Re: [gentoo-user] Strange boot problem - any ideas?

[Helmut Jarausch]

On 12/15/10 10:32:34, meino.cramer@×××.de wrote:
> Helmut Jarausch <jarausch@××××××××××××××××.de> [10-12-15 10:00]:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have to power down one of my machines each day.
> > Booting it the other day fails from time to time.
> > On this (and all my machines)  /usr is on an ext4 file system by
> its
>
> > own. It looks as if mounting /usr fails sometimes (silently).
> > The first unusual message is that it cannot find the file
> > /usr/sbin/acpid . After that, most other actions fail as well.
> >
> > Once the machine has failed to boot it will fail every time
> afterwards
> > unless I do the following:
> > I boot by a rescue CD, change root and re-emerge sys-power/acpid
> (this
> > package contains /usr/sbin/acpid).
> > This single action has helped without any problem each time I had
> to
>
> > try it.
> >
> > Of course, I've done many checks on the drive hosting the /usr
> > partition - no errors at all (the drive is only a few months old
> and
> a
> > good one (enterprise edition)).
> >
> > So, I suspect openrc. Might it be that this is a timing problem and
> > openrc doesn't check if the partition is mounted? Booting has
> worked
>
> > just flawlessly on that machine for more than a year. It looks as
> if
> a
> > recent version of openrc (currently 0.6.8) has generated this
> problem.
> >
> > Thanks for any hint,
> > Helmut.
> >
> >
>
> Hi Helmut,
>
> it would be interesting to know, whether /usr/sbin/acpid is really
> missing, when the boot fails.

The system allows me to login as root - though / is still mounted read 
only. And /usr isn't mounted. I can remount the root partition read/
write and then mount /usr. Now the file /usr/sbin/acpid is there (of 
course). Just reboot(ing) after that is not enough. Yes, I should try
to write something to the /usr partition instead of emerging something
and see if it helps.
>
> If it is not missing, the boot fails due to a mount problem and not
> the re-installing of acpid as such cures the problem, but what this
> installation is doing else.
> Or in other words: Any installation, which put someting into /usr
> cures the problem.
>
> If the mount of /usr is the problem, which arises from a timing
> problem than there is something done in parallel which should be done
> in sequence (and was previously done in sequence).
>
> I dont know openrc, but may be a setting in its configuration file
> regarding this aspect will cure the problem?

I'll search for such a configuration problem, otherwise I'll create a 
bug report.
>
> Good luck!
Probably, I do need that.
Many thanks,
Helmut.