Stuff that has not yet gone into the official build.
Post a reply
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:16 pm

Sometimes a newer kernel is needed for newer hardware. Here there is a dell 17 5000 series with touchpad, sound and network not working properly.
Some info for anyone doing a snapshot using a 4x kernel, be it from jessie backports, sid, siduction or liquorix:
You need also the latest live-boot and live-boot-initramfs-tools else it won't boot. That's because aufs seems to be deprecated, overlayfs has replaced. (there is no longer even an aufs kernel module). Get them from sid (or ceres, if you run devuan), they install on jessie.
The patches we did for earlier live-boot to get rw mount of the live-media partition probably won't work till updated.
I don't know about 4x kernel and wheezy.
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:56 pm

Patch for live-boot 5x is here: http://www.exegnulinux.net/refracta/exp ... 0-1.tar.gz
Tested and working in (devuan-) jessie with rw mount and luks or not persistence (file) on 4.2.1 kernel + live-boot and live-boot-initramfs-tools.5.0~a5-1 .. Do <CRYPTSETUP=y update-initramfs -u> before doing your snapshot, if you might use luks persistence.
Don't yet know if it works applied to older live-boot's initrd nor if it's wheezy-compatible. Maybe.

Code:
  `[email protected]
  :~$ uname -r
  4.2.1-towo.1-siduction-amd64
  [email protected]
  :~$ cat '/[etc]/devuan_version'
  jessie
  [email protected]
  :~$ mount|grep /lib/live
  /dev/sdb4 on /lib/live/mount/findiso type ext4 (rw,noatime,data=ordered)
  /dev/loop0 on /lib/live/mount/medium type iso9660 (ro,noatime)
  /dev/loop1 on /lib/live/mount/rootfs/filesystem.squashfs type squashfs (ro,noatime)
  tmpfs on /lib/live/mount/overlay type tmpfs (rw,relatime)
  /dev/mapper/loop2 on /lib/live/mount/persistence/loop2 type ext2 (rw,noatime,errors=continue,user_xattr,acl)`

fsmithred

- fsmithred
- Posts: 2101
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:13 pm

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:52 pm

Thanks. I'll play with this. Does the boot command become 'union=overlayfs'?
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Sat Sep 26, 2015 3:40 pm

> Thanks. I'll play with this. Does the boot command become 'union=overlayfs'?

It all works here without union=whatever on cmdline.
EDIT In newer live-boot, it seems overlay is now default but if "union=aufs" is specified it should work as before, with a standard jessie 3x kernel. Previously aufs was default.
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:48 pm

Got a working live image for that machine, (devuan-) jessie with a siduction 4.2 kernel. Had to use latest iwlwifi firmware source and a custom alsa-base.conf. Touchpad now works without xorg tweaks.
Next challenge is to install it. It is uefi, totally new to me. Anyone here with uefi experience?
I already know, will have to sort grub manually. I can't use (unmodified) refractainstaller-gui because it depends grub-pc | grub-legacy so gets removed by grub-efi. This seems unnecessary; grub deps are already marked in refractainstaller-base and allows grub-efi.
Should not grub* be only "recommends" anyway? refractainstaller already has an option to not do grub. Not suggesting refracta tools should or could directly support every "fringe" case but other bootloaders (extlinux, lilo..) do actually exist.
fsmithred

- fsmithred
- Posts: 2101
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:13 pm

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:56 pm

refractainstaller-base-9.1.5 was modified by adding grub-efi to deps, and it stops to allow you to do the efi stuff manually. Good idea to demote grub to recommends. It isn't absolutely necessary - you might even use a grub that's already installed.
There's a thread or two from last fall discussing how to make an efi-friendly snapshot. There's also an installer that will do efi that someone else wrote, but I've never tested it. If you want, I'll send it to you.
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:34 am

> There's also an installer that will do efi that someone else wrote, but I've never tested it. If you want, I'll send it to you.

Yes please!
dzz

- dzz
- Posts: 647
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:53 am
- Location: Devon, England

## Re: overlayfs, aufs, kernel 4x and refractasnapshot

Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:08 pm

Success! The custom iso contents were copied to a fat32 usb with (some of the) solydxk files added as described here: post4691.html#p4691
See also (uefi): building-uefi-iso-with-refracta-on-testing-t490-30.html
It booted in uefi mode and installed without a problem. Grub was installed in a chroot, using a custom postinstall script. I actually used my own "exegnu" installer which works similarly to refractainstaller but is simpler. I got apt/dpkg problems with refractainstaller-gui from grub-pc dependendency (could have been easily fixed however)
It has preinstalled windows 8 which still works and appears in the installation's grub menu. I will try to document this (simpler than expected) process later and include the custom grub-efi install script.
This machine is fast with it's intel quad and 8GB ram. 8 second startup, 6s shutdown (vs. windows "hourglass"). Bad news is.. it's not mine!
Post a reply
Jump to:

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group.

phpBB Mobile / SEO by Artodia.