'part --onpart' not supported and results in inscrutable error
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
kickseed (Ubuntu) |
Confirmed
|
Medium
|
Unassigned | ||
partman-auto (Ubuntu) |
Confirmed
|
Wishlist
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
Steps to reproduce:
1. Before booting using the Ubuntu Feisty (7.04) Alternate Installation CD, hit F6 and add ks=http://
2. Wait until the CD sets up the partitioner
3. At the partitioning menu, select "Manual"
your.cfg (I have only tested this using a web server that has successfully hosted many other system-
#Generated by Kickstart Configurator
#platform=x86
#System language
lang en_US
#Language modules to install
langsupport en_US
#System keyboard
keyboard us
#System mouse
mouse
#System timezone
timezone America/Los_Angeles
#Root password
rootpw --disabled
#Initial user
user [Changed for obvious reasons] --fullname "[Changed for obvious reasons]" --iscrypted --password [Changed for obvious reasons]
#Use text mode install
text
#Install OS instead of upgrade
install
#Use CDROM installation media
cdrom
#System bootloader configuration
bootloader --location=mbr --md5pass=[Changed for obvious reasons]
#Clear the Master Boot Record
zerombr yes
#Disk partitioning information
part / --fstype ext3 --size 40960 --onpart sda2
part /boot --fstype ext2 --size 128 --onpart sda1
part swap --size 1024 --onpart sda5
part /home/DOMAIN --fstype ext3 --size 10240 --onpart sda6
#System authorization infomation
auth --useshadow --enablemd5
#Network information
network --bootproto=dhcp --device=eth0
#Firewall configuration
firewall --disabled
#Do not configure the X Window System
skipx
#Package install information
%packages
@ ubuntu-desktop
Note, the [Changed for obvious reasons] parts need not be changed. I tested with the your.cfg listed above.
Two possible solutions and why they don't work:
1. Using "Guided - resize..." - Firstly, I don't want to resize the partition because all the machines in the lab were pre-partitioned. Secondly, the only partition I am even allowed to resize is partition #2 (/dev/sda2).
2. Using "Guided - use entire disk" or "Guided - use entire disk and set up LVM" - Again, I do not want to mess with the existing partition setups because otherwise existing working Windows setups would be wiped in the process.
fdisk -l /dev/sda shows:
Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80032038912 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9730 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 16 128488+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 17 5238 41945715 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 5239 6674 11534670 5 Extended
/dev/sda4 * 6675 9730 24545280 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 5239 5361 987966 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 5362 6674 10546641 83 Linux
The short answer is that partman-auto has no facility for reusing existing partitions yet, and thus you have to use 'clearpart'. This results in the known missing feature documented in https:/ /help.ubuntu. com/6.10/ ubuntu/ installation- guide/i386/ automatic- install. html, which results in your problem:
"Restrictions of a partition to a particular disk or device, and specifications of the starting or ending cylinder for a partition."
Now. It is possible to work around this, if the system has been entirely pre-partitioned, all the partitions are on one disk, and you happen to know the installer very well. :-) I've attached a translation of your 'part' commands, which you can include in a %pre script. In addition, you will need to remove all your 'part' commands and add 'preseed partman/confirm boolean true'. You will also need to test this to death on a machine you don't care about. I've tested a variation in a VMware instance, but that isn't quite the same. If you need to vary the partitioning scheme in minor ways, I hope the syntax is reasonably clear; it's not entirely unlike partman recipes.
You cannot create any partitions using this workaround. Adding that would probably not be very much simpler than just adding proper support for this to partman-auto.
I hope that helps in the meantime ...