor CD boots and ks.cfg is supposed to startup, load RH9 from "Local CDROM", then when all 3 CDs are done, prompt me to reinstall my vendor CD to finish with some RPM additions, "housekeeping", etc..
The CD-ROM isn't found after I select the Installation Location as Local CDROM (Yes, I saw the "patch" links here about prolant servers, but the links are dead). I assume the CD-ROM issue has something to do with the RH9 driver? bug. The vendor told me he swapped one drive for another and was able to make it work. I have a DT855 that came with the xw8000 (it was a "no go"), and picked up an HP 420i (no go also). Is there a CD or DVD drive I can get that WILL work? And, no, I'm stuck using RH9 in this manner for technical and legal reasons. Is there a driver I can load, when asked, that would get around the suspect driver in RH9?
Lastly, I tried running the kickstart program from a floppy using "linux ks=floppy" at "boot:" and RH9 CD1 in the CDROM. It went well until I got to the "%Post" in the ks.cfg file. It didn't do any of the "%Post --nochroot" installation stuff (e.g. I never got asked to put the vendor CD in the drive - one of the first things in %Post). I could REALLY use some help.
------------------------
BTW, the following is the %Post section (that's not working from the floppy) of my ks.cfg file.
%post --nochroot
#Set up for install
#/mnt/sysimage is the hard drive
#/tmp/cdrom is the cdrom driver (if present)
#/dev/console is terminal 1
cddrv=/tmp/cdrom
# Determine cd device
if [ ! -e ${cddrv} ]
then
cddrv=`grep cdrom /proc/ide/*/media | sed -e "s/\/proc\/ide/\/dev/" | sed -e "s/\/media.*//"`
fi
echo "Post processing started" > /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
cd /
mkdir /cdrom
#Move to terminal 1 cause that's where read looks for input
chvt 1
correctdisk=0
#Loop until they enter the correct cd
while [ ${correctdisk} -eq 0 ]
do
if [ ! -e /cdrom/ks.cfg ]
then
umount ${cddrv} > /dev/null 2>&1
echo "Message about to be delivered" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "Load the XiO boot disk into the CD drive and hit enter to continue" > /dev/console
read ans
echo "Message acknowledged" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
mount ${cddrv} /cdrom
else
correctdisk=1
fi
done
#Go to where messages will be written which is 3
chvt 3
echo "Loading additional files"
echo "Correct CD Mounted" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
#Determine if up[censored] smp or not
smp=`rpm -qa -r /mnt/sysimage | grep kernel-smp | wc -l`
echo "smp is equal to " >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
echo "${smp}" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
#rpmdb pkg expects /var/lib/rpm. Don't dissappoint them
ln -s /mnt/sysimage/var/lib/rpm /var/lib
#Load the correct set of rpm files
if [ ${smp} -ge 1 ]
then
rpm -Uvh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/errata/comps.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/initscripts-7.14-1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-source-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-smp-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/rhn-applet-2.0.9-0.9.0.1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-doc-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/rpmdb-redhat-9-0.20030313.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
else
rpm -Uvh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/errata/comps.rpm /cdrom/errata/initscripts-7.14-1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-source-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/rhn-applet-2.0.9-0.9.0.1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-doc-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/rpmdb-redhat-9-0.20030313.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
fi
# Determine if bcm 5700 or not
bcm=`lsmod | grep bcm5700 | wc -l`
# Install bcm5700 if needed
if [ ${bcm} -ge 1 ]
then
rpm -ivh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/bcm5700-6.0.2-1.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
fi
#Clean up
echo "RPMs installed" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
umount ${cddrv}
echo "CD unmounted" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
chvt 7
-----------------------------
I haven't been able to resolve my kickstart CDROM issue, except by putting ks.cfg on a floppy and "linux expert ks=floppy". However, when I do ks.cfg from floppy, it doesn't execute the %post commands. Can I cut and paste the %post commands to a file and run it as a batch? How? Do I still need the "/mnt/sysimage" phrase if run from a batch(e.g. smp='rpm -qa -r /mnt/sysimage | grep kernel-smp | wc -l'), delete it for batch, or replace it with something else?
Basic stuff, I'm sure, but I'm very new to it all.
I've got an xw8000, dual Xeon system. I'm attempting to load RH9 from a vendor CD that has a ks.cfg file in the top directory. The vendor CD boots and ks.cfg is supposed to startup, load RH9 from "Local CDROM", then when all 3 CDs are done, prompt me to reinstall my vendor CD to finish with some RPM additions, "housekeeping", etc..
The CD-ROM isn't found after I select the Installation Location as Local CDROM (Yes, I saw the "patch" links here about prolant servers, but the links are dead). I assume the CD-ROM issue has something to do with the RH9 driver? bug. The vendor told me he swapped one drive for another and was able to make it work. I have a DT855 that came with the xw8000 (it was a "no go"), and picked up an HP 420i (no go also). Is there a CD or DVD drive I can get that WILL work? And, no, I'm stuck using RH9 in this manner for technical and legal reasons. Is there a driver I can load, when asked, that would get around the suspect driver in RH9?
Lastly, I tried running the kickstart program from a floppy using "linux ks=floppy" at "boot:" and RH9 CD1 in the CDROM. It went well until I got to the "%Post" in the ks.cfg file. It didn't do any of the "%Post --nochroot" installation stuff (e.g. I never got asked to put the vendor CD in the drive - one of the first things in %Post). I could REALLY use some help.
------------------------
BTW, the following is the %Post section (that's not working from the floppy) of my ks.cfg file.
%post --nochroot
#Set up for install
#/mnt/sysimage is the hard drive
#/tmp/cdrom is the cdrom driver (if present)
#/dev/console is terminal 1
cddrv=/tmp/cdrom
# Determine cd device
if [ ! -e ${cddrv} ]
then
cddrv=`grep cdrom /proc/ide/*/media | sed -e "s/\/proc\/ide/\/dev/" | sed -e "s/\/media.*//"`
fi
echo "Post processing started" > /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
cd /
mkdir /cdrom
#Move to terminal 1 cause that's where read looks for input
chvt 1
correctdisk=0
#Loop until they enter the correct cd
while [ ${correctdisk} -eq 0 ]
do
if [ ! -e /cdrom/ks.cfg ]
then
umount ${cddrv} > /dev/null 2>&1
echo "Message about to be delivered" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "" > /dev/console
echo "Load the XiO boot disk into the CD drive and hit enter to continue" > /dev/console
read ans
echo "Message acknowledged" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
mount ${cddrv} /cdrom
else
correctdisk=1
fi
done
#Go to where messages will be written which is 3
chvt 3
echo "Loading additional files"
echo "Correct CD Mounted" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
#Determine if up[censored] smp or not
smp=`rpm -qa -r /mnt/sysimage | grep kernel-smp | wc -l`
echo "smp is equal to " >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
echo "${smp}" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
#rpmdb pkg expects /var/lib/rpm. Don't dissappoint them
ln -s /mnt/sysimage/var/lib/rpm /var/lib
#Load the correct set of rpm files
if [ ${smp} -ge 1 ]
then
rpm -Uvh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/errata/comps.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/initscripts-7.14-1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-source-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-smp-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/rhn-applet-2.0.9-0.9.0.1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-doc-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/rpmdb-redhat-9-0.20030313.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
else
rpm -Uvh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/errata/comps.rpm /cdrom/errata/initscripts-7.14-1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-source-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-2.4.20-8.i686.rpm /cdrom/errata/rhn-applet-2.0.9-0.9.0.1.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/kernel-doc-2.4.20-8.i386.rpm /cdrom/errata/rpmdb-redhat-9-0.20030313.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
fi
# Determine if bcm 5700 or not
bcm=`lsmod | grep bcm5700 | wc -l`
# Install bcm5700 if needed
if [ ${bcm} -ge 1 ]
then
rpm -ivh --root /mnt/sysimage /cdrom/bcm5700-6.0.2-1.i386.rpm | tee -a /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
fi
#Clean up
echo "RPMs installed" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
umount ${cddrv}
echo "CD unmounted" >> /mnt/sysimage/tmp/rhks.log
chvt 7
-----------------------------
I haven't been able to resolve my kickstart CDROM issue, except by putting ks.cfg on a floppy and "linux expert ks=floppy". However, when I do ks.cfg from floppy, it doesn't execute the %post commands. Can I cut and paste the %post commands to a file and run it as a batch? How? Do I still need the "/mnt/sysimage" phrase if run from a batch(e.g. smp='rpm -qa -r /mnt/sysimage | grep kernel-smp | wc -l'), delete it for batch, or replace it with something else?
Basic stuff, I'm sure, but I'm very new to it all.
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Jul 29
Jul 31
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Responses to this topic
no, what you're digging into sure isn't "basic stuff".
you're sailing near the edge of the map where it says:
"dragons be here" 8)
while I'll grant you may not understand why I'm asking this question it may help
lead to a solution: are your CDROMs all SCSI attached and not ATAPI devices
connected via an IDE bus?
you're sailing near the edge of the map where it says:
"dragons be here" 8)
while I'll grant you may not understand why I'm asking this question it may help
lead to a solution: are your CDROMs all SCSI attached and not ATAPI devices
connected via an IDE bus?
OP
An HP DT855AV connected to the primary IDE controller and set to Master via jumper. That is a 8X DVD+RW drive.
ok. Is the CDROM drive the only device on the IDE bus?
If so, have you tried to do without the jumper?
I recall in the past HD and CDROMs which would work only without
the jumper if they are the only device on the bus.
If so, have you tried to do without the jumper?
I recall in the past HD and CDROMs which would work only without
the jumper if they are the only device on the bus.
OP
I haven't tried that, but it's easy enough to do. BTW, the drive works. i.e. I can install from the RH9 CDs without any problem, IF I don't run the kickstart CD first.
FWIW, the HD is a 15k rpm SCSI.
There are posts on the web about a problem with RH9 using kickstart. There was something about the "linux ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg" where only the first 7 characters were seen, e.g. "ks=cdro". Supposedly, only a factor when the ks.cfg location is the boot CD. However, I don't know enough.
I created a linux boot disk, booted from floppy and tried to ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg. I got the same "CD-ROM not found" message after selecting "Local CD-ROM" as the installation source.
I've put in 3 different CD & DVD drives to see if that made a difference. It didn't.
FWIW, the HD is a 15k rpm SCSI.
There are posts on the web about a problem with RH9 using kickstart. There was something about the "linux ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg" where only the first 7 characters were seen, e.g. "ks=cdro". Supposedly, only a factor when the ks.cfg location is the boot CD. However, I don't know enough.
I created a linux boot disk, booted from floppy and tried to ks=cdrom:/ks.cfg. I got the same "CD-ROM not found" message after selecting "Local CD-ROM" as the installation source.
I've put in 3 different CD & DVD drives to see if that made a difference. It didn't.
1. what happens if you try to load from "/tmp/cdrom" instead of
Local CDROM?
2. I didn't encounter any articles online from Red Hat or elsewhere
about a string length limitation in the 'ks' parameter. I did encounter,
however, articles about folks having troubles after having used a Windows
editor (not vi) on the ks.cfg file. check with 'cat -t -v ks.cfg'
and ensure there aren't a bunch of "^M" (CR, ASCII 13) chars at line ends.
3. the logic of the %post section appears to me to not prompt for a CD-ROM
if the mounted CDROM at the time of %post has a ks.cfg file on it.
Are the 3 CDROMs constructed so that the 3rd one (if not also the 2nd one)
does not have a ks.cfg file on it? and the 4th (vendor) CD does have a ks.cfg on it?
It's been a long week, so my thinking is a bit fuzzy.
Wish I could put my 'finger' right on the problem.
Local CDROM?
2. I didn't encounter any articles online from Red Hat or elsewhere
about a string length limitation in the 'ks' parameter. I did encounter,
however, articles about folks having troubles after having used a Windows
editor (not vi) on the ks.cfg file. check with 'cat -t -v ks.cfg'
and ensure there aren't a bunch of "^M" (CR, ASCII 13) chars at line ends.
3. the logic of the %post section appears to me to not prompt for a CD-ROM
if the mounted CDROM at the time of %post has a ks.cfg file on it.
Are the 3 CDROMs constructed so that the 3rd one (if not also the 2nd one)
does not have a ks.cfg file on it? and the 4th (vendor) CD does have a ks.cfg on it?
It's been a long week, so my thinking is a bit fuzzy.
Wish I could put my 'finger' right on the problem.
OP
Regarding #1, Ah... I new to this, hence I don't know how to select a new install from "/tmp/cdrom". Local CDROM seems to be the only good answer, given the options.
Regarding #2, Yep, had some ^M characters using a Win text editor. I pulled the ks.cfg file up using pico on the linux box, checked it out and resaved it using ^O, then exit with ^X. However, the original ks.cfg file, which didn't seem to work after %post was from the vendor. That's not to say I didn't mess up somehow. Anyway, I'm running the ks.cfg (resaved with pico) file from floppy, and trying to install again.
Regarding #3, The vendor CD is setup to boot, provide the ks.cfg file, and be replaced with RH9 Disc1 when prompted for Installation Package Location (i.e. Local CD-ROM), then RH9 Disc2, then RH9 Disc3, then the ks.cfg %post section looks for /cdrom/ks.cfg on the CD and if not present (which it isn't on the RH9 disc3), it requests the vendor CD (looping until it finds the /cdrom/ks.cfg).
BTW, thanks for helping.
Regarding #2, Yep, had some ^M characters using a Win text editor. I pulled the ks.cfg file up using pico on the linux box, checked it out and resaved it using ^O, then exit with ^X. However, the original ks.cfg file, which didn't seem to work after %post was from the vendor. That's not to say I didn't mess up somehow. Anyway, I'm running the ks.cfg (resaved with pico) file from floppy, and trying to install again.
Regarding #3, The vendor CD is setup to boot, provide the ks.cfg file, and be replaced with RH9 Disc1 when prompted for Installation Package Location (i.e. Local CD-ROM), then RH9 Disc2, then RH9 Disc3, then the ks.cfg %post section looks for /cdrom/ks.cfg on the CD and if not present (which it isn't on the RH9 disc3), it requests the vendor CD (looping until it finds the /cdrom/ks.cfg).
BTW, thanks for helping.
