Ubuntu
partman-target package

installer identified hard drive as sdb led to the new system unbootablity

Bug #653880 reported by Xidorn Quan
18
This bug affects 2 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
partman-target (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

I used UNetBootin to put the ISO of Ubuntu 10.10 RC into my flash drive to install it.

I found that when I use the liveOS in my flash drive, it identified the flash drive as /dev/sda, and my hard drive was identified as /dev/sdb. And the installer write it into /etc/fstab file.

/etc/fstab file is like this after install:
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
/dev/sdb1 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/sdb6 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
/dev/sdb5 none swap sw 0 0

But when I boot it, the hard drive is identified as /dev/sda, so it cannot boot after I installed until I edit the /etc/fstab manually.

I think it's a important bug, which can lead to unbootablity, isn't is?

Tags: maverick
Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)
affects: ubuntu → grub2 (Ubuntu)
Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)
tags: added: maverick
Revision history for this message
delance (olivier-delance) wrote :

I will not manage this bug, but it looks like some issues when a computer has both PATA and SATA drive. Could you tell me what is the model of your computer ?

Revision history for this message
Xidorn Quan (upsuper) wrote :

The model of my computer is HP Compaq Presario V3000.

I have a new discovery that if I insert my flash drive before booting, the booter will identify the flash drive as sda again, and will not boot from my hard drive, which might have been identified as sdb, properly.

To prevent this things happen again, I have edit my fstab, and use UUID to identify the drive. Maybe you should make Ubuntu use UUID instead of the path of device?

Revision history for this message
delance (olivier-delance) wrote :

I presume Ubiquity use mass memory storage enumeration order provided by kernel, instead of making its own order. I'm afraid because most newbies will not think to check on which drive is put MBR (and even me would not do it before reading your bug).
From my point of view, the true bug is the chosen drive.
---------------------------------
I checked in Lucid and in Maverick 27/10/2010, and both fstab use UUID instead of sdXY.

Revision history for this message
Xidorn Quan (upsuper) wrote :

Since you have checked that fstab use UUID instead of sdXY, I think the true problem is that, why the installer do not use UUID but sdXY?

Revision history for this message
Colin Watson (cjwatson) wrote :

Well, normally it *does* use UUID! Please attach /var/log/installer/syslog and /var/log/installer/partman.

Changed in grub2 (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
affects: grub2 (Ubuntu) → partman-target (Ubuntu)
Revision history for this message
Xidorn Quan (upsuper) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Xidorn Quan (upsuper) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Xidorn Quan (upsuper) wrote :

I have attached the two files, syslog and partman, as you required more than 1 day ago, and then why the status is still incomplete?

Revision history for this message
Colin Watson (cjwatson) wrote :

Because I get hundreds of e-mails even on a slow day, and sometimes fine-tuning bug statuses doesn't make it to the top of my list.

Changed in partman-target (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Confirmed
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