Fails to detect user accounts

[Trouilliez vincent]

Binary package hint: migration-assistant

I am trying the shiny new migration assistant, but it fails to detect any account, and ubiquity crashes. I attached the crash file from Apport, hope that helps.
As you asked me in our e-mail discussion earlier, I also attached /var/log/installer/debug, and /var/log/syslog.

I also ran sudo os-probe, and it gives the following:

$ sudo os-prober
/dev/hda1:Microsoft Windows XP Professionnel:Windows:chain
/dev/hda6:Ubuntu 6.10 (6.10):Ubuntu:linux
/dev/hdc3:Ubuntu feisty (development branch) (7.04):Ubuntu1:linux

This is perfectly, it detected all my OS's correctly, which is encouraging I guess :-)

One thing that comes to mind : os-prober finds ROOT partitions (looking for kernels I guess), but user accounts are in their respective, DIFFERENT partitions. Does migration-assistant handles this ?
In my case, for Edgy, root partition is hda6, but /home is on /hda7. And for Feisty, root is /hdc3 but /home is on /hdc5.

HTH

[Trouilliez vincent (vincent-trouilliez-modulonet)]

Forgot to add : I did start the installer in a terminal using the --debug switch as you asked me, but for some reason, it doesn't print ANY message in the terminal window whatsoever ! No-thing, nada ! :o( Not very useful then :o(

[Evan (ev)]

-d is what generates /var/log/installer/debug and tells debconf (among other things) to write what it's currently doing to that file.

migration-assistant failed to check if the device was correctly unmounted before attempting to use it. The next version will fix this.

[Patrice Vetsel (vetsel-patrice)]

I confirm this bug too.
Evan could you answer for :
"One thing that comes to mind : os-prober finds ROOT partitions (looking for kernels I guess), but user accounts are in their respective, DIFFERENT partitions. Does migration-assistant handles this ?"
Because i suspect that too.
When i look at ma-script-utils i found :
"we test the bootloader type for 'linux." is it relevant for a /home partition ?

[Patrice Vetsel (vetsel-patrice)]

I will report all informations needed later

[Evan (ev)]

Patrice,
What build (daily image date or herd release number) of the Live CD did you test with? Are you confirming the crash or the current inability of migration-assistant to find /home when it's on a separate partition? The latter problem will be fixed in an upcoming version of m-a, the former problem *should* already be fixed, but if it's still crashing for you or Vincent with the same error, would one of you let me know?

If the crash is still occurring in the Herd 5 CD, can you run Ubiquity with the -d option (`sudo ubiquity -d`) and attach /var/log/syslog and /var/log/installer/debug as well as the output of `sudo os-prober`?

Thanks!

[Gil (gbesso)]

I'm using a separate /home partition as well and the installer freezes on the detection step, i had to kill it from terminal.

Attaching logs

[Gil (gbesso)]

/var/log/installer/debug

[Trouilliez vincent (vincent-trouilliez-modulonet)]

Update: I have just tried today's daily build (March 8th) of the live CD.
It is better: it doesn't crash anymore, and it does find some user accounts, yay ! :o)

Problems still remaining:

- it finds my Windows XP partition, but although there is only one, single user on it, it somehow manages to list SIX accounts ! :-O
That's 5 too many ;o)
I know it's unbelievable, so I attached a screenshot to prove ;-)

- IT still fails to find Linux accounts, however in the last step of the installer (step 8), it says that it found no account on "Ubuntu 6.10 /dev/hda6", which means that it did find Edgy after all, but looked in the root partition instead of the home partition (hda7 not hda6). But you said you fixed this problem, so I will watch -feisty-changes carefully, and burn the daily ISO as soon as possible, to test the fix ;o)

[Evan (ev)]

Indeed, I knew the multiple username detection would be a problem as while it accounts for "LocalService" and "Default Users" it does not account for "MACHINENAME.LocalService" or anything like that currently. Unfortunately I have been unable to find where Windows stores in the registry which accounts can log in and which can't so it was not something I could quickly fix for the previous upload. I will have this fixed for the next.

The same goes for separate home partitions. This will require a bit of reworking in the code, but I will have it fixed for the next upload.

Thanks for your continued reports. They have been a great help for me.

[Evan (ev)]

migration-assistant (0.4.2) feisty; urgency=low

  * Added XS-Vcs-Bzr field to debian/control.
  * Mount /home if necessary. (LP: 85222)
  * Display an error on unmount failure and prompt the user to continue.
    (LP: 89605)
  * Put usage statements on stderr. (LP: 89821)

 -- Evan Dandrea <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:57:19 -0400

[Evan (ev)]

migration-assistant will still report those extra users, but there doesn't appear to be a quick fix for that and some users might want to import data from the old/backup accounts. I will continue to investigate this, though.

[Trouilliez vincent (vincent-trouilliez-modulonet)]

Well, at least it will find Linux accounts now, there is progress ! :o)
Can't wait for ubiquity to be uploaded with your fix...

[Trouilliez vincent (vincent-trouilliez-modulonet)]

I just tested your fix. It detected my two Linux accounts perfectly this time, well done ! :-)

[Gil (gbesso)]

Using the feisty beta DVD, migration assistant is still not detecting my edgy user accounts on a seperate /home partition.

[Gil (gbesso)]

I forgot to mention, it doesn't detect the edgy install at all, not just the user accounts. however the output of 'sudo os-prober' is :
/dev/sda1:Microsoft Windows XP Professional:Windows:chain
/dev/sda5:Ubuntu 6.10 (6.10):Ubuntu:linux

[Evan (ev)]

Gil, as your problem could be completely different from Vincent's, can you open up a new bug report after running the installer with the --debug option, and attach /var/log/installer/debug and /var/log/syslog?

Detailed instructions can be found here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingUbiquity/AttachingLogs

Also, are you electing to format /dev/sda5? migration-assistant will not import from partitions that are scheduled for deletion.

Thanks!

[Gil (gbesso)]

I will, thanks!

[Brett Alton (brett-alton-deactivatedaccount)]

The migration-assistant isn't crashing for me, but it can not read my Windows install:

"There were no users or operating systems suitable for importing from."

:~/$ sudo os-prober
/dev/sda1:Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition:Windows:chain

This is the official 7.04 CD that was shipped via https://shipit.ubuntu.com