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Chris Hickman
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2003 2:40 am    Post subject: please correct install docs for grub.conf/genkernel! Reply with quote

See https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=77407

I'm installing from the recently shipped Athlon XP GRP CD and installed gentoo-sources-2.4.20-r5. The way it appears in code listing 23.4, this is how my grub.conf should look:

Quote:
title=My example Gentoo Linux
root (hd0,5)
kernel (hd0,5) /boot/kernel-gentoo-sources-2.4.20-r5 root=/dev/hda7
initrd (hd0,5) /boot/initrd-gentoo-sources-2.4.20-r5


But as you can tell from my thread and a number of other threads, it should actually look like this:

Quote:
title=My example Gentoo Linux
root (hd0,5)
kernel (hd0,5)/kernel-2.4.20-gentoo-r5 root=/dev/hda7
initrd (hd0,5)/initrd-2.4.20-gentoo-r5


The docs should:

1) explicitly mention no space between kernel/initrd (hdx,x) and /kernel or /initrd
2) also clarify that the /boot is not necessary before /kernel or /initrd
3) more accurately describe how to list your kernel/initrd, as the file name listed when genkernel finishes running is NOT how you reference it in grub.conf!
4) repeat that if they have troubles booting, to try tab completion when faced with the grub prompt to find out how the listing SHOULD look for the kernel and initrd.

I think this will save a LOT of posts, because I've seen at least 5 others similar to mine.

Chris
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Sven Vermeulen
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Using /boot or not using /boot is cosmetic since we provide a /boot symlink to itself.

The installation guide mentions to use the kernelversion, not packagename with version. genkernel itself also lists what it has created:
Code:

* Build completed successfully!

* Please specify /boot/kernel-2.4.20-gaming-r3 and /boot/initrd-2.4.20-gaming-r3
* when customizing your boot loader configuration files.


There is a patch waiting for inclusion to explicitly mention to write down these files for the bootloader configuration.

Tab completion is mentioned (not for this part though), the installation guide is no Grub-HOWTO.

There is also no space in the documentation, mistyping commands can indeed be troublesome, but we cannot provide warnings for every possible typo -- the installation guide itself is already quite big without them.
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Chris Hickman
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2003 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sven Vermeulen wrote:
Using /boot or not using /boot is cosmetic since we provide a /boot symlink to itself.

The installation guide mentions to use the kernelversion, not packagename with version. genkernel itself also lists what it has created:
Code:

* Build completed successfully!

* Please specify /boot/kernel-2.4.20-gaming-r3 and /boot/initrd-2.4.20-gaming-r3
* when customizing your boot loader configuration files.


There is a patch waiting for inclusion to explicitly mention to write down these files for the bootloader configuration.

Tab completion is mentioned (not for this part though), the installation guide is no Grub-HOWTO.

There is also no space in the documentation, mistyping commands can indeed be troublesome, but we cannot provide warnings for every possible typo -- the installation guide itself is already quite big without them.


I'm quite positive that I DID write down what genkernel told me were the file names...I have it erased now, but it didn't work; I know it had "gentoo-sources" in it.

Using or not using /boot IS a consideration, because many people (like myself) have experienced the fact that it will NOT boot with /boot in the grub code.

No offense bud, but your response seems kind of arrogant when my thread is about one of ten since the GRP discs started shipping, and the problem has been answered the exact way I listed. Do a search for "grub" in the install forum and you'll see that it's true.

I guess the bottom line is, does Gentoo want to have accurate install docs, or not? Do they want its userbase to be able to install this software painlessly and easily? I thought that was the reason for genkernel in the first place, but if you can't get it to boot, genkernel is irrelevant.

Chris
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Sven Vermeulen
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unless you removed the /boot symlink, it should not matter. The reason we use this setup is so we don't have to warn people with or without seperate /boot partition about how to proceed. Perhaps GRUB removed symlink-functionality, I'll check up on that.

I'm pretty sure that genkernel shows the right filenames, as shown in genkernel's sourcecode:
Code:

    ebegin "Moving bzImage to /boot/kernel-${KV}"
        cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/kernel-${KV}
...
    ebegin "Adding Bootsplash Initrd"
        cat ${BOOT_SPLASH_INITRD} >> ${TEMP}/initrd || die
        cp -f ${TEMP}/initrd /boot/initrd-${KV}

...
    einfo "Please specify /boot/kernel-${KV} and /boot/initrd-${KV}"
    einfo "when customizing your boot loader configuration files."


I'm sorry if you think my answer is arrogant. If you think the installation guide is wrong, file a bugreport on https://bugs.gentoo.org. There aren't many documentation developers reading the forums. Even I just diagonally go through them.
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cybrjackle
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've used the install guide on "several" systems from Athlon-xp to i686, haven't faild me yet.

MODS, does this belong in "Documentation, Tips & Tricks"?

Nothing wrong with the Docs.
Not a tip
Not a trick

:roll: :?:
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ozt
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 5:04 pm    Post subject: Re: please correct install docs for grub.conf/genkernel! Reply with quote

Quote:
2) also clarify that the /boot is not necessary before /kernel or /initrd


I think it's documented quite well.

"Note: The path to the kernel image is relative to the boot partition. If for example you have separated boot partition (hd0,0) and root partition (hd0,1), all paths in the grub.conf file above will become /bzImage. "

Does that answer your request?
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Chris Hickman
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 5:20 am    Post subject: Re: please correct install docs for grub.conf/genkernel! Reply with quote

ozt wrote:
Quote:
2) also clarify that the /boot is not necessary before /kernel or /initrd


I think it's documented quite well.

"Note: The path to the kernel image is relative to the boot partition. If for example you have separated boot partition (hd0,0) and root partition (hd0,1), all paths in the grub.conf file above will become /bzImage. "

Does that answer your request?


No, because that has to do with a manually compiled kernel, not a genkernel compiled kernel.

Chris
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Chris Hickman
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 5:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sven Vermeulen wrote:
Unless you removed the /boot symlink, it should not matter. The reason we use this setup is so we don't have to warn people with or without seperate /boot partition about how to proceed. Perhaps GRUB removed symlink-functionality, I'll check up on that.

I'm pretty sure that genkernel shows the right filenames, as shown in genkernel's sourcecode:
Code:

    ebegin "Moving bzImage to /boot/kernel-${KV}"
        cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/kernel-${KV}
...
    ebegin "Adding Bootsplash Initrd"
        cat ${BOOT_SPLASH_INITRD} >> ${TEMP}/initrd || die
        cp -f ${TEMP}/initrd /boot/initrd-${KV}

...
    einfo "Please specify /boot/kernel-${KV} and /boot/initrd-${KV}"
    einfo "when customizing your boot loader configuration files."


I'm sorry if you think my answer is arrogant. If you think the installation guide is wrong, file a bugreport on https://bugs.gentoo.org. There aren't many documentation developers reading the forums. Even I just diagonally go through them.


Well I don't know now...I swear the first time, I wrote down EXACTLY what genkernel outputted, but when I did it a second time, it came out the correct way. I hate to think that I'm not intelligent enough to copy text correctly, but I guess that's the case here :oops:

Chris
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ozt
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

oh ok sorry..my bad.

I remebered having some problems with genkernel too, but I don't think it was something with grub.conf.
Anyway genkernel sux IMHO. Don't get me wrong but a scripts that compiles a kernel for you? Smelling a bit windows here :). (Not the kernel but this auto-thingie).

I stick to the manually way of compiling :D hehe...
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sthauck
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:23 am    Post subject: genkernel Reply with quote

Code:

 cdimage / # genkernel --help
genkernel: Unrecognized option "--help"
aborting.
cdimage / # genkernel -h   
genkernel: Unrecognized option "-h"
aborting.
cdimage / # genkernel -p
genkernel: Unrecognized option "-p"
aborting.
cdimage / #


i am not about trying something new. Heck that is what got me to use gentoo in the begining.
what i find irating about genkernel is there are no manpages , docs. After looking at the code of /usr/sbin/genkernel i found most answers but it would be nice if --help flags showed basic info and usage. genkernel didnt win this time stickying with the way i have been duing it since the frist kernel compile good ol make menuconfig
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Sven Vermeulen
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dislike genkernel (and GRP) too, but that's a personal opinion. I've written a genkernel guide some time ago (http://dev.gentoo.org/~swift/genkernel.html) but it never went beyond what it was now.
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taikuri
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:19 pm    Post subject: Re: please correct install docs for grub.conf/genkernel! Reply with quote

ozt wrote:

I think it's documented quite well.

"Note: The path to the kernel image is relative to the boot partition. If for example you have separated boot partition (hd0,0) and root partition (hd0,1), all paths in the grub.conf file above will become /bzImage. "

Does that answer your request?


I think this is not sufficient as *every one* of my friends has stumbled in their gentoo installation during this step, because of the unclear grub.conf-instructions. All the correct information is there, but it is apparently not clear enough.
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Sven Vermeulen
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The note isn't needed, normally every stage should place a symlink in /boot pointing to itself. I don't know if this has changed recently, but if it did, they didn't inform me.
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