Problems booting up and shutting down 12.1

Goettschwan · November 24, 2011, 11:55pm

Hi, i did an upgrade from 11.4 to 12.1, but installed root on a new ssd harddisk. I used the old home partition on another harddisk.
I had some problems getting the system to boot up with nvidia drivers, the “one click install” found in the opensuse site installed a “default” nvidia driver over the “desktop” kernel installed (this got done automatically after i started software managment one time), now that works.
My problems at the moment :

I cannot find the system boot logs, have they been moved to a new place? I found out that syslogd is not installed on my system and afterinstalled it. I read that this was an M5 bug marked as fixed, but I got that off the official install.
The system boots loading grub, but every second or third boot after selecting “normal booting” instead of “failsafe” in grub the screen goes black and nothing happens. I can thereafter try multiple times booting this option, always resulting in the same black screen. If I boot then one time “failsafe”, and hit “restart”, the default grub option will pause for a short moment on that black screen, and then display the boot splash screen (verbose) which will display first “doing fast boot”. The system will then boot normally.
Sometimes booting up, the first line is something about “udev: file … not found”. Is there a way to stop the boot splash listing for reading (or, see 1) because since I boot from the SSD disk this goes rather fast.
Using restart functions everytime from default or failsafe boot. Using shutdown from default boot results in a splash screen, I hear the old hard drive powering down, and the last line is [seconds?] The system is being halted. BUT, it does not. The splash screen stays, and nothing further happens. To totally stop the system I have to power it down with the power button.
Sometimes, the system boots up, and hangs with the last screen line ALSA: Cannot determine min max values. When I reboot, this functions okay. Sound functions, but under Wine there is a directsound failure.

Any help on any of these points would be greatly appreciated, i have Opensuse since 10.x but I am kind of a noob when it comes to certain helpful console commands or certain places to look for logs and things.

I wonder if my install is totally broken and if I should maybe start over and install once again?

My install is from 64bit dvd installation of 12.1, downloaded directly and verified md5 before burning (and after burning as verify written data).
I use KDE that came with that same DVD. I have run some updates inside software management to get my nvidia drivers going, and afterinstalled syslogd on a hunch.
If you require more information i have maybe not thought of, please remind me. Thanks!

Goettschwan · November 29, 2011, 4:33pm

Hi, I photographed the boot screen so as to remember the exact error message. So here is further information on my problems :

still same, could anybody tell me how I can read everything that appears on the splash screen while booting? I assume it is written into some kind of file somewhere.
This does only seem to happen intermediately now, and not if the first line on the splash screen is “doing fast boot”. Grub nonetheless takes two to three seconds to come up with identifying himself and loading the boot selection menu.
The first lines are
doing fast boot
creating device nodes with udev
udevd[172]: failed to execute ‘/etc/sysconfig/network/scripts/ifup-sysctl’ ‘/etc/sysconfig/network/scripts/ifup-sysctl lo -o hotplus’: No such file or directory

Any help with this is very much appreciated.

SkipperUwe · November 30, 2011, 1:41pm

Hi all,

I have absolutely the same problem no. 3 (“udevd: failed to execute”) on my system and would be very glad if there is a solution.

I also have a SSD in my PC, but I do not believe that this is causing the problem. On the other hand, I could stay with this msg because the computer is running absolutely normal but I think the underlying cause slows down the boot process of my PC. The system just hangs around for quite a minute and this is very annoying considering the remaining super-fast startup procedure due to the SSD. I am also wonder how I could further investigate the problem with log files etc.

TIA,
Uwe

Goettschwan · November 30, 2011, 6:18pm

Hi all,
“nice” to hear somebody else has this problem. Hope we find help with this soon.
some updates :
4) only occurs after “normal” bootup. Hitting shutdown while in “failsafe” results in a perfectly fast, nice shutdown, and the computer stops. All boots with “normal” and displaying “doing fast boot” result in the last line “The system is halted” on the shutdown splash screen, and nothing further happens (e.g. the computer does not power down inside the next fifteen minutes, which I tested.)

Uwe, since you are also booting from SSD, do you seem to have a significant access delay on booting,partitioning or copying? I seem to have about twenty seconds delay before the first “GRUB” line comes to the screen while booting, and I seem to have the same delay while copying. After the initial delay, everything goes really fast. This is my first installation/usage of SSD, I am unsure about what is normal.

DenverD · November 30, 2011, 8:27pm

On 11/30/2011 06:26 PM, Goettschwan wrote:
> Hope we find help with this soon.

next time post one problem in each new thread and put a meaningful
subject line for that problem…and, you will attract more helpers…

i say that because i saw your post yesterday, but when i saw all the
different problems i didn’t stay longer than a few seconds…lots of
helpers around here are the same.

in the subject, you don’t actually even have to use the word “problem”
think about it, how many folks come to install-boot-login to say “I have
no problems!”

so, for number 1, you might have the subject line of “Where are the
system boot logs.” and then when you write it mention where it used to
be and what it was named, since you say they it moved…

but, your “I wonder if my install is totally broken” causes me to wonder
just how you did the ‘upgrade’, because it sure sounds like you have a
LOT going wrong…makes me wonder which of these only two supported
methods of upgrade did you use: http://tinyurl.com/35p966c or
http://tinyurl.com/6kvoflv

if you kinda made up your own way to do it, then i doubt you can fix
it…i know i can’t fix things that sometimes work and sometimes don’t
because it means to me it is broke BAD! inconsistent, unstable, probably
a result of a bad ‘upgrade’ leaving lots of bits and pieces of a
previous install…

ask around.

–
DD http://tinyurl.com/DD-Caveat
openSUSE®, the “German Engineered Automobiles” of operating systems!

robin_listas · December 1, 2011, 12:33am

On 2011-11-30 20:27, DenverD wrote:
> On 11/30/2011 06:26 PM, Goettschwan wrote:

> i say that because i saw your post yesterday, but when i saw all the
> different problems i didn’t stay longer than a few seconds…

Same here.

> so, for number 1, you might have the subject line of “Where are the system
> boot logs.”

That one I know!

It is now buried in /var/log/messages, not in /var/log/boot.msg as systemV
does. This is intentional.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)

Goettschwan · December 1, 2011, 3:33pm

Hi all,

It is now buried in /var/log/messages, not in /var/log/boot.msg as systemV does. This is intentional.

Thank you very much, it will probably help me to look into this.

but, your “I wonder if my install is totally broken” causes me to wonder just how you did the ‘upgrade’, because it sure sounds like you have a
LOT going wrong…makes me wonder which of these only two supported methods of upgrade did you use: SDB:System upgrade - openSUSE or
Chapter

I am unsure just what you mean by “upgrade”. I used the downloaded and verified opensuse DVD to install onto my new SSD disk, using the existing (11.4) home partition on another harddisk. Upon finished installation, I used the link on the opensuse page to “1-click-install” Nvidia drivers. This was not sucessful, eg. it did not function in the correct resolution and had no OpenGL support. So I loaded YAST, and installed all the packages I usually need (libdvdcss, the correct Nvidia driver, some progams I like to have etc.) from official Repositories, and everything YAST seems to update by itself on first run (i am rather sure YAST switched from default to desktop kernel, I for sure did NOT click on that). My system runs rather okay for a fresh install, it is just that I have these boot problems.
Your further assumptions on this are then unfounded, I suppose?

next time post one problem in each new thread and put a meaningful subject line for that problem…and, you will attract more helpers…

Thanks for the tip, will do exactly that now.

robin_listas · December 1, 2011, 3:58pm

On 2011-12-01 15:36, Goettschwan wrote:
> I am unsure just what you mean by “upgrade”.

Upgrade for us has a meaning: follow one of the two aproved processes to
update one by one all the installed rpms, leaving the configuration and
data files alone. Upgrading the distro. An operation that upgrades the full
distro, contrary to installing again a new version on top of the old one.
That is not upgrading. That’s installing fresh on top.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)

DenverD · December 1, 2011, 4:21pm

>
> I am unsure just what you mean by “upgrade”.

Carlos has responded correctly…an ‘upgrade’ will replace 11.4 system
code with new 12.1 code (such can be done using the DVD and selecting
‘upgrade’ rather than ‘install’ during the install script, OR by using
zypper dup)…

what you did we would term ‘install’… (yes, an install while reusing /home)

> Your further assumptions on this are then unfounded, I suppose?

yes. unfortunately the exact method for a successful ‘upgrade’ must be
followed closely or there may be problems from incompatible software…

in fact, the instructions warn “due to some third-party packages and the
myriad of possible configurations, it is possible for some combinations
to cause failure upon upgrade.” so, when i see a user state they did an
‘upgrade’ i assume that that might be the source of the problems…in
your case, no.

personally, i never upgrade (to much junk gets left in the corners) and
i also never reuse /home (for the same reason)…instead i
move/copy/backup home, data and configurations (/etc) then do a complete
format install, then add applications and when done i have all new
configuration files (in etc and home) and then i join my data back in…

see, i am pretty sure some problems i see here come from left over
configs in reused /home from previous installs of openSUSE or Ubuntu, or
Mandrake or or or or

anyway, imho Linux is usually a predictable critter–and, anything i see
problems that happen one out of three tries…or every other time or
even just “sometimes” i wonder how it got that way…

here, with my fresh install every time routine i almost always have the
same problem over and over and over, every time…until fixed…

>> next time post one problem in each new thread and put a meaningful
>> subject line for that problem…and, you will attract more helpers…
> Thanks for the tip, will do exactly that now.

welcome.

–
DD
openSUSE®, the “German Engineered Automobiles” of operating systems!

Goettschwan · December 1, 2011, 4:34pm

Yes thanks for your explanations. In regard to these explanations, I did an install of course.
The procedure you explain backuping home and only copying wanted files back to the new installation, I did this once when Opensuse shifted from Kde 3.5.X to KDE 4, but I have to admit that I usually just use the previous home over and over again, since I only install the newer versions of opensuse when they come out, and do not use anything else.
I have set up individual threads for the problems now, and I am sure that they will have responses soon. Thanks.

DenverD · December 1, 2011, 5:40pm

On 12/01/2011 04:36 PM, Goettschwan wrote:
>
> and I see that some have responses already. Thanks.

even i was able to dredge up some MAYBE help, once i had all that jumble
out of sight…

–
DD
openSUSE®, the “German Engineered Automobiles” of operating systems!

SkipperUwe · December 2, 2011, 12:07pm

hgfdgh sgh h fh fg

rannyakuza · March 11, 2012, 5:58pm

Hi all,

through this thread I somehow ended up finding the bug ticket for the “failed to execute ‘/etc/sysconfig/network/scripts/ifup-sysctl’” message during boot: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=724775

I dug a little deeper and found the culprit in /lib/mkinitrd/setup/82-network.sh. A conditional there takes care of certain things like copying /etc/sysconfig/network into the initrd image and bringing up interfaces if requested (addfeature=ifup, nettype=ifup). I left the conditional intact but made sure that /etc/sysconfig/network is copied correctly regardless of $nettype value. This fixed the issue for me. I attached a patch to the bug ticket mentioned above, but since links sometimes die, here’s the patch:


diff -Naur mkinitrd.orig/setup/82-network.sh mkinitrd/setup/82-network.sh
--- mkinitrd.orig/setup/82-network.sh	2012-03-11 17:10:04.876624354 +0100
+++ mkinitrd/setup/82-network.sh	2012-03-11 17:05:16.201408244 +0100
@@ -266,9 +266,9 @@
 done
 
 # Copy ifcfg settings
+mkdir -p $tmp_mnt/etc/sysconfig
+cp -rp /etc/sysconfig/network $tmp_mnt/etc/sysconfig
 if  "$nettype" = "ifup" ] ; then
-    mkdir -p $tmp_mnt/etc/sysconfig
-    cp -rp /etc/sysconfig/network $tmp_mnt/etc/sysconfig
     for i in /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-*; do
 	interface=${i##*/ifcfg-}
 	if  -d /sys/class/net/$interface/device ] ; then

After applying this patch to the 82-network.sh file and re-running mkinitrd, I got a very clean bootupscreen as a thank-you ;-).

Kind regards,

Rubin.