• ext2
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  • From: Kiev, Ukraine
  • Registered: 2009-01-18
  • Posts: 9

Topic: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

I'm not sure, whether I chosen a correct part of forum for this, but it seems that we don't have a topic for reporting bugs and errors in distro.
So, i decided to make one smile

Ok, I just installed Icadyptes 0.2 and got some interesting messages during setup process:

1. "Warning! Your mke2fs.conf file does not define the ext3 filesystem type. You probably need to install an updated mke2fs.conf file."
2. "Loading package data...Checking  dependencies...
Warning: dependency cycle detected
Warning: tzdata will be installed before its glibc dependency

And during the boot process:
1. Driver 'sd' needs updating - please use bus-type methods
2. Driver 'sr' needs updating - please use bus-type methods

  • sega01
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  • From: Hendersonville, NC, USA
  • Registered: 2009-01-13
  • Posts: 14

Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

Thanks for posting :-). None of those are too serious (last two are normal and produced by the kernel).

I'm guessing that the installer has an old copy of mke2fs.conf that needs updating. The second one doesn't really need to be fixed, but I will put the UTC timezone in glibc and move it out of tzdata so that tzdata can get out of base and be removed from glibc's dependencies (it will definitely stay in core though). Consequently, that error will go away too :-). Maybe glibc reverts to UTC if no /etc/localtime file is found? In which case we wouldn't need to do anything special other than removing tzdata from its dependencies.

Cheers and thanks,
--Teran

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  • ext2
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  • From: Kiev, Ukraine
  • Registered: 2009-01-18
  • Posts: 9

Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

Thanks for reply, Teran !

I have another question.
When GRUB is loaded, "Press any key, to continue" repeats oneself 5 times. Why?

  • sega01
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  • From: Hendersonville, NC, USA
  • Registered: 2009-01-13
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Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

I have Grub set to open on the first serial port if possible, and the "Press any key, to continue" is the default functionality (you see the same messages on the serial port, too). I'm sure there is a better way to do it though, or maybe Grub2 is a better option.

Cheers,
Teran

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  • ext2
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  • From: Kiev, Ukraine
  • Registered: 2009-01-18
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Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

Maybe it's a foolish question, but why Grub and not LILO ?

  • Registered: 2009-03-26
  • Posts: 3

Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

Grub is generally easier to use post-install.

With grub you never have to re-install the bootloader, just modify the menu.lst file to pick up changes to kernel names and options.
With lilo you have to re-install the the bootloader after any kernel changes including whenever there is a new kernel.

Eventually the future will bring our attention to grub2 which will be more robust and hopefully fix the gaps in grub's current capabilities.

Zeq

  • ext2
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  • From: Kiev, Ukraine
  • Registered: 2009-01-18
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Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

I don't think that Grub is easier or has less bugs than LILO.
But Grub2 - maybe...I will make attempt

  • sega01
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  • Registered: 2009-01-13
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Re: Bugs, errors, inaccuracies

ext2 wrote:

Maybe it's a foolish question, but why Grub and not LILO ?

In my Slackware and Zenwalk days I used to like LILO quite a bit. I had never given GRUB a fair try but deemed to overly complex from what I have seen. Honestly, after using both I much prefer GRUB. The command line editing, customizability, serial console support (LILO may or may not support all of that), and even patches for booting disks based on UUID, I've grown to consider it quite useful. Having to run `lilo` to update the MBR after each kernel upgrade was a bit of a pain, although not a deal breaker in my opinion.

I think that JP from Zenwalk dislikes GRUB due to it not being able to have fancy splash themes, but I hardly mind at all. GRUB might have a patch for it, and even so I'm quite sure that GRUB2 supports it.

Cheers!

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