Bugzilla – Bug 329702
yast2-repair module broken
Last modified: 2008-03-12 19:17:42 UTC
yast2-repair doesn't run on GM because of recent change in the API of yast2-bootloader (ReadFiles function from lib_iface.ycp called from bootloader_routines.ycp) Olaf, which parameter should yast2-repair use while calling this function? The fix is probably easy, the update of GM most probably not. We should release an online update for yast2-repair, but the main problem is the module that is present on installation media (used to start Repair instead of installation). Is it possible to fix this (using driver-update disk)?
We can provide a special rescue medium that is a mini ISO to download. Not nice, but has to be good enough.
OK, once I have the package ready, should I just create the patchinfo? Or who will be responsible for that new medium?
AJ and Michl decided that we will fix this in including a fixed rescue in the 11.0 alphas. So no special medium.
Are you going to include the repair fix for 304657 in this as well? Good opportunity.
ad comment 4: This makes using repair for 10.3 mostly unusable, because it requires the same system on CD as is the one being repaired. If something changes again in the partitioning, bootloader or libzypp area, 11.0 based repair would want to fix the system to fit the 11.0 state... comment 5: With 11.0, I hope so. But not as an update for 10.3.
*** Bug 333514 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 331532 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
If I may, let me comment on this, flaming included: How on earth is it possible, that 10.3 has been released in such a state ? Let me compare the dysfunctional repair system with a fighter jet without an ejector seat and parachute, going on a hike through death valley and forgetting the water, getting married and forgetting the wedding rings.... The contents of the boot menu is one of the first things people see and have to use, and not even that works 100% - not even 75%. How do you think people feel if the need to use this feature, say after something goes wrong with the update from 10.2, and that bloody friggin' thing just won't work. This distro should concentrate on quality, stability and reliability. So instead of e.g. including this still rather unusable kde4-preview just to get the dvd iso full, somebody should have taken the 5 minutes to test this damn repair system. And if it doesn't work, don't put it on there. Some people should be glad I don't know where they live...
*** Bug 334044 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Created attachment 178890 [details] It really isn't fixed There is a lot of difference between 'running' and 'fixed'. I would not consider the Yast Repair program, much less the GM release repair to be fixed. It can 'fix' most things only by preparing them for a complete reformat and hopefully a 10.2 copy of SuSE laying around to bail you out. This really needs to be revisited guys.
You are mixing more issues here. _This bug_ is marked as FIXED, which means the problem reported here is fixed (well, partially, it is available via online update but not on installation medias - see discussion in this bug). It does not mean that the module itself is bugfree and especially for bug 304657 I already wrote you that it cannot be done for 10.3.
Hmmm. fixed ... but no solution for openSUSE-10.3 users who paid money for the retail DVD. Not a pleasant fix. I guess a re-install is thus on the cards for any who needs to do a repair. Best advise everyone to keep even better backups than normal. Anyway, for those who have an MBR problem like I had, then may I recommend the following non-Novell/SUSE solution (in order not to have to re-install their SUSE): http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/?section=download Of course if there is a better solution, I would happily read of it. :) ... has anyone at Novell/SuSE GmbH given any thought to the recommendation to create a 10.3 specific wiki entry as an interim (with suggested work arounds), or is that up to the opensource support community for SUSE?
*** Bug 339425 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 341842 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I just want to add one more arguments to the thread discussion. There are fiercy OpenSuse challenger out there. If a user see that a repair option is present but not usuable and that it can't fix its DVD installation so he can be sure to recover its system in case of a problem, maybe this user will consider another Linux Distro that at least have some repair option available and working. Maybe the small iso is not a nice option (well it could be a project by itself using the Live DVD, why not?), but I am thinking of 2 options: - Make the LiveDVD have the fix so the user can use it to troubleshoot and fixe his issues - Have a delta iso that have the fix, so the user who have downloaded the iso or want to create a new one can have the choise to update its media in order to have a the repair option available. At least, some options have to exist and have to be avaialbe to the end user, whatever he will use them or not.
*** Bug 343650 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Excuse my ignorance Gentlemen but after reading through these 18 comments at least one half dozen times I fail to see just where or how this bug can possibly have a Status/Resolution of RESOLVED/FIXED for 10.3 users. Would someone be so kind as to point out to me what I have so sorely missed here? Comment #18 belongs to me and since it was marked as a duplicate I am EXPECTING so see a 10.3 resolution here and I DO NOT. Blah, blah, blah, I still have absolutely no way to recover a borked MBR or whatever from a removable media source! Partition backups in hand we still need recovery media JUST IN CASE! And, with regard to comment #9; Robert, you could do a lot us a lot of good if you would put the same comment in Printing (CUPS/YaST/HP/HPLIP) and Floppies (haven't had a "working" internal 3.5"/1.44MB floppy since 9.3)!
This "FIXED" is totally bogus. The error clearly states that this bug is against the 'yast2-repair module broken' according to the Summary. The API that calls it in the GM release is also broken on the DVD. What they fixed was the call to the API and they did NOT release anything that addressed the fact that until you have a successful install, their 'fix' isn't available because you have no way to invoke it unless you use another distro or if you are lucky, an earlier version of SuSE that hopefully still works. THEN, this fix would call the yast2-repair module, WHICH IS STILL BROKEN so much of what you would use a repair program for simply won't work properly even with this patch that you can't use off the broken DVD. Some parts of the repair module do work, but major portions are STILL broken and as of this moment, unresolved. So, they closed (resolved-fixed) this bug because they came up with a patch you can download once you sucessfully install 10.3 and don't really need the DVD repair program anyhow. Using other words, SEMANTICS not solutions to the underlying problems. Read back to comments 2 or 3 or so and you will see the suggested fix was vetoed by 'the boss' in favor of waiting until version 11.0. It costs little or nothing to delete a bad ISO image on the servers and replace it with a fixed version that can be burned by paying and non-paying user/customers alike, but for a reason I can't fathom, that rational course of action was rejected. Now, the world knows that 10.3 GM is broken as distributed and worse, the attitude is 'live with it'. Don't get me wrong, I love SuSE, What I don't love is continuing to make bad decisions and sacrifice quality for expediency. Version 10.3 is arguably the best version yet in many ways, but the big purple wart on the end of its' nose is VERY evident. Richard
As already wrote above, that "FIXED" is related to the fact that the fixed version of yast2-repair was released as online update, so it is available for users who want to run it from installed system. Yes, it doesn't help the users who are not able to boot the system, as stated in early comments. But AFAIK there will be driver update disk released, that should fix even this problem. And please, do not mix more problems into one report. That doesn't help with finding solutions.
(In reply to comment #21 from Jiří Suchomel) > As already wrote above, that "FIXED" is related to the fact that the fixed > version of yast2-repair was released as online update, so it is available for > users who want to run it from installed system. Yes, it doesn't help the users > who are not able to boot the system, as stated in early comments. My point EXACTLY, nothing is fixed. The people that need it the most can't use it > But AFAIK > there will be driver update disk released, that should fix even this problem. > Here we are, months after the GM release and that has not happened either so the many people that downloaded the GM release who have a problem and cannot get 10.3 to boot (and thus cannot download the 'fix' either have NO way to fix their problem except to use Knoppix or other repair method. The repair program on the GM release disk IS NOT FIXED, a substitute (remastered disk) was never released, a 'driver update disk' to use your words, was not released, the repair options using released 10.3 GM disks depend on successful installs followed by successful downloads of patches which don't fix underlying problems in the repair modules anyhow, only the API that allows you to call it which doesn't really matter because you have already had to use other means to fix the system in order to be able to do the download and patch in the first place. > And please, do not mix more problems into one report. That doesn't help with > finding solutions. > I wasn't the one that characterized this bug report as "yast2-repair module broken", If you wanted to limit it so it was unambiguous then perhaps you could have said 'API calling repair module fails on GM release' or some such, but when you say the yast2-repair module is broken, you are right, it is and it still is even with the patch to enable calling it. The patch only enables calling a still broken module that doesn't do many of the things a repair module is supposed to do. Don't get on my case for managements' bad decisions or for having been the one to characterize this bug as 'yast2-repair module broken'. I only maintain that to say it is resolved is SEMANTICS. To properly resolve 'the proper bug' would have been to implement Comment #1 at a minimum, ideally to simply remaster the GM and the problem would have been moot.
*** Bug 358378 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 362042 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 362515 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
(In reply to comment #13 from Lee Matheson) > ... has anyone at Novell/SuSE GmbH given any thought to the recommendation to > create a 10.3 specific wiki entry as an interim (with suggested work arounds), > or is that up to the opensource support community for SUSE? Reference this comment #13, a "work around" wiki was created for openSUSE-10.3 users who overwrite their grub: http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Howto_repair_boot_manager_Grub_on_opensuse_10.3
Another simple workaround that worked for me: - start the installation from DVD as usual - click on "abort" installation at first opportunity - a red text mode windows appears stating installation problems - OK - text mode installation appears - select "boot installed system" - select your root directory (/dev/sda2 in my case) in the selection box appearing then - system boots with the installation kernel using the files on on the root directory (most of the needed modules are already loaded) - repair grub with YaST or edit the files manually
*** Bug 368721 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***