Bug 684860

Verified that this is a regression from RHEl6.0.
RHEL6.0 does not have this problem.

Setting Regression keyword per Comment #2

Could you attach the install logs from /tmp/*log to this bug as individual text/plain files?

Are you sure the system is booting the install media in EFI mode?

> Could you attach the install logs from /tmp/*log to this bug as individual
> text/plain files?

How do I access the log files from the installer?

> Are you sure the system is booting the install media in EFI mode?

Yes.  The RHEL6.0 installer works using the same procedure.

Shell> fs5:EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64    
Trying to allocate 942 pages for VMLINUZ
[Linux-EFI, setup=0x1017, size=0x3adec0]

ctrl-alt-f2 and then copy /tmp*log someplace where you can attach them here.

Created attachment 484340 [details]
Screen snap of the problem

The screen snap shows /dev/sda2 marked as /boot/efi type EFI System Partition and the error message.

Created attachment 484344 [details]
The log files.

This is happening because the maximum partition size for /boot/efi is 256M and you have 429M.

256M is the maximum partition size?  
Is this a new limit (since RHEL6.0 did not have a problem with 429M)?
Could the limit be increased to something reasonable?

Could the error message be improved to explain the actual issue?

I tried to repartition a 62G partition into a /boot/efi and / partitions.
The installer forces the /boot/efi partition to be at least 5824M.
It will not allow a smaller (100M) /boot/efi.  Then it complains that I have not created a /boot/efi partition.

Any idea how to work around this problem?

It should not be forcing a partition that large, are you sure you selected 'use fixed size' for the partition? The minimum size is 50M and the max is 256M, it may not properly check if you go back after creating the partition and change its mount point, but should be checking if you create it all in one operation.

I don't see a 'use fixed size' to select.

Could you walk me though the proper steps to create /boot/efi and / partitions in an existing partition?

Why is the max 256M?  Why did RHEL6.0 work?

In the partition editing dialog there is a fixed size button, it is the default selection.

When you enter /boot/efi as the mountpoint the file system type should change to 'EFI System Partition'. At this point if you try to exit the dialog with a partition larger than 256M it should give you a dialog telling you that the partition is too large.

If it isn't doing that then it must not be booting in EFI mode. RHEL6.0 acts exactly the same, only allowing up to 256M for the partition.

Here is a detail description of the steps:

Boot the install DVD using:
    Shell> fs2:EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64

In the installer menu system select:
* Basic Storage Devices
* Fresh Installation
* Create Custom Layout

Highlight sda6, click Edit
        Click Format
        Select Mount Point /boot/efi
                It autoselects EFI System Partition
                Click OK
There is no dialog saying the partition is too large.
It shows the /boot/efi partition size as 62513M.

I'll attack screen snaps.

Created attachment 485902 [details]
Edit Partition Dialog box

This screen snap shows the Edit Partition Dialog box.  The sda6 partition was selected for editing.  The Dialog shows Mount Point: /boot/efi and Format as EFI System Partition.  There is no "fixed size" button, nor any way to adjust the partition size.  The sda6 partition is 62513M.

Created attachment 485903 [details]
63513M /boot/efi partition

This screen snap shows the installer allowed a /boot/efi partition of 62513M.  There was no error dialog indicating a 256M limit on /boot/efi.

Created attachment 485907 [details]
Create /boot/efi Error

Tried again, this time selecting "create" instead of "edit".  The steps:

Highlight sda6, click Create
        * Standard Partition, click Create
          Mount Point: /boot/efi
          Keep 200M size and "Fixed size"
          Click OK

The result is an Error Partitioning Dialog
        "Could not allocate requested partition:
         not enough free space on disks."

Thanks for the screenshots, I know what is happening now.

When editing a pre-existing partition we aren't checking the limits when you exit the dialog like we do when creating a new one.

You need to delete one of your partitions to make space, then create a new one of the right size for /boot/efi

Your steps in comment 19 are correct, except that you need to delete sda6 before hitting create.

So the problems are:
 1. Edit partition dialog doesn't check limits for assigned mountpoint when editing a pre-existing partition
 2. If you manage to create a /boot/efi mountpoint on partition that is too large it will be ignored without a clear error message.

The good news is following your steps to delete the existing partition, create a >256M /boot/efi partition (and / and /swap) convinces anaconda to format the hard drive.  

The bad news is now it hits BZ 687956 (same as if anaconda reformats the entire hard drive).

Thanks for the help.

Hi Brian,

Prarit and I are wondering where the 256M restriction
comes from -- I don't see it on the UEFI website and
Fat16 should go up to 2GB.

George

okay -- mjg filled me on the limit issue.

256 is a limit enforced by nothing else other than anaconda.

Russ, unlike ia64, x86 stores the vmlinuz images in /boot ... but not in /boot/efi/efi .

So having a HUGE /efi partition for grub is ... well ... useless.

The anaconda team has artificially capped it at 256M.

P.

In this case the existing partition was 429M, so that's not a lot of waste.

This test system has four small /boot partitions and four large root partitions, so we can have four OS flavors available.  I simply was trying to use an existing small /boot partition for RHEL6.1 install testing (without disrupting the other partitions).  In this context I think a 429M partition seems reasonable.

It would be nice to have a way to override the 256M limit.  Anaconda could simply ask "Are you sure?" and then do it.

Brian identified two problems that would have helped identify the anaconda limit and enabled me to work around it.  Shrinking down the small partition from 429M to 256M was a big deal once I had a clue as to what anaconda was unhappy about and if it had the dialog options to shrink the partition.  Not having useful error messages to explain the restrictions is a big deal.

Right now the bigger issue is BZ 687956.  That is preventing installation of RHEL6.1 on UV.

Typo.  The sentence should read "Shrinking down the small partition
from 429M to 256M was _NO_ big deal once"...

(In reply to comment #26)
> Typo.  The sentence should read "Shrinking down the small partition
> from 429M to 256M was _NO_ big deal once"...

Y'know, I'm with you Russ :).  I agree, artifically limiting this to 256M serves no purpose.  If a user wants a bigger partition they should be able to get one.

P.

This request was evaluated by Red Hat Product Management for inclusion
in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux maintenance release. Product Management has 
requested further review of this request by Red Hat Engineering, for potential
inclusion in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux Update release for currently deployed 
products. This request is not yet committed for inclusion in an Update release.

Tested on RHEL6.1-20110406.0 x86_64 Server.

Putting back to assigned, because change doesn't fix original description. One still cannot install RHEL6.1 with pre-existing boot efi partition with size bigger then 256MB.

I agree with comments 25, 26 and 27.

Proper fix should be to change maximum partition size to maximum of FAT32.

Sorry, I meant FAT16.

Removed upper limit on EFI partitions. Awaiting review.

Verified fixed in SNAP4 RHEL6.1-20110413.1-Server-x86_64-DVD1.iso.

Thanks!

An advisory has been issued which should help the problem
described in this bug report. This report is therefore being
closed with a resolution of ERRATA. For more information
on therefore solution and/or where to find the updated files,
please follow the link below. You may reopen this bug report
if the solution does not work for you.

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2011-0530.html