Michael wrote: > On Saturday, 5 February 2022 09:36:44 GMT Dale wrote: > >> It failed with a missing normal.mod file. That file is in the old grub >> directory. Once I renamed the directory back to what grub expected, the >> system loaded grub fine. > Ahh! The normal.mod command: > > http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/html_node/normal.html > > You won't get a boot menu without this file, or a lot of GRUB commands. > However, in a GRUB2 installation this file is found here: > > # find /boot/ -name normal.mod > /boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod > > It should not exist the old legacy filesystem. :-/ > > I wonder if you have somehow mixed the legacy and new GRUB2 files? > > Anyway, the solution is to go fishing for it from the GRUB rescue prompt, > using > the ls command and then set root and set prefix before you can insmode it. >
I kind of tried to do that. Thing is, it doesn't do tab completion or anything and I forgot I had renamed that directory until I booted a rescue media and did a ls on it from that. Then I remembered renaming it and simply renamed it back. After that, grub was happy. Of course, then I ran into the bad kernel and after that my second screen wasn't working either. Things sort of ganged up on me all at once. It's one reason I hate rebooting. I have to say tho, dracut has been good to me so far. Only had one init thingy go bad. I simply booted a old kernel and fixed the new bad init thingy. Still, I hate rebooting. From uprecords: root@fireball / # uprecords # Uptime | System Boot up ----------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- 1 303 days, 11:46:23 | Linux 4.5.2-gentoo Sat Jul 29 23:20:27 2017 2 227 days, 22:10:30 | Linux 5.6.7-gentoo Wed Oct 28 13:59:36 2020 3 200 days, 06:51:46 | Linux 4.18.12-gentoo Sat Jan 12 03:42:55 2019 4 193 days, 09:28:37 | Linux 3.5.3-gentoo Sat Sep 22 07:50:38 2012 5 184 days, 15:47:57 | Linux 3.18.7-gentoo Tue Dec 15 21:53:59 2015 6 166 days, 20:47:12 | Linux 5.6.7-gentoo Thu May 14 00:47:09 2020 7 143 days, 15:05:26 | Linux 4.5.2-gentoo Sun Oct 23 20:09:26 2016 8 138 days, 11:27:28 | Linux 4.5.2-gentoo Tue May 29 13:27:44 2018 9 135 days, 11:11:44 | Linux 4.5.2-gentoo Thu Mar 16 11:58:17 2017 10 119 days, 02:59:44 | Linux 4.19.40-gentoo Wed Jul 31 12:12:08 2019 >> There's been other threads about kernel boot >> problems and the one I recently built could be having one of those >> problems. I haven't looked into that. I doubt there is any file system >> problem. The problem was me renaming a directory that grub still needs >> files from. There is likely a way around this but my post was to warn >> others that renaming that directory could cause problems. > Right, renaming should be done carefully as you could mix the legacy and > GRUB2 > filesystems. Well, I expected everything the new grub needed to be in the new grub2 folder. I think that is what Neil was expecting as well. Just renaming the directory instead of deleting it was a really good idea tho. Of course, everything is in /usr and can be restored from there but that means having to set up lvm since /usr is on a lvm as is /var as well. > >>>> I've reinstalled >>>> using the grub-mkconfig command but have not reinstalled using the >>>> grub-install command. > Right, the 'grub-mkconfig' command only generates a new grub.cfg file and > overwrites the old one. It does not *install* GRUB, whereby install involves > dropping GRUB's bootloader code in the MBR and also copying all GRUB files > into > /boot. > > TBH, once GRUB2 is installed properly and it works, it tends to carry on > doing > so. So the question remains, why did it barf at its normal.mod path ... > > > [snip ...] >> I don't have the old grub installed, just a directory that was installed >> by the old grub but contains files that the new grub needs. > Hmm ... that should not be the case. The legacy and GRUB2 filesystems are > different. > >> The file >> and path it needs is this: /boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod Why that >> isn't installed in the new grub directory and told to look there for it, >> I have no idea at the moment. I may test it one day but don't feel the >> desire to try it today. > Life's a mystery! :-) Yea, I'm working on it. Pulling out install info and may rename the directory and do a complete reinstall process. Just like I would on a fresh install. That should fix it. If not, I understand more about the grub rescue terminal at least. I'm going to look that info up and do some printing with my nifty duplex laser printer. I hate the cost of toner but I love the printing it does. Dale :-) :-)
