[26358] in Athena Bugs
linux 9.3.18: update_ws
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Camilla R Fox)
Sat Feb 12 19:28:34 2005
Message-Id: <200502130027.j1D0Rtpq001869@myxomycete.mit.edu>
To: bugs@mit.edu
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 19:27:54 -0500
From: Camilla R Fox <cfox@mit.edu>
Errors-To: bugs-bounces@mit.edu
System name: myxomycete.mit.edu
Type and version: i686 9.3.18 (with mkserv)
Display type: Intel Corp. 82865G Integrated Graphics Device (rev 02)
Shell: /bin/athena/bash
Window manager: ctwm
I took an update on myx last night after the power outage; I was not
paying much attention when it came time to reboot the system, and did so
without inspecting the update.log. The system is an IBM ThinkCentre S50
of the Athena config; it has a firewire card added to it (which didn't
require anything except loading existing modules, to make work, and
still works after the update).
Here's what the update.log looked like (minus the huge list of packages
which all installed normally):
| Beginning update from 9.3.16 to 9.3.18 at Sat Feb 12 03:02:52 EST 2005.
| warning: rhel-3-updates/RPMS/laus-0.1-66RHEL3.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID db42a60e
| Preparing: ###########################################
| + libgcc ########################################### [ 0%]
...
| + kernel ###########################################No module ieee1394 found for kernel 2.4.21-27.0.1.EL, aborting.
| mkinitrd failed
| [ 31%]
| + tcsh ########################################### [ 31%]
...
| + ghostscript ###########################################grubby fatal error: unable to find a suitable template
| grubby: doing this would leave no kernel entries. Not writing out new config.
| /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.7822: line 2: gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders: command not found
| error: %postun(librsvg2-2.2.3-2) scriptlet failed, exit status 127
| /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.50995: command substitution: line 1: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `"'
| /var/tmp/rpm-tmp.50995: command substitution: line 2: syntax error: unexpected end of file
| [100%]
|
| Running /mit/mkserv/services/9.3/remote.add (1.21)
| ssh v1 RSA host key already exists.
| ssh v2 RSA host key already exists.
| ssh v2 DSA host key already exists.
|
| ===> Remember to change the root password, if you have not already done so.
|
|
| Update finished.
|
| The service change requests will take effect upon the next reboot
| of the machine.
|
| /var/server has been used for the server specific files.
| Do not modify these files as they can be replaced during an update
| Ending update from 9.3.16 to 9.3.18 at Sat Feb 12 03:34:05 EST 2005.
I think the update system should have noticed and taken seriously the
errors from mkinitrd and grubby. Even without my carelessness, I'm
guessing that an autoupdate might have left the machine unbootable.
I got it booted with the damnsmalllinux.org rescue cd, mounted the disk,
chroot'd to that, mounted /boot, and fiddled around to fetch myself the
appropriate kernel rpm via atalanta. Force installing that generated:
warning: kernel-2.4.21-27.0.1.EL.i686.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID db42a60e
grubby fatal error: unable to find a suitable template
I didn't figure out how to fix this for real, but Garry's hint that just
editing /boot/grub/grub.conf would work, did render the system bootable.
While flailing, I reinstalled my grub rpm to no effect; my mkinitrd rpm
verifies fine, but I didn't think to fiddle with it at the time.
Also, the .htaccess.mit in /afs/athena/system/rhlinux/rhel-3-updates is
a bummer if you don't know where to find an afs2ftp translator.
-Camilla
