[syslinux] Fedora 21 extlinux 6.03 boot failure

Fri Jul 3 08:41:41 PDT 2015

> Hi,
> 
> On Fri, Jul 03, 2015 at 07:13:18AM +0300, Ady via Syslinux wrote:
> > It is not so clear to me which version of Syslinux (or which version of its 
> > Fedora's packages) you are actually using to boot these systems (not just the one 
> > currently failing).
> 
> Sorry I wasn't clear.  Fedora 19 was installed on a / and /boot partition.  I
> then installed Fedora 21 on a separate / partition and overwrite all the
> extlinux components in /boot/extlinux with the new versions.  I have followed
> the same procedure many times.  The extlinux.conf file has entries for both
> Fedora 19 and Fedora 21, but the syslinux-extlinux installation was entirely
> Fedora 21 version 6.03.
> 
> With this configuration, this one system fails to boot Fedora 21.  This
> approach worked fine on over 20 other systems upgraded the same way.  It resets
> after printing these messages:
> 
>    SYSLINUX 6.03  Copyright (C) 1994-2014 H. Peter Anvin et al
> ...
> (displays boot menu using menu.c32)
> ...
>    Loading /vmlinuz-4.0.5-200.fc21.x86_64... ok
>    Loading /initramfs-4.0.5-200.fc21.x86_64.img...ok
> 
> This machine is attached to a serial console.  There is no error message; it
> just reboots at that point.

OK, that's one point to be evaluated.

Are the other systems (those that are booting OK) also attached to a serial 
console?

Is there any other output method available (I mean, other than the serial console)?

What happens when not using the serial output (while adapting the syslinux.cfg 
accordingly)?

Could you please post the entire syslinux.cfg (or extlinux.conf) corresponding to 
the failing machine?

> 
> But the same Fedora 21 extlinux 6.03 setup is able to boot the Fedora 19
> partition successfully.  Once I am up and running Fedora 19, I run the
> following commands (using Fedora 19 extlinux version 4.05):
> 
>    dd if=/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda
>    extlinux --install /boot/extlinux

But that only installs the bootloader file (and the core module, when relevant). 
The c32 modules are not being changed (e.g. updated) with such command (alone).

> 
> If I then reboot the system, it is able to boot into either Fedora 19 or
> Fedora 21 without any problems.  It is true that I do get some minor
> complaints:
> 
>    SYSLINUX 4.05 2011-12-09 Copyright (C) 1994-2011 H. Peter Anvin et al
>    menu.c32: not a COM32R image
>    boot: 

The reason being a mismatch version between the c32 modules and the version of the 
bootloader.

> 
> But I can select the desired label from the "boot:" prompt, and now it boots
> successfully into Fedora 21.
> 
> > The behavior you are describing "sounds" as if some version mismatch between the 
> > bootloader file and some c32 module might be going on, although there is no detail 
> > that would differentiate this particular system from the others (that keep working 
> > OK).
> 
> I don't think it's a mismatch issue.  I have followed the same scripted
> procedure many times without any problems.

But until now you were updating versions of Syslinux up to 4.xx. The mismatch 
version problems were less evident then (more "tolerance" was "accepted"), but 
since Syslinux v.5+, the mismatch version problem is much more relevant and even a 
minor mismatch version (e.g. other package claiming to use the same version) might 
cause problems.

Anyway, the serial console is one immediate point for review (please post your 
entire extlinux.conf).

> 
> > The typical suggestion might be relevant here: Is there any BIOS update available 
> > for this system?
> 
> There is probably a more recent BIOS, but why would that matter?  The
> system boots fine under syslinux 4.05 and has problems under 6.03.
> I may be able to upgrade the BIOS next week.
> 

The BIOS version might matter because Syslinux v.6.xx could be triggering a problem 
in buggy BIOS versions, whereas v.4.xx was not triggering the same problem. We have 
seen this before; after the BIOS update the same version of Syslinux might succeed.

> > If you change the version of the bootloader actually booting the system 
> > (independently of the version of the packages you might have installed in the 
> > particular OS you want to boot), then you should be sure that the c32 files being 
> > used to boot (independently of the version of the packages you might have installed 
> > in the particular OS you want to boot) are using the exact same version (i.e. 
> > copied from the same exact package as the extlinux command being used to install 
> > the bootloader).
> 
> The completely vanilla 6.03 setup fails to boot.  The problem is that there
> is no error message, so it's very hard to troubleshoot.

You mean "vanilla" as the Syslinux-related packages from Fedora 21, not upstream 
Syslinux pre-built binaries downloaded from kernel.org, which _might_ (or might 
not) give a different result. Again, please do not forget to update the c32 files 
too from the same origin of the bootloader you are actually installing in the VBR. 
Mixing files from one package with others from another one (even if they are both 
the same "version") is unwanted for troubleshooting.

> 
> > Have you tried to use the official upstream binaries downloaded from kernel.org 
> > (instead of the packages installed in your OSes)? When you do, please remember to 
> > copy over the c32 files too from the same official upstream archives.
> 
> I have not yet.

Please do, updating _all_ the Syslinux files (in addition to executing the 
"extlinux --install..." command using the official pre-built installer too), and 
report back.

> 
> > There is a chance that _not_ using (vesa)menu.c32 might help you see more details.
> 
> I'll give that a try.  An error message would be really helpful in chasing
> this down.
> 

Posting your extlinux.conf (or syslinux.cfg, whichever you are actually using) 
might help.

> > I won't get into the NASM 2.11.06 issue (neither into any other potential building 
> > issue). The previously mentioned troubleshooting steps go first.
> 
> I wasn't aware of that.
> 
> Thanks,
> Andy

There might be some commit after v.6.03 that might help too, but let's start with 
the easier steps.

Regards,
Ady.

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