On Thu, 16 May 2013, Joel Sing wrote: > On Wed, 15 May 2013, [email protected] wrote: > > Hello everyone. > > > > I failed to upgrade my server from 5.2 to 5.3, probably because of a > > bad answer to the 'Root filesystem?' question. > > > > Setup: > > - HP ProLiant MicroServer N40L server, amd64, GENERIC kernel > > - Two disks (sd0, sd1) in softraid (sd2) > > - I followed the 'Upgrading by install kernel' process, with the 5.3 > > version of bsd.rd which I placed in /. > > - at the 'Root filesystem? [sd0]' question, instead of accepting the > > first physical disk detected, I answered 'sd2', thinking that I > > shouldn't indicate a particular disk among the two physical ones. I > > followed a similar advice found on a couple of blog pages [1, 2]. > > > > Result: > > - At the end of the upgrade process, following message : > > Failed to install bootblocks. > > You will not be able to boot OpenBSD from sd2 > > - Indeed, can't boot anymore, boot process stalled with the following > > message: > > Using drive 0, partition 3 > > Loading...
Sorry, I missed this part. This is unexpected/unusual. This may indicate that it managed to update the boot loader (in the softraid boot area), even though it failed to update the boot block (I need to check which order this is done in to confirm). This would potentially cause this problem. Which disk were you booting from and have you tried booting from the other disk? There is a good chance that you'll be able to boot from the second disk - failing that, repeat the upgrade process and make the missing device nodes as mentioned previously. > > - Powered off the server. > > > > Questions : > > - did I break things irremediably, hense will have to reinstall > > everything from scratch and backups? > > Nope, highly unlikely. The system will most likely boot, if not just repeat > the upgrade. If it does boot you can manually update the boot blocks/boot > loader: > > /usr/mdec/installboot -v /usr/mdec/boot /usr/mdec/biosboot sd2 > > It is just an error that occurred when installboot was run against the > softraid volume. This is most likely due to missing device nodes for sd1 > (e.g. /dev/sd1*). There is a current discussion on bugs@ regarding the same > issue - for some reason I thought the installer already handled this, > however it appears that it does not currently. > > As a work around, prior to starting the upgrade drop to a shell (for > example, type '!' at the "Root filesystem" question) and ensure the device > nodes exist: > > # cd /dev > # sh MAKEDEV sd0 sd1 sd2 > # exit > > The upgrade should now complete normally. > > > - alternatively, should I try something else like removing one disk or > > the other, then try to rebuild the RAID? > > > > Thanks in advance. I must confess that the first softraid building and > > 5.2 install was a real pain for me, and I still do not fully grasp > > softraid, and the way it may interact with the upgrade process. > > How can we make it clearer? I need to spend some time working on the > softraid documentation (hopefully in the not too distant future) - what do > you need to know? > > > Olivier Debre > > > > Refs. > > [1] > > http://spiritedblowfish.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/installing-openbsd-5-1-a > >md 64-using-softraid/ [2] > > http://blog.cochard.me/2012/03/openbsd-51-installation-on-sofraid4.html -- "Action without study is fatal. Study without action is futile." -- Mary Ritter Beard
