Description of problem: The following was filed automatically by anaconda: anaconda 18.37.8 exception report Traceback (most recent call first): File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/pyanaconda/bootloader.py", line 1540, in install raise BootLoaderError("bootloader install failed") File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/pyanaconda/bootloader.py", line 1554, in write self.install() File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/pyanaconda/bootloader.py", line 2312, in writeBootLoader storage.bootloader.write() File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/pyanaconda/install.py", line 135, in doInstall writeBootLoader(storage, payload, instClass, ksdata) File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/threading.py", line 504, in run self.__target(*self.__args, **self.__kwargs) File "/usr/lib64/python2.7/site-packages/pyanaconda/threads.py", line 91, in run threading.Thread.run(self, *args, **kwargs) BootLoaderError: bootloader install failed Installed from USB with kickstart file Additional info: cmdline: /usr/bin/python /sbin/anaconda cmdline_file: nomodeset inst.ks=hd:sdb1:/cfl.cfg ip=212.115.199.60::212.115.199.57:255.255.255.248:testsys.digifarma.nl::none noipv6 nameserver=212.115.199.57 inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=CFL_18TC4 executable: /sbin/anaconda hashmarkername: anaconda kernel: 3.6.10-4.fc18.x86_64 other involved packages: package: anaconda-18.37.8 product: Fedora release: Cannot get release name. type: libreport version: 18-TC4
Created attachment 672945 [details] File: anaconda-tb
Created attachment 672946 [details] File: anaconda.log
Created attachment 672947 [details] File: environ
Created attachment 672948 [details] File: ifcfg.log
Created attachment 672949 [details] File: ks.cfg
Created attachment 672950 [details] File: packaging.log
Created attachment 672951 [details] File: program.log
Created attachment 672952 [details] File: storage.log
Created attachment 672953 [details] File: syslog
18:35:11,299 INFO program: Running... grub2-install --no-floppy /dev/sdb 18:35:12,301 ERR program: /usr/sbin/grub2-bios-setup: warning: your embedding area is unusually small. core.img won't fit in it.. 18:35:12,305 ERR program: /usr/sbin/grub2-bios-setup: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for cross-disk install.
What did you do to hit this? Also, what does the output of parted -l look like? That error usually means the first partition is too close to the mbr, which shouldn't be happening.
I boot anaconda from usb, which is my /dev/sdb1. Kickstart file is configured to install to harddisk, which is /dev/sda. According to the log grub wants too install the bootsector on sdb. This fails. Anyway, grub should not install the bootcode on sdb, since I did not explicitly ask it to and it is not a logical way to go to install (without explicit command) the boot code on the disc where anaconda was started from and not the drive where the new root filesystem, resides on.
Chris, was grub wrong when it reported back that it couldn't do what it was asked to do? AFAICS there is no bug in grub here. Anaconda shouldn't have asked grub2 to do something impossible ... or handle in a more elegant way that it failed. It do however look like a slighly odd setup: 18:35:10,897 INFO storage: bootloader stage1 target device is sdb 18:35:10,897 INFO storage: bootloader stage2 target device is sda1 'DEVLINKS': '/dev/disk/by-id/usb-Generic_Flash_Disk_CCBB1109291024230778821809-0:0 /dev/disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1a.0-usb-0:1.2:1.0-scsi-0:0:0:0', 'DEVNAME': 'sdb', 'DEVPATH': '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdb', 'ID_PART_TABLE_TYPE': 'dos', 'DEVNAME': 'sdb1', 'DEVPATH': '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.0/host6/target6:0:0/6:0:0:0/block/sdb/sdb1', 'ID_PART_ENTRY_OFFSET': '32',
How did you make the USB stick? It should be labeled LIVE if you used livecd-iso-to-disk or liveusb-creator which would make anaconda ignore it as a valid destination.
Made it 'by hand' mksfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1 e2label /dev/sdb1 CFL_18TC4 Then populate it: .treeinfo .discinfo cfl.cfg /boot/grub/* /images/pxeboot/vmlinuz /images/pxeboot/initrd.img /LiveOS/squashfs.img
Created attachment 674718 [details] Output of parted Here I have the output of parted. Starts to look to me that this bug might be two bugs: 1- Anaconda crashes instead of telling the user that it can not install the bootloader. 2- Anaconda installs the bootcode on another disc then where it puts the OS without the user telling to to. I could reproduce in a setting where the grub installation did not crash, that the boot code was installed on the USB-drive and not the harddisk where Fedora was installed to. After installation and booting from the harddisk the system hung, because there was no bootcode on the harddisk.
3- The manually created USB image was not created correctly.
(In reply to comment #17) > 3- The manually created USB image was not created correctly. The validity of this can be discussed. By my opinion, in an installation scenario, every USB or other disc is correct by definition. It is the installation program that should handle every disc that can be found in the wild, correctly (according to what the user expects).
Please use one of the standard methods for creating USB drives. There *may* be some underlying bugs here, but hand-creating it just introduces unnecessary variables.
That is excactly why I am doming this, tracing bugs. (In reply to comment #19) > Please use one of the standard methods for creating USB drives. There *may* > be some underlying bugs here, but hand-creating it just introduces > unnecessary variables.
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