preupgrade reboot, won't complete upgrade, same old FC, etc: solution

[S. Robert Cube]

Multiple threads appear to have run into a similar problem with preupgrade: it seems to run fine, but won't complete the install upon reboot. This might work for you.

I'm running a multiboot system, and I have the /boot file on a separate partition. Preupgrade seems to assume you're using the local /boot file, and only modifies the local /boot folder. This is the problem.

Preupgrade adds four files to the local /boot folder, in a new folder /boot/upgrade. (initrd.img, install.img, ks.cfg, vmlinuz). If this appears in your /boot menu, the following steps might solve your problem. You will need to modify whatever menu.lst your grub actually uses, then point it to the correct upgrade files. Finally, you will have to further modify your menu.lst file to add a new entry for the upgraded FC.

In the example below, my grub is pointed to a partition that appears in FC as /media/Studio 9.04\boot\grub\menu.lst. My grub entry that boots FC looks like this:

title Fedora Core 10 (on /dev/sdb14)
root (hd1,13)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.x86_64 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.x86_64.img
savedefault
boot


STEP 1.

Add an entry like this to whatever menu.lst file grub uses, changing *'s to match your partitions (mine are hd1,13):

title Fedora Upgrade
root (hd*,*)
kernel /boot/upgrade/vmlinuz
initrd /boot/upgrade/initrd.img
savedefault
boot


STEP 2.

Save, and reboot, selecting Fedora Upgrade. 


STEP 3.

It will then bring up an ncurses dialog that will ask you to locate the install.img file, first by partition, then by file location. The partitions are in a dropdown menu. Select the partition of you FC install. It might change "sdb" to "sdf"; they point to the same partition.


STEP 4.

It also, inaccurately, defaults to install.img. Instead, after you've selected the correct partition, enter /boot/upgrade/install.img

The preupgrade install should proceed normally from this point. 


STEP 5. 

Once the upgrade is complete, you will have to add one more entry to your grub menu.lst file. Add an entry with the newly installed kernel (begins w/ "vmlinz") and initrd ("initrd.#.#.#-#.fc#.arch.img") files; you will find these in your FC local /boot folder.