can't boot fresh install

[Howard Wilkinson]

Alan,

see in-line ...

Alan Evans wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 12:23 AM, Howard Wilkinson wrote:
>   
>> Alan Evans wrote:
>>
>>     
>>>> Just did a fresh install of F11 on a P4. The SATA hard disk was
>>>> repatriated from a broken iMac.
>>>>         
>>>> I didn't have install disks handy, so I downloaded the netinstall
>>>> image and installed the whole thing over my home DSL. This took nearly
>>>> a day and a half, and I don't want to repeat that process if I can
>>>> avoid it.
>>>>         
No install discs so a network install
>>>> I instructed anaconda to remove everything and use the whole drive.
>>>> The installer never complained of any trouble. When I went to reboot,
>>>> the system refused to recognize the hard drive as bootable. I jacked
>>>> around with BIOS settings to no avail. Finally, I booted from the
>>>> install CD and select
Now have an install CD - is this for a different version of Fedora?
>>>> ed rescue mode.
>>>>         
>>>> Rescue mode mounted /dev/sda2 on /mnt/sysimage. I looked and the
>>>> install appears intact.
>>>>         
Now I remember seeing something on the anaconda list about scanning 
discs to find partitions ... not sure what and maybe a Red Herring, but 
this has changed in the F11/F12 timeframe so you may have got some of 
this functionality.
>>>> I ran fdisk on /dev/sda and it complained, "Device contains neither a
>>>> valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI or OSF disklabel." And then
>>>> further down, "Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will
>>>> be corrected by w(rite)." There are no partitions listed when I select
>>>> "p" to do so.
>>>>         
>>>> At this point, I'm petrified. What can be done to fix this and get
>>>> Fedora to boot?
>>>>         
>>     
There is a utility called kpartx that anaconda now uses (I think now is 
F11, not the upcoming F12) that can locate partitions - this may help, 
not sure.
>>> Ok, maybe I'm asking the wrong question...
>>>       
>>> Does anybody have an idea why anaconda/rescue mode can find and mount
>>> my root partition on /dev/sda2, but fdisk can't even recognize that my
>>> disk has a partition table at all?
>>>       
>
>   
>> you are running fdisk on /dev/sda and not /dev/sda2?
>>     
>
> Thanks for taking an interest in my plight!
>
> I am, indeed, certain that I ran fdisk against the correct device.
> I've done it several times. Just confirmed it again.
>   
I asked because that is the silly mistake I make about once every 6 
months and I stare at it for hours before realising, usually late at 
night after having spent all day building a system.
> I did miss one thing in my original description. I misread the output
> from df, which now appears to show /dev/mapper/vg_home-lv_root mounted
> on /mnt/sysimage and /dev/sda2 is mounted on /mnt/sysimage/boot. So it
> would appear that my boot partition is sda2. (I didn't choose any
> special partitioning during install, just accepted the default.)
>   
There must be an sda1 as well, which I had assumed would be your boot 
partition. So your disc layout is a bit iffy possibly. You may find the 
problem is that the partition table is OK but boot is too far up the 
disc. Depends if your fdisk is borked rather than the disc. Try another 
partition tool from the F11 collection - if you can see the disc under 
the resuce mode try a chroot and then run the installed fdisk!
> I'm still confused about how anaconda can possibly mount a partition
> (two, including the boot partition) when fdisk thinks the partition
> table is invalid.
>
> -Alan
>
>   

Otherwise you are somewhere I have not seen and can't really imagine, so 
you need someone with more imagination to help.

Howard.

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