[SOLVED] Switched from GRUB2 to REFIND - Kernel Panic

[us3rnotfound]

I have a laptop with Ubuntu, Gentoo and Arch Linux installed, and boot with UEFI firmware. It would boot all 3 OSs fine with GRUB2, but I felt like changing to rEFInd and now only have problems with Gentoo booting up.

I have set up everything simple, just /dev/sda1 is the ESP, /dev/sda2 is / for Ubuntu, /dev/sda3 is swap for Gentoo and /dev/sda4 is / for Gentoo. /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2 is / and swap for Arch, respectively.

The error I get in trying to boot Gentoo is:

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---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0) ]---

When I go into the parameters for Gentoo in rEFInd:

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ro root=UUID=790efa77-f32f-4fc6-87fc-b61db51f5aad

I very much suspect it's because rEFInd is not feeding an initrd= line for gentoo. But what is this for and why didn't rEFInd figure this out automatically? I don't want to "fix" this with a manual boot menuentry stanza in refind.conf, I want to permanently fix my Gentoo settings so rEFInd just works.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: To add, not sure if it matters but I have been updating Grub in Ubuntu, and have just installed rEFInd in Ubuntu.

[Anon-E-moose]

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root=UUID=790efa77-f32f-4fc6-87fc-b61db51f5aad 

I imagine that it can't find it by way of the UUID, but just a guess

edit to add:

Just to clarify UUIDs are the only reliable way for the kernel to identify hard drives. There are two types: UUID, which is stored in the filesystem and is not available to the kernel at boot-time, and PARTUUID, which is stored in the partition table and IS available at boot time. So you have to use

root=PARTUUID=SSSSSSSS-PP

[us3rnotfound]

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root=UUID=790efa77-f32f-4fc6-87fc-b61db51f5aad 

I imagine that it can't find it by way of the UUID, but just a guess

edit to add:

Just to clarify UUIDs are the only reliable way for the kernel to identify hard drives. There are two types: UUID, which is stored in the filesystem and is not available to the kernel at boot-time, and PARTUUID, which is stored in the partition table and IS available at boot time. So you have to use

root=PARTUUID=SSSSSSSS-PP

root=PARTUUID=SSSSSSSS-PP worked!

What's the recommended, robust solution to make this work on every bootup?

[charles17]

I have set up everything simple, just /dev/sda1 is the ESP, /dev/sda2 is / for Ubuntu, /dev/sda3 is swap for Gentoo and /dev/sda4 is / for Gentoo. /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2 is / and swap for Arch, respectively.

And where are your kernels in the ESP?

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 /boot
 └── EFI
     ├── Boot
     │   └── bootx64.efi
     ├── rEFInd
     │   └── rEFIND_stuff.efi
     ├── Gentoo
     │   └── bzImage-4.9.76-r1.efi
     ├── Ubuntu
     │   └── UbuntuKernel.efi
     ├── ArchLinux
     │   └── ArchLinuxKernel.efi
     └── Microsoft

First make sure each system is able to boot alone, without grub or refind.

[us3rnotfound]

This is all I see in the ESP:

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/mnt/boot $ tree EFI
EFI
├── BOOT
│   ├── BOOTX64.EFI
│   ├── fbx64.efi
│   └── mmx64.efi
├── refind
│   ├── BOOT.CSV
│   ├── drivers_x64
│   │   └── ext4_x64.efi
│   ├── icons
│   ├── keys
│   ├── refind.conf
│   └── refind_x64.efi
├── tools
└── ubuntu
    ├── BOOTX64.CSV
    ├── grub.cfg
    ├── grubx64.efi
    ├── mmx64.efi
    └── shimx64.efi

[charles17]

Why not have a Gentoo kernel?
Should be the easiest part.

[us3rnotfound]

Why not have a Gentoo kernel?
Should be the easiest part.

Thanks for the suggestion, did the copy of the compiled kernel to ESP/Gentoo/kernel.efi but it results same exact kernel panic.

[us3rnotfound]

I proceeded to do the command:

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root #efibootmgr -c -L "EFI Stub" -l '\EFI\Gentoo\bzImage-4.9.76-r1.efi'

(Replaced the kernel file name with mine) because what the heck? And now it only tries to boot to the Gentoo kernel. So apparently I should have RTFM on efibootmgr.

[Tony0945]

What's the result of "grep -v ^# /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf"

Example (purged of blank lines):

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grep -v ^# /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf

timeout 10

showtools shell, gdisk, memtest, about, reboot, exit, firmware

scanfor internal,optical,cd,manual,biosexternal

dont_scan_volumes  UUID="1aa86f01-1dd2-466a-b19b-57b2539f714e"

old_linux_kernels false

default_selection vmlinuz

reFind find all my kernels and can boot them all (default newest) And I store them in /boot on the ext4 root partition not in VFAT or a separate /boot

EDIT:
And also this one:

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 $ grep -v ^# /boot/refind_linux.conf
"Boot by PARTUUID"   "root=PARTUUID=54fee329-ff75-4879-bdbb-93268b470f32 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  acpi_enforce_resources=lax "
"Boot by /dev/sdXn"  "root=/dev/sda2 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  "
"Boot by /dev/sr0"  "root=/dev/sr0 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  "

[Jaglover]

@us3rnotfound

You should omit the version, having bzImage.efi has a big advantage - you won't ever need to upgrade your EFI variables again. I have

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 ~ # ls -l /boot/EFI/Boot/
total 9880
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5085280 May  7 09:58 bootx64.efi
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5026464 Mar  7 14:52 bootx64_pre.efi

When I upgrade kernel I just rename bootx64.efi to bootx64_pre.efi and copy the new kernel to bootx64.efi. Upgrade done in seconds and no need to change EFI variables.

[Tony0945]

Jaglover, my way is even easaier. I build the kernel then do NOTHING. refind defaults to the newest time-stamped kernel in /boot

[Jaglover]

Cool, I didn't know rEFInd does that. Reminds me times when I had symlink in /boot/ pointing to /usr/src/linux/arch/x86_64/boot/bzImage. After new kernel was built it was used automatically at next boot.

[charles17]

Jaglover, my way is even easaier. I build the kernel then do NOTHING.

Not even make install or copying manually?

refind defaults to the newest time-stamped kernel in /boot

What kind of magic makes your new kernel available in /boot?

[Ant P.]

What's the recommended, robust solution to make this work on every bootup?

GPT partitioning (you probably already have this) and root=PARTUUID=. If you want to be extra certain, you could also embed the root= in the Gentoo kernel's cmdline using make menuconfig and it'll be bootable, in case of an emergency, directly from EFI.

[charles17]

(Replaced the kernel file name with mine) because what the heck? And now it only tries to boot to the Gentoo kernel.

Does it succeed (to boot to the Gentoo kernel), problem solved? Then proceed solving your rEFInd trouble.
If not, then first solve the kernel panic problem.

So apparently I should have RTFM on efibootmgr.

Some computers let you Add Boot Option in their BIOS settings. I always use this and even don't have efibootmgr installed

[us3rnotfound]

What's the result of "grep -v ^# /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf"

Example (purged of blank lines):

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grep -v ^# /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf

timeout 10

showtools shell, gdisk, memtest, about, reboot, exit, firmware

scanfor internal,optical,cd,manual,biosexternal

dont_scan_volumes  UUID="1aa86f01-1dd2-466a-b19b-57b2539f714e"

old_linux_kernels false

default_selection vmlinuz

reFind find all my kernels and can boot them all (default newest) And I store them in /boot on the ext4 root partition not in VFAT or a separate /boot

EDIT:
And also this one:

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 $ grep -v ^# /boot/refind_linux.conf
"Boot by PARTUUID"   "root=PARTUUID=54fee329-ff75-4879-bdbb-93268b470f32 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  acpi_enforce_resources=lax "
"Boot by /dev/sdXn"  "root=/dev/sda2 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  "
"Boot by /dev/sr0"  "root=/dev/sr0 vga=0x365 net.ifnames=0  "

All I've got in /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refinc.conf is

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timeout 20

my /boot/refind_linux.conf has this:

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"Boot with standard options"  "root=UUID=345c3bd2-0a30-4db9-ad34-b65e46751c24 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7"
"Boot to single-user mode"    "root=UUID=345c3bd2-0a30-4db9-ad34-b65e46751c24 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7 single"
"Boot with minimal options"   "ro root=UUID=345c3bd2-0a30-4db9-ad34-b65e46751c24"

Who put those in there? It's my Ubuntu UUID (/dev/sda2).

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# sudo blkid /dev/sd*
/dev/sda: PTUUID="c965ac8f-fd60-48aa-abf1-09b2a6c4ecdf" PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sda1: UUID="68AE-F21A" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="EFI System Partition" PARTUUID="13a9c593-a739-4abf-9264-690cfbf4cb47"
/dev/sda2: UUID="345c3bd2-0a30-4db9-ad34-b65e46751c24" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="c8d409ee-74fc-dc46-bcad-4796f701f91c"
/dev/sda3: UUID="9503a72b-cfdb-4536-b010-78c39b4e612a" TYPE="swap" PARTUUID="35af1ac8-9612-0248-8543-ccd7d59cd073"
/dev/sda4: UUID="790efa77-f32f-4fc6-87fc-b61db51f5aad" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="ac72e2a7-90e9-ed45-99df-49a6778f4c66"
/dev/sdb: PTUUID="9edca275-4b74-4cda-8f5e-07ff7e2413a1" PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="76d15426-11d5-40d9-bd6e-1ae6f088111d" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="primary" PARTUUID="b3387b8b-9af0-4d98-8a05-54c3ebdc6667"
/dev/sdb2: UUID="13316eda-b699-4243-b9ea-bf24aa1b2806" TYPE="swap" PARTLABEL="swap" PARTUUID="561879cb-ae24-4a67-81ca-aa81405bf63a"

[us3rnotfound]

(Replaced the kernel file name with mine) because what the heck? And now it only tries to boot to the Gentoo kernel.

Does it succeed (to boot to the Gentoo kernel), problem solved? Then proceed solving your rEFInd trouble.
If not, then first solve the kernel panic problem.

So apparently I should have RTFM on efibootmgr.

Some computers let you Add Boot Option in their BIOS settings. I always use this and even don't have efibootmgr installed

Turns out I just created a new EFI boot menu entry called "EFI Stub" pointing to Gentoo .efi, which still Kernel panics because it can't find the UUID it needs the PARTUUID, I was able to just boot into Ubuntu and delete it and now I'm back to refind.

[us3rnotfound]

What's the recommended, robust solution to make this work on every bootup?

GPT partitioning (you probably already have this) and root=PARTUUID=. If you want to be extra certain, you could also embed the root= in the Gentoo kernel's cmdline using make menuconfig and it'll be bootable, in case of an emergency, directly from EFI.

So where do I put the root=PARTUUID= line at? In the /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf under a menu entry? I don't like that as much. Where does rEFInd get the root=UUID= line from? I need to go there and replace that with the PARTUUID.

Also, how do I go about placing the root= code into the kernel?

Thanks for everyone's help.

[charles17]

... which still Kernel panics because it can't find the UUID it needs the PARTUUID, ...

You did not blkid | grep sda4? And add that PARTUUID to your kernel?

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Processor type and features  --->
    [*] Built-in kernel command line
    (root=PARTUUID=ac72e2a7-90e9-ed45-99df-49a6778f4c66)

ac72e2a7-90e9-ed45-99df-49a6778f4c66 as from your "/dev/sda4" of your earlier post?

[Tony0945]

Not even make install or copying manually?

"make install" of course. But I don't do anything to tell reFind about it. Not like editing grub.conf

What kind of magic makes your new kernel available in /boot?

That's refind's job, to find kernels.

All I've got in /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf is
Code:
timeout 20

That's why the kernel can't find the boot partition.
Originally I only had the second line in the example I showed (a real world example). Then I added the first line, to boot by PARTUUID instead od /dev/sda2. I added the third line for optional direct boot to CD. Those lines are menu choices. If you do nothing, the first choice is executed at the end of the timeout. If you have only one choice, no need for a timeout. Originally I only had the second line because I only had one drive, so it had to be the right one, like if you only have one ethernet port it has to be eth0. Now, it's just a piece of cruft I leave in as an example. The third line may be cruft as well, but it's a handy way to boot directly to CD/DVD without reFind searching for kernels and coming up dry. Here's my other UEFI machine:

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 #  grep -v ^# /boot/refind_linux.conf
"Boot by PARTUUID"   "net.ifnames=0 root=PARTUUID=280acabd-75cb-41f6-8322-a428a78bdf2a"
"Boot by /dev/sdXn"  "root=/dev/sda2 net.ifnames=0 

The part in quotes is just a prompt.
Try it with your own PARTUUID and any text you want. The net.ifnames=0 is to get rid of those godawful persistent names. it's optional. The vga= in the other example is also optional. The could also be embedded in the kernel and in fact are:

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~ # zgrep CMDLINE /proc/config.gz
CONFIG_CMDLINE_BOOL=y
CONFIG_CMDLINE="net.ifnames=0 vga=0x365"
# CONFIG_CMDLINE_OVERRIDE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_CMDLINE_PARSER is not set
# CONFIG_CMDLINE_PARTITION is not set
CONFIG_FB_CMDLINE=y

Anything your bootloader adds overrides the kernel setting. I think that's the meaning of CONFIG_CMDLINE_BOOL=y, check with menuconfig Help.

[Tony0945]

Notes on /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf

dont_scan_volumes UUID="1aa86f01-1dd2-466a-b19b-57b2539f714e"

That drive (identified by UUID) holds only dta files. A lot of them. So I tell reFind to not bother looking there. it would boot fine without that line.


I even forget what some of the others mean. They are documented by the standard boilerplate comments in the file.

I think your problem is that you are trying to boot the Gentoo kernel on the Ubuntu partition. Or something is wrong with your PARTUUID. That's easy to do.

[us3rnotfound]

... which still Kernel panics because it can't find the UUID it needs the PARTUUID, ...

You did not blkid | grep sda4? And add that PARTUUID to your kernel?

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Processor type and features  --->
    [*] Built-in kernel command line
    (root=PARTUUID=ac72e2a7-90e9-ed45-99df-49a6778f4c66)

ac72e2a7-90e9-ed45-99df-49a6778f4c66 as from your "/dev/sda4" of your earlier post?

I did what you said, then I simply copied the kernel to <ESP volume>/EFI/Gentoo/bzImage.efi and now it works well with rEFInd.

Going forward though is this a good solution? Is my Gentoo kernel now running from the vFAT ESP instead of my ext4 /boot partition? Also why does it work as an EFI stub but rEFInd's auto search for kernels in /boot does NOT work, even with your kernel command line PARTUUID fix?

[GDH-gentoo]

I don't have experience with rEFInd, but looking at its documentation, doesn't the OP need either:

• A manually created (because rEFInd was installed from Ubuntu) /boot/refind_linux.conf in Gentoo's partition (/dev/sda4) with the desired kernel command line, or
• An entry for the rootfs in Gentoo's /etc/fstab that is specified using PARTUUID, or
• An initramfs in Gentoo's /boot with a name that matches the kernel's, that is capable of mounting the rootfs using its UUID

so that rEFInd can work its autodetection magic without touching \EFI\refind\refind.conf in the ESP, as the OP wanted?

[Tony0945]

Add

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scanfor internal,optical,cd,manual,biosexternal 

to /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf
In fact, it should be there as a comment, just remove the leading '#'
That line tells reFind to search the listed places for bootable kernels.

In fact, try this as a test

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cp /boot/refind_linux.conf /boot/refind_linux.conf.original
cp /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf.original

then edit refind_linux.conf to read:

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timeout 10

showtools shell, gdisk, memtest, about, reboot, exit, firmware

scanfor internal,optical,cd,manual,biosexternal

old_linux_kernels false

default_selection vmlinuz 

and edit /boot/refind_linux.conf to read:

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"Boot by device node"  "root=/dev/sda2"

Substituting the root device for /dev/sda2.

If that works, then add to /boot/refind_linux.conf a line above that line with

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"Boot by PARTUUID"   "root=PARTUUID=54fee329-ff75-4879-bdbb-93268b470f32

Substitutng your root partitions PARTUUID for mine.

[us3rnotfound]

So for the /boot/refind_linux.conf file, do I need that file in each Linux OS I have?

EDIT: I just realized that was my problem. So I made a refind_linux.conf in Gentoo's /boot/ dir, specifying root=PARTUUID, and voila it works. There's certainly many ways to skin a cat when it comes to bootloading.

I have installed refind using Ubuntu that's why I have /boot/refind_linux.conf in Ubuntu's /.
Arch Linux works from refind automatically finding the kernel in /boot because it has an initramfs image in /boot.
Gentoo doesn't have initramfs image nor does it have a /boot/refind_linux.conf. Is that what's missing?