Hi Andree and all, >Now, I've looked into the issue with calling mindi directly specifying >the FAILSAFE kernel, and can vonfirm there is an issue. I attach patch >TryToBeCleverAboutInitrd_BTS324302.diff that fixes the problem for me. >Note that you need to have a 2.4 kernel _running_ when using the >FAILSAFE kernel (see README.Debian in the mindi package). Does this >patch fix the problem with running mindi directly for you? > Sorry, I haven't had time to test it now - but if it works for you, then it must be OK. The problem occured when I : - called mindi directly, without options, running a 2.6 kernel - answered that I didn't want my to use my own kernel (so mindi must use FAILSAFE)
>Further to that, you ask which kernel to use. Upstream says, as you >rightfully point out, to use the FAILSAFE kernel. This is problaby true >for the origianl upstream version but not the packages in Debian. If you >use the Debian packages, it is recommended to use the latest stock >Debian 2.6 kernel available for the Debian version used. Only if a 2.4 >kernel is used should the FAILSAFE kernel be specified. Again, this is >covered in README.Debian in the mindi package. Maybe I should just patch >the upstream documentation in the Debian package or something to make >things more clearer. Supposedly putting it in README.Debian is not good >enough. Where did you look first? I started using Mondo more than two years ago on SuSE, and tried it on Debian a bit later. At that time, I had looked a lot at the code - more than at READMEs - and just followed the suggestion to use the FAILSAFE kernel. As it worked flawlessly, I probably never read README.Debian... I would agree with your idea to patch the upstream documentation - or to ask Hugo if the parts about Debian can be changed upstream. It's not good to have contradictory parts in the doc. I was using 2.4 kernels at the beginning, and I call mondo from a script that uses the -k FAILSAFE option. It kept working perfectly with 2.6 kernels, and I would never have thought that the nth libc6-or-anything upgrade could break it, or that the rule for the kernel to use had changed, so I have not looked at the doc again. IMHO, the cleanest way would be : if it's not safe to do use FAILSAFE kernel with 2.6, it should not be possible (or at least give a big warning), and if it's possible, then it should work. Of course Hugo says that one should make a test CD before using mondo - but who does it really, and who would think of testing again after the nth libc6 upgrade, when everything has been working for months ? >> So, I verified: >> - system with 2.4 kernel, FAILSAFE kernel on the CD, first patch : ok >> - system with 2.6 kernel, system's 2.6 kernel on the CD, first patch : ok >> - system with 2.6 kernel, FAILSAFE kernel on the CD, first patch : can't find >> libc6. The second patch is necessary, in order to let mindi include the >> libraries in /lib. > >Hm, as pointed out above using the FAILSAFE kernel on a system actually >running a 2.6 kernel is not recommended a will break (for numerous >reasons). I believe you now ;-) > >> By the way, do you always use your own kernel with mondo ? I haven't looked at >> the doc for a long time, but I think Hugo insisted that Debian users should >> use the failsafe kernel - and so do many comments in the code ! >> Is it still good advice, or should we rather use our own kernels ? I just >> tried it, and it seems to work - and my laptop hangs with 2.4.*, anyway... > >As I wrote above, use a stock 2.6 Debian kernel for best results. Yes, definitely ! Is there really a need for FAILSAFE kernel anymore, if it was only intended for Debian before the era of .deb packages ? What does Hugo say about it ? Does anyone still need it now ? (I was wondering if size could be an issue ?) If giving the possibility to use it can lead to trouble, shouldn't we prevent people who haven't read the whole doc (though, of course, it's a very bad habit ! ) to use it ? What do you think ? Thierry -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
