Bug 499963 - reinstall over existing system fails on Apple hardware
Summary: reinstall over existing system fails on Apple hardware
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED RAWHIDE
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: anaconda
Version: rawhide
Hardware: ppc
OS: Linux
low
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Anaconda Maintenance Team
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks: F11AnacondaBlocker
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2009-05-09 16:01 UTC by Tom Lane
Modified: 2013-07-03 03:22 UTC (History)
7 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2009-05-14 20:22:12 UTC
Type: ---
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)
traceback for failure to reinstall (94.03 KB, text/plain)
2009-05-09 16:01 UTC, Tom Lane
no flags Details

Description Tom Lane 2009-05-09 16:01:39 UTC
Created attachment 343218 [details]
traceback for failure to reinstall

Description of problem:
Installing rawhide into free space on a Powerbook G3 laptop works, but reinstalling over that
installation fails.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
anaconda 11.5.0.51

How reproducible:
100% I think (didn't try more than once)

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Select "replace existing system" option during text-mode install
2.
3.
  
Actual results:
fails with traceback (attached)

Expected results:
should replace old installation

Additional info:
continuation of bug #492154

Comment 1 Chris Lumens 2009-05-11 14:49:40 UTC
Does using updates=http://clumens.fedorapeople.org/499963.img fix your problem?

Comment 2 Tom Lane 2009-05-11 15:12:41 UTC
Pardon my ignorance, but I don't understand exactly what I'm supposed to do with this file?

Comment 3 Chris Lumens 2009-05-11 15:19:59 UTC
If you have a network connection, at the CD bootloader screen, you just need to append updates= to the boot arguments.  Otherwise, you need to copy the updates image onto a USB key and add "updates" to the boot arguments.  Doing it via the network really is easiest.

Comment 4 Tom Lane 2009-05-11 15:48:28 UTC
NAK: exact same traceback with this update applied.

Comment 5 Jóhann B. Guðmundsson 2009-05-11 16:53:21 UTC
what happens if you first delete the previously created partition then recreate them from free space? 

Looks like /boot is the culprit either the partition is missing or got some how corrupted during the initial creation?

Comment 6 Tom Lane 2009-05-11 17:08:58 UTC
Well, this is a text-mode install, so it is not offering me the option to fool with the partition table by hand.

Since the previous installation had been working just fine, I kinda doubt the theory that there was something wrong with its /boot partition.

Comment 7 Chris Lumens 2009-05-11 17:21:50 UTC
Are you sure the updates image is being used?  I don't see how it could be the same traceback given that the code is totally changed around now and you can't get to the startswith() call without at least having an empty string instead of None.

You can verify the updates image is being used if there's /tmp/updates/*.pyc, and there should be some mention of it in your /tmp/anaconda.log file.

Comment 8 Tom Lane 2009-05-11 18:24:24 UTC
Hmmm, I was wondering about the line numbers being the same.

What I see is that it asks me which disk to get updates from, I select /dev/sda, then it says "Reading anaconda updates" for a few seconds and then proceeds with no hint of an error, so at the very least you've got a user interface deficiency here...

After it's crashed, I look into /tmp/updates/ and see 499963.img (as well as a couple of other files that were on my USB stick); but nothing *.pyc.  /tmp/anaconda.log has a line "UPDATES device is /dev/sda" but nothing further that seems related.

I think you are probably right that the update wasn't used, but how do I find out why not?

(PS: I'm using the USB stick method because, as usual, NetworkManager is utterly useless in a DHCP-free environment.)

Comment 9 Will Woods 2009-05-12 17:50:17 UTC
Works for me using 499963.img and current rawhide anaconda (11.0.5.51). I'm installing a new copy of rawhide over itself right now.

Comment 10 Tom Lane 2009-05-12 19:49:15 UTC
After turning on a DHCP server I can confirm that 499963.img seems to fix the problem.  I'm still wondering why the non-network approach to installing the update doesn't work.

Also, I notice that the update enables a "use VNC" prompt, which is nice, but if you back up from that the plain text mode is all wonky --- the text box boundary lines are replaced by LATIN1 letters ...

Comment 11 Tom Lane 2009-05-14 20:07:26 UTC
Original problem confirmed fixed in today's rawhide (anaconda .52).  Is it useful filing bugs about the other two issues mentioned in comment #10?  I do not see the VNC option offered by .52, so I'm unsure if that was just experimental code or something that should work.

Comment 12 Jesse Keating 2009-05-14 20:22:12 UTC
Doesn't hurt to file the bugs.  I'll close this one since you've confirmed it.


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