Author Topic: No vmlinuz but it still boots - how? (Read 11646 times)

lugoteehalt · « **on:** March 15, 2004, 12:14:44 PM »

In menu.lst grub looks for the kernel at /vmlinuz. This is a symbolic link to /boot/vmlinuz-?-etc, or something like.

ls -l shows /vmlinuz as red - it is a broken link.

updatedb followed by 'locate vmlinuz' shows the symbolic link:
/vmlinuz
and nothing else.

There is no problem because the computer boots correctly. But I am mystified: How can it work if there is no vmlinuz; seems like it's haunted?

aaa · « **Reply #1 on:** March 15, 2004, 01:02:07 PM »

You use a boot partition?

neo · « **Reply #2 on:** March 15, 2004, 03:12:10 PM »

hey man there is another type of image linux boote from ie. bzImage maybee that is there at /boot. moreover see which files does it boot from from /boot/grub/grub.conf ull find the file linux is booting from.
see it and do tell me....

lugoteehalt · « **Reply #3 on:** March 15, 2004, 04:18:13 PM »

Quote from: "aaa"

You use a boot partition?

Yes - there is a small /boot partition, the first logical partition. 6MB. I just have 4 logical partitions: hda1-4.

lugoteehalt · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2004, 04:21:28 PM »

Quote from: "neo"

hey man there is another type of image linux boote from ie. bzImage maybee that is there at /boot. moreover see which files does it boot from from /boot/grub/grub.conf ull find the file linux is booting from.
see it and do tell me....

Right - so I'll try 'locate bzimage' ?? Not on my computer now, so I'll have to get back.

Thanks.

The menu.lst file is in /boot/boot/grub/menu.lst I think. Will post it.

aaa · « **Reply #5 on:** March 16, 2004, 08:10:34 PM »

Grub paths are relative to the partition. /vmlinuz in grub is most likely the vmlinuz in the boot partition. Is the boot partition mounted?
Show output of:
mount
fdisk -l

lugoteehalt · « **Reply #6 on:** March 17, 2004, 05:28:17 PM »

[/code]lugo@debian:~$ mount
/dev/hda3 on / type ext2 (rw,errors=remount-ro,errors=remount-ro)
proc on /proc type proc (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
/dev/hda1 on /boot type ext2 (rw)
/dev/hda4 on /home type ext2 (rw)
lugo@debian:~$

debian:/home/lugo# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 64 heads, 63 sectors, 620 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 3 6016+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda2 4 42 78624 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda3 43 483 889056 83 Linux
/dev/hda4 484 620 276192 83 Linux

cat /boot/boot/grub/menu.lst

# Boot automatically after 30 secs.
timeout 30

# By default, boot the first entry.
#boots second entry
default 1

# For booting the GNU Hurd
title GNU/Hurd
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/gnumach.gz root=hd0s1
module /boot/serverboot.gz

# For booting Linux
title GNU/linux
#lugo Next line added because grub thinks, at this point, that root is (hd0,0),
the /boot partition. 'root' for grub is grub's root, that is the origin of its file system tree. Thus, before the next line, /boot/grub (when using this computer) is /grub to grub. Perhaps not that sure what I'm talking about, but think fairly reasonable.
root (hd0,2)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3
#lugo Command line completion in grub does not work in the root.... bit.

#lugo Try to get single user mode
title GNU/linux single user
root (hd0,2)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3 single

#lugo Try to get emergency mode - does not read init files?
title GNU/linux emergency
root (hd0,2)
kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda3 emergency

# For installing GRUB into the hard disk
#lugo On this computer there is a small boot partition on hda1 and / uses hda3.
This causes difficulties.
title Install GRUB into the hard disk
root (hd0,0)
#install /boot/grub/stage1 d (hd0) /boot/grub/stage2 p
#lugo Commented out above line - it shouldn't have the d in, on this computer
install /grub/stage1 (hd0,0) /grub/stage2 p
#lugo root (hd0,0) makes grub's 'root' /boot

lugo@debian:~$ ls -l /
total 89
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 12 22:40 bin
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 1024 Mar 13 01:11 boot
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 13 2001 cdrom
<snip>
drwxr-xr-x 13 root root 4096 Mar 12 00:12 var
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 Mar 12 00:04 vmlinuz -> boot/vmlinuz-2.2.19

lugo@debian:~$ ls -l /boot/vmlinuz-2.2.19
ls: /boot/vmlinuz-2.2.19: No such file or directory

debian:/home/lugo# updatedb
debian:/home/lugo# locate vmlinuz
/vmlinuz
debian:/home/lugo#

lugo@debian:~$ locate bzImage
lugo@debian:~$

lugo@debian:~$ ls /boot/boot/grub/
menu.lst
lugo@debian:~$ ls /boot
boot grub lost+found
lugo@debian:~$ ls /boot/grub/
e2fs_stage1_5 fat_stage1_5 menu.lst stage1 stage2
lugo@debian:~$

Code: [Select]

Sorry about all that rubbish, but hope you agree the mystery deapens :D

aaa · « **Reply #7 on:** March 18, 2004, 04:41:02 PM »

Wild guess: your hda1 is mounted over files existing in /boot ?
Unmount your /boot , then look around.

lugoteehalt · « **Reply #8 on:** March 22, 2004, 10:49:27 AM »

Your wild guess was correct. Unmounted /dev/hda1 from /boot and a secret garden of important looking stuff, including vmlinuz-?.etc. was revealed. This /boot directory has no subdirectories; no /grub or /boot.

It must have happened because I forgot to mount /dev/hda1 during install and mounted it later by fiddling with fstab.

If I'm not harming anything I propose to carry on regardless.

Thanks all - mystery resolved?