netboot install images for amd64 don't boot on 12.10 beta

Bug #1056967 reported by GeorgeDunlap
8
This bug affects 1 person
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
linux (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

Ubuntu version: 12.10 Beta

I downloaded the netboot files "linux" and "initrd.gz" for 12.10 beta from the following URL:

http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/quantal/main/installer-amd64/current/images/netboot/ubuntu-installer/amd64/

And I used the following pxeconfig file:

label ubuntu-quantal-amd64-s
 kernel ubuntu-quantal-amd64/linux
        append vga=normal console=ttyS0,115200n8 initrd=ubuntu-quantal-amd64/initrd.gz --

But it just crashes. I also tried downloading "netboot.tar.gz" and using the linux and initrd.gz from there. The initrd.gz is a different size; but it still crashes during boot. Unfortunately, although I have a serial console, there is no userful output. I have the same result on either an AMD box or an Intel box.

The 32-bit netboot images work just fine.

Revision history for this message
Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton) wrote :

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. It seems that your bug report is not filed about a specific source package though, rather it is just filed against Ubuntu in general. It is important that bug reports be filed about source packages so that people interested in the package can find the bugs about it. You can find some hints about determining what package your bug might be about at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. You might also ask for help in the #ubuntu-bugs irc channel on Freenode.

To change the source package that this bug is filed about visit https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1056967/+editstatus and add the package name in the text box next to the word Package.

[This is an automated message. I apologize if it reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

tags: added: bot-comment
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GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

Replacing "quantal" with "precise" above (i.e., using the amd64 netboot images from precise from the same locations and with the same config file) works fine as well.

affects: ubuntu → linux (Ubuntu)
Revision history for this message
Brad Figg (brad-figg) wrote : Missing required logs.

This bug is missing log files that will aid in diagnosing the problem. From a terminal window please run:

apport-collect 1056967

and then change the status of the bug to 'Confirmed'.

If, due to the nature of the issue you have encountered, you are unable to run this command, please add a comment stating that fact and change the bug status to 'Confirmed'.

This change has been made by an automated script, maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
tags: added: quantal
Revision history for this message
GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

Due to the nature of the issue I have encountered, I am unable to run anything on the systems *using 64-bit quantal*. I did manage to install the 32-bit version of quantal, but I'm afraid running the tool may confuse people, since it will (no doubt) report a 32-bit kernel.

Let me know if you'd like me to run the tool on the 32-bit installation anyway.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury) wrote :

Can you follow the "Boot options" instructions on the following wiki to enable additional output on boot:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingKernelBoot

As mentioned on the wiki, it would be great if you can attach a log file which may have captured any messages you see. If you are unable to capture a log file, a digital photo will work just as well. As a last resort you can even copy messages down by hand.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
status: Confirmed → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

Joseph: Thank you for response. However, those instructions don't apply to me:
* As the title of the bug says, I'm not using grub, I'm using pxeboot.
* If you look at the config I provided above, you will see that it does not contain "quiet", "splash", or any of the other config options that wiki page recommends removing.

I have now removed the "vga=normal" parameter as well, but I get the exact same results.

Regarding the serial console, I'm attaching the output that I have, which shows the BIOS and etherboot process, up through the time that it loads the kernel (which in this case is called uq64.4.20120922.{linux,initrd.gz}, downloaded today from the gb Ubuntu mirror). As I said in my initial description, nothing at all is printed from the kernel itself. If you type "cat exile.log" in a terminal window, you will see exactly the screen I see on the serial console.

It would make me feel much better if *someone* would please say that they had *tried* to pxeboot on *something* using the 12.10 amd64 netboot binaries. Then if it fails for you (as I strongly suspect it will) you could collect information on your own system. What I strongly suspect is not that there's any kind of obscure kernel bug, but just that the images have been corrupted somehow during the build / mirroring process.

Revision history for this message
GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

[Attachment] Raw serial output, starting with the serial BIOS and ending with the kernel being loaded but not printing any output. "cat exile.log" in a terminal window to see exactly what I see on my serial console.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Tim Gardner (timg-tpi) wrote :

I've been successfully using cobbler (aka MAAS) which is essentially pxeboot. It looks like d-i and netboot haven't been rebuilt since Sept 22, but they will be soon after beta release (likely tonight). Is this box capable of booting a server or LiveCD ISO using either cdrom or USB drive ?

Revision history for this message
GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

Tim: Thanks for responding. I just checked the GB mirror, and it looks like there are binaries for linux and initrd.gz labelled 1 October. However, they don't work on either of my two test boxes either. :-)

The boxes are in a machine room, but I'll try to morrow to see if I can boot from a CD or a USB stick. If I do get it to boot into rescue mode, can I run apport-collect without going through the whole installation process?

(I regularly need to wipe and re-install test boxes, and doing so without netboot is rather inconvenient.)

Revision history for this message
Tim Gardner (timg-tpi) wrote :

George - I don't know for sure, but you might be able to run 'apport-collect 1056967' from a console without having to go through the complete installation process.

Can you list the releases and architectures for which netboot _has_ worked on these 2 test machines ?

Revision history for this message
GeorgeDunlap (dunlapg) wrote :

Releases / architectures tested:
* precise, amd64
 - AMD: works
 - Intel: works
* quantal, i386
 - AMD: works
 - Intel: Works
* quantal, amd64
 - AMD: fails
 - Intel: fails

In all cases I use the pxe config template above, just replacing the filename; and in all cases, I downloaded from the gb mirror, using the files from the path given above, but with the appropriate folders replaced.

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