Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Quick Search: in
syslinux 3.09
View unanswered posts
View posts from last 24 hours

 
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Other Things Gentoo
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:55 pm    Post subject: syslinux 3.09 Reply with quote

I have somewhat of a strange issue.


This section happened before I started working at my current job, and I have very little details of what happened, and what my predecessor may or may not have tried in this situation.

I have an HP Server using proliant system bios p29 from 2004(this is the latest bios for this particular server).
This server had a hard drive crash, and when it was replaced it came up corrupted.

Now when attempting to boot up the server it goes straight into a grub command prompt. When I try to load my kernel from the grub command prompt it just reboots.

So, I found a live disk for Gentoo in the office, and I popped it in. It told me that I have the wrong processor type to use this live disk. That's fine, so I downloaded the latest copy of Gentoo, and made a new live cd. The system doesn't even recognize that there is a disk, and proceeds to boot from the hard drive back into the grub prompt. I tested it on a couple of machines, and my disk worked fine.

At this point my predecessors disk is from 2005, using syslinux 3.09. I can't seem to find any copies of Gentoo on the internet that are that old. The oldest I was able to find was from 2009 which did not work either.

Any ideas, would be fantastic.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You may have documentation that answers: What is the full model name of the server? What name is on the motherboard? What name(s) is(are) on the processor(s) on the motherboard? Scewdrivers, thermal paste, razor blade, magnifying glass and flashlight may be required if you don't.
If a HP ProLiant DL380 G3 Server , http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/psi/swdHome/?sp4ts.oid=3288130 lists a bunch of os cd's that should boot unless 9 years is end of life for some component. Has the cmos battery ever been replaced?
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Server Model: HP ProLiant DL380 G3 Server
The processor is an intel chipset, but I don't know the exact specs off hand. I will send one of my hardware guys to check that out for me.


Last edited by emeposk on Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:17 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If a HP ProLiant DL380 G3 Server , http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/psi/swdHome/?sp4ts.oid=3288130 lists a bunch of os cd's that should boot unless 9 years is end of life for some component. Has the cmos battery ever been replaced? Crossed in the mail so I'll echo.
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My hardware guys tell me that as far as he knows in the past 4 years at least that the CMOS battery was not replaced. We are going to try doing this either today or tomorrow if we can get approval to remove the server from the rack.

I am told that this server has gentoo on it, which is also not listed in the list of bootable os's...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd see if I had a dusty vista or xp cd, try it, if it did not work look really hard for a hardware failure. gentoo should boot anywhere fedora/suse/debian boot. does documentation show itanium processor as a possibility? Found that answer; no itanium, only xeon. http://distfiles.gentoo.org/releases/x86/autobuilds/current-iso/install-x86-minimal-20140128.iso should boot barring hardware problem or OS mutation. better still http://sysresccd.org/Download in 32 bit kernel choice.
_________________
Defund the FCC.


Last edited by DONAHUE on Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We just tested with a windows server 2003, and the same results. We're going to try replacing the CMOS battery as you suggested.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That didn't work either. There is something really strange going on here.

The old live CD is read, and boots Gentoo, but tells me I need to use a Linux kernel for i686 processor. I have not found another disk that it has the ability to read yet, and these are disks that are working just fine on several other machines.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
xaviermiller
Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva


Joined: 23 Jul 2004
Posts: 8706
Location: ~Brussels - Belgique

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it a x86 architecture ? Cant't it be an ithanium ?
_________________
Kind regards,
Xavier Miller
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

what exact words does the old gentoo cd produce? if verbose perhaps post a picture?
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/kb/docDisplay?javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.prp_ba847bafb2a2d782fcbb0710b053ce01=wsrp-navigationalState%3DdocId%253Demr_na-c00459641-8%257CdocLocale%253D%257CcalledBy%253D&javax.portlet.tpst=ba847bafb2a2d782fcbb0710b053ce01&sp4ts.oid=316529&ac.admitted=1391545884886.876444892.492883150

product specification
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hu
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Posts: 21497

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

emeposk wrote:
We just tested with a windows server 2003, and the same results. We're going to try replacing the CMOS battery as you suggested.
I think I understand what you mean by "same results", but could you clarify? Did it behave as though the CD was not present, detect the CD but then refuse to start a working OS environment, or start normally? I think from context that you mean it ignored the presence of the CD. Based on the symptoms, I would question whether the CD drive in question is in good order. If the CD drive is from the same time period as the rest of the machine, it may be degraded to the point that it cannot reliably sync to every possible disc in the time allotted. If so, it is pure mischance that it synced to the first disc well enough to read the kernel and reject it due to CPU architecture. If you have another CD drive around, even one you have to borrow from another machine, I suggest trying that drive in the affected system. Ideally, place your candidate CD in the drive while in its current housing, verify that you can access the disc, then remove the CD, shutdown the current housing, move the CD drive into the affected system, and try to boot from CD using that drive.

The failure of the first CD in the opening post is probably because you picked a 64-bit kernel, but the hardware is too old to support 64-bit.

XavierMiller: Donahue says that the documentation claims Itanium was not an option for that system.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I put in the gentoo live cd left by my predecessor this is what I get.
http://imgur.com/ZYm1iJs(edit fixed the link)


Any other disk does not boot from the cd, and boots from the hard drive raid instead.
http://imgur.com/s8KWqP2

Which ends up sending me to this grub command prompt.

I will ask my hardware guys if there is another cd drive we can try. They mentioned that it has a special connection when I asked about it yesterday, and were unsure if there was a spare we can use.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
emeposk
n00b
n00b


Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Replacing the CD Drive worked. Who would have figured it'd be something so simple. I got it up from a live cd, and this server seems to be bad shape.
When I tried to mount the lvm it gave me a wrong fs type, bad option, bad super block error. I'm currently running a fsck to sort through the errors.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try: At the grub prompt:
Code:
find /boot/grub/stage1
If that works; "works" means returns an answer in the format (hdx,y)
Code:
find /boot/grub/grub.conf
If that works; "works" means returns an answer in the format (hdx,y)
Code:
configfile (hdx,y)/boot/grub/grub.conf
if that fails to produce a boot menu
Code:
find /boot/grub/menu.lst
If that works; "works" means returns an answer in the format (hdx,y)
Code:
configfile (hdx,y)/boot/grub/menu.lst


The leftover cd is the wrong version; it is for a 64 bit machine; that architecture is called amd64 sometimes, x86_64 other times. At this instant in time http://distfiles.gentoo.org/releases/x86/autobuilds/current-iso/install-x86-minimal-20140128.iso on a readable cd would be the answer to booting something.

Hu's analysis is excellent. IIRC there was a period when I was having real problems getting a cd cut on one machine to work on another about 10 years ago.

Will the server boot from USB? If so http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_How_to_install_SystemRescueCd_on_an_USB-stick works well. Select a 32 bit kernel from the opening screen.

Further research finds http://h20566.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/psi/swdDetails/?lang=en&cc=us&swItem=MTX_3a87c15fff7048979ec74975e6 -- there is a syslinux on it
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DONAHUE
Watchman
Watchman


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 7651
Location: Goose Creek SC

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If a gentoo system has not been updated for an extended period the eventual update varies from difficult to almost impossible. ext2/3/4 file systems went through major perturbations about 3 years back, some fsck problems may result from old file system, new fsck. Good luck. Yay, Hu.
_________________
Defund the FCC.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NeddySeagoon
Administrator
Administrator


Joined: 05 Jul 2003
Posts: 54099
Location: 56N 3W

PostPosted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

/me checks in.

I can probably find an old Gentoo ISO or two
Code:
ls ./downloads/Gentoo\ Installers/
install-sparc64-minimal-2006.1.iso
install-x86-minimal-2006.1-r1.iso
install-x86-minimal-2006.1.iso
install-x86-minimal-2007.0-r1.iso
install-x86-minimal-2008.0.iso
install-x86-minimal-2008.0.torrent
install-x86-minimal-2008.0_beta1.iso
install-x86-universal-2005.0.iso
install-x86-universal-2005.0.iso.md5
livecd-i686-installer-2006.0.iso
livecd-i686-installer-2006.1-rc.iso
livecd-i686-installer-2006.1-rc1.iso.DIGESTS
livecd-i686-installer-2006.1.iso
livecd-i686-installer-2006.1.iso.DIGESTS
livecd-i686-installer-2007.0.iso
livecd-i686-installer-2007.0.iso.DIGESTS

I can host a few of those if it helps.

DONAHUE,
Thank you for the link.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Other Things Gentoo All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum