Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Pedro A . López-Valencia]

On mié, 2016-04-13 at 22:22 -0400, Serge Hooge wrote:
> Just an update, I got the RAM changed with the brand new sticks, but
> the problem persisted.
> 
> Seems to be an issue with systemd-based distros, because I managed to
> get Devuan, FreeBSD and Slackware booted, while modern Debian crashed
> on
> me with the same result as Arch.
> 

Serge, your problem got me thinking and I remembered a similar
situation I had many years ago with some Dell OptiPlex boxes that
wouldn't boot Linux even with a gun to their PSUs. The solution was to
add the 'acpi_os_name="Microsoft Windows"' boot parameter to the kernel
boot command line. See https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-
parameters.txt for all the acpi tricks you may try with yout laptop.

-- 
Pedro A. López-Valencia
http://about.me/palopezv
Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you
lose yours. -Ronald Reagan

Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Serge Hooge]

Just an update, I got the RAM changed with the brand new sticks, but
the problem persisted.

Seems to be an issue with systemd-based distros, because I managed to
get Devuan, FreeBSD and Slackware booted, while modern Debian crashed on
me with the same result as Arch.

Not sure if downloading a new ISO for Arch would help at all by this
point, will probably end up using Devuan or FreeBSD on this machine.

Not sure if I should bugreport this either.

Thanks for all the help regardless!

-- 
Serge Hooge

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Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Serge Hooge]

Alright, I'll tackle those one-by-one.

Jens Adam  wrote:
> ... to get the most obvious question out of the way:
> 
> What's the exact processor type?
> And do other i686-type distributions work okay?
It's a Pentium II, i686-compatible. I've seen multiple reports of
various distros working a-okay on it, including Arch.

Might consider swapping it out for something better later on.
Haven't tried other distros yet.

Guus Snijders  wrote:
> Probably a stupid question, but have you checked the integrity of the
> disc? If you still have it (or can find it), try the md5sum/sha-1sum
> of the iso, or, failing that, try mounting the cd and then copying
> files off it. If there are errors and/or unreadable files, any OS will
> complain loudly (though Windows will mostly complain in it's
> journal^weventlog).
I verified the ISO after I wrote it, so the CD should be okay.

> Also, try testing the RAM with something like memtest. It's not
> uncommon for older laptops to have failing dimms...
I thought about it and it passed fine before. I ran it again and it
returned full of errors on every land, so looks like it is indeed a
failing memory.

I guess I'll order some new DIMMs and see how it goes.

Thanks for the help!
-- 
Serge Hooge

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Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Guus Snijders]

Op 11 apr. 2016 23:17 schreef "Guus Snijders" :
>
> Op 10 apr. 2016 21:32 schreef "Serge Hooge" :
>
[...]
> > I recently became an owner of a Thinkpad 770, which rather ancient by
> > modern standards and decided to give it a spark of fresh life by
> > installing Arch on it.
> >
> > The CD boots okay, but when I try to actually boot x86 Arch, it Kernel
> > Panics with the subject title. It tries /bin/init, /sbin/init
> > and /bin/sh, failing with the same message for all of them.

[CD testing]

Also, try testing the RAM with something like memtest. It's not uncommon
for older laptops to have failing dimms...
(luckily, replacements are usually cheap ;) ).

Mvg, Guus Snijders

Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Guus Snijders]

Op 10 apr. 2016 21:32 schreef "Serge Hooge" :
>
> I apologize for crossposting from the forum, but I am not getting any
> replies there so far.
>
> I recently became an owner of a Thinkpad 770, which rather ancient by
> modern standards and decided to give it a spark of fresh life by
> installing Arch on it.
>
> The CD boots okay, but when I try to actually boot x86 Arch, it Kernel
> Panics with the subject title. It tries /bin/init, /sbin/init
> and /bin/sh, failing with the same message for all of them.

Probably a stupid question, but have you checked the integrity of the disc?
If you still have it (or can find it), try the md5sum/sha-1sum of the iso,
or, failing that, try mounting the cd and then copying files off it.
If there are errors and/or unreadable files, any OS will complain loudly
(though Windows will mostly complain in it's journal^weventlog).

Just a thought.

Mvg, Guus Snijders

Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Serge Hooge]

> * reboot with the CD
> * adjust /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
> The HOOK line looks at me like the following:
> HOOKS="base udev modconf block filesystems keyboard fsck resume"
> Try to remove 'autodetect'; it may strip modules that are needed by 
> accident; 'resume' is necessary for s2disk.
> * re-create your initrd
> mkinitcpio -k YOURKERNELVER -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
> KERNELVER can be found out by
> ls /lib/modules
The problem is that I can't access Arch period. I get the CD splash
screen, I hit enter to boot, cue the subject title.

I am not sure why error -26 either, can something else access the init
files before they get launched?

-- 
Serge Hooge

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Re: [arch-general] Thinkpad 770 - Init exists but couldn't execute it (error -26)

[Elmar Stellnberger]

Am 2016-04-10 um 21:29 schrieb Serge Hooge:

The CD boots okay, but when I try to actually boot x86 Arch, it Kernel
Panics with the subject title. It tries /bin/init, /sbin/init
and /bin/sh, failing with the same message for all of them.
Some searching shows that ERRNO 26 is for a busy file, but I've no clue
what may be accessing all the init files at the time of the boot.

I tried passing init=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd, but it fails with error
-2. Is systemd not on the CD?

I have read about successful installations of Arch on this machine
previously, but they mentioned no problems of the sort, presumably that
was pre-systemd Arch.

Is there anything else I could try to get it working?

I am using a late 2015 ISO for the CD.



Is there any error message when it tries to mount the root file system?
Likely yes; so the problem would be that your initrd does not contain 
the right drivers for disk access.


* reboot with the CD
* adjust /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
The HOOK line looks at me like the following:
HOOKS="base udev modconf block filesystems keyboard fsck resume"
Try to remove 'autodetect'; it may strip modules that are needed by 
accident; 'resume' is necessary for s2disk.

* re-create your initrd
mkinitcpio -k YOURKERNELVER -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
KERNELVER can be found out by
ls /lib/modules

Good Luck!

P.S.: these things are also explained under:
http://www.elstel.org/software/hunt-for-4K-UHD-2160p.html.en#kernel