On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:21:55 -0400 (EDT), Ravi Roy wrote: > On 8/13/10, Stephen Powell <zlinux...@wowway.com> wrote: >> As for the OP, please provide more information, such as: >> >> (1) Where did you get your 2.6.33 kernel? Backports? Experimental? >> Custom built? etc. How did you install it? > > it is custom built kernel, compiled by a colleague some time ago, it is > basically a debian package which is installed > Installation is being triggered as late command in preseed.cfg
OK, you have a custom kernel built by someone else. >> >> (2) What bootloader do you use? grub? (version 1) grub-pc (version 2)? >> lilo? extlinux? etc. > > I use grub version 0.97 OK, that's grub version 1 (grub in Lenny, grub-legacy in Squeeze) >> >> (3) What is the contents of /etc/kernel-img.conf? > > Will try installation again and let you know. How is it that you do not know? Can't you examine that file while running the old kernel? Did you re-format the hard drive already? >> >> (4) What is the contents of your boot loader configuration file? >> (/etc/lilo.conf for lilo, /boot/grub/menu.lst for grub version 1, >> etc.) > > menu.lst contains two entries for kernel 2.6.26.2, which boots perfectly. Well, that's good. But is that all? Are there no entries for the 2.6.33 kernel? If that is the case, then update-grub didn't get run when you installed the new kernel. Check /etc/kernel-img.conf. If this is a standard Lenny install, there should be lines at the end that look like this: postinst_hook = update_grub postrm_hook = update_grub If those lines are there, then the kernel maintainer script for your newly-installed kernel does not respect those hooks. I would really like to know how the kernel was built. The kernel maintainer scripts for a kernel image package created by make-kpkg would respect those hooks. The kernel maintainer scripts for a kernel image package created by "make deb-pkg" probably wouldn't. If that is the case, and you can't persuade your colleague to build the kernel image package with make-kpkg, you can circumvent this problem with the two zz-bootloader hook scripts, properly installed, that I provide on my web site (see below). If you do that, then you should remove the above two lines from the end of /etc/kernel-img.conf. >> >> (5) What scripts exist in /etc/kernel/postinst.d, /etc/kernel/postrm.d, >> and /etc/initramfs/post-update.d? > > Have to try to install it again and will let you know. Again, I don't see why you can't check that, unless you reformatted the disk after being unable to get the 2.6.33 kernel to boot. >> >> (6) Are symbolic links used for the kernel, such as vmlinuz, >> and vmlinuz.old? And what about the initial RAM file systems? >> Are symbolic links used for them too? (initrd.img, initrd.img.old) >> If so, where are these symbolic links? (/, /boot, etc.) > > When I boot with old kernel under /boot, i can not see initrd.img for > 2.6.33.3; > means it is missing nor links exists. If the symbolic link is missing, that is one thing. That really doesn't matter with grub version 1, since grub version 1, as installed and configured in Debian, does not use symbolic links. If the initial RAM file system is missing, that's another thing. It could be that the custom kernel doesn't use or need an initial RAM file system. That would depend on how the kernel was configured by the person who built the custom kernel. But if the kernel needs an initial RAM file system, and one didn't get created during installation, then that's a problem. Under Lenny, the kernel maintainer scripts are expected to create the initial RAM file system during installation. A kernel image package created by the Lenny version of make-kpkg on a Lenny system would contain a maintainer script that creates an initial RAM file system, if built properly. If the kernel needs an initial RAM file system, but the maintainer script does not create one, then you will need to copy the initramfs-tools hook scripts from a Squeeze system (/etc/kernel/postinst.d/initramfs-tools and /etc/kernel/postrm.d/initramfs-tools, respectively) to the corresponding directories on your Lenny system. Make sure they are marked executable. >> >> (7) What exactly are the symptoms of failure when you attempt to >> boot the 2.6.33 kernel? > > At installation time it does not give any error and system reboots and > boots with old kernel. Does the 2.6.33 kernel show up in the boot menu? If it shows up in the boot menu, all you have to do is select it explicitly. If you just let it time out, it will boot the default kernel, which may still be the 2.6.26 kernel. On the other hand, if the 2.6.33 kernel does not show up in the boot menu, that's further evidence that update-grub did not get run. > > I think first issue is initrd.img is missing for 2.6.33.3 and that is the > reason menu list also not being updated. First, I don't know if you're talking about the symbolic link or the actual initial RAM file system. Second, a missing initial RAM file system and the kernel being missing from the boot menu are two separate issues. Both are related to proper customization of the kernel installation environment. Both you and your colleague may benefit from my Debian kernel building web site: http://www.wowway.com/~zlinuxman/Kernel.htm Pay particular attention to "Step 10: Customizing the Kernel Installation Environment". This site is specific to Debian, but Lenny and Squeeze are very different in how the kernel installation environment works. The devil is in the details, which is why this web page is so long. I tried to document all the "gotchas" I could think of. By the way, if all you want to do is to run a Squeeze kernel in Lenny, I suggest http://www.backports.org, which supplies 2.6.32 kernels that are suitable for Lenny. For example, linux-image-2.6.32-bpo.5-686 or linux-image-2.6.32-bpo.5-amd64, depending on your architecture. -- .''`. Stephen Powell : :' : `. `'` `- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? 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