Dapper Install: LVM on RAID 1 fails to install bootloader

[Joe Kislo]

Binary package hint: base-installer

If I try to install an all LVM installation, on a software RAID 1, the dapper installer will fail to install a bootloader... Claiming that 'there is no bootloader compatible with my architecture'. I was installing using AMD64, however I walked a friend through an identical setup on i386, and he ran into the same problem. Neither system booted after the install was complete.

Acctually there is a perfectly good bootloader option available, it's lilo. All I had to do to fix my broken install, was boot off the rescue CD, drop in an /etc/lilo.conf (I'll attach it for an example of what you should drop in for the user), run lilo.. and poof. I also had to edit /etc/kernel-img.conf and turn on do_bootloader so new kernel packages would properly run hnadle the bootloader.

The breezy installer properly handled this case, and properly instaled lilo, no complaints.

I was using the TEXT based installer off of the 'Installation' CD. I also did this off of the server CD with similar results on a different identical machine.

Incase you don't know how I was trying to setup the system I was taking notes:

Select Manually Edit partition Pable
 configure a single partition, physical volume for RAID, entire disk, for both disks
configure software raid
 Write changes and configure raid
Create MD Device
RAID1
 2 devices
 0 spare drives
 select the two drives
Finish
RAID1 Device #0
 Create physical volume for LVM on partition 1 (vg1)
Configure LVM
Write changes to disk and configure LVM
You'll get this error:
  Error informing kernel about modifications to partition /dev/md/0p1 --
  Invalid argument. This means Linux won't know about any changes you made
  to /dev/md/0p1 until you reboot -- so you shouldn't mount it or use it in any way before rebooting
You need to ignore this error, it not a problem
Modify volume groups (VG)
Create Volume Groups
select /dev/md/0
vg1
modify logical volumes
create LVs as appropriate
 EG: root, swap, etc.
Return to partitioner
when finished.. will get md error again
Ignore it again, it is not a problem.

Then at this point it'll complain there is no acceptable bootloader.

If you wish, I can writeup a bug about the Invalid Argument problem aswell.. but that is pretty easy for users to ignore. Breezy had that problem aswell.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

If you can still reproduce this with the final Dapper alternate install CD, then please attach /var/log/syslog from the installer to this bug. You can extract it by going back to the installer's main menu and selecting "Save debug logs".

[towsonu2003 (towsonu2003)]

this seems to be the dplicate of either bug# 16411 or bug# 29858 . Donno which one, please someone with more experience triage this :)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for debian-installer (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

I just tested LVM on top of a RAID1 in Ubuntu Intrepid beta, and it seems to work well for me.

Note that LiLo is the bootloader that's used, rather than grub.

I'm going to close this bug as "Fix Released".

:-Dustin