zfsbootmenu loop

[bobblkabb]

I have installed according to the instructions Void Linux Single disk syslinux MBR (encrypted), but I end up in a loop in the zfsbootmenu.
When I press return the timer starts again at 5s.
What could have gone wrong here?

[Dragon-debian]

does it import any pool?
whats wrote on screen?
press Esc and execute zpool list. does it show any imported pool?

[zdykstra]

There's only one 5 second loop in ZFSBootMenu, and that's when it can't import any pools. There's an option to drop to a recovery shell via the escape key. Once you're in the recovery shell please run zpool import and zpool list and relay exactly what the commands show.

[bobblkabb]

does it import any pool? whats wrote on screen? press Esc and execute zpool list. does it show any imported pool?

There's only one 5 second loop in ZFSBootMenu, and that's when it can't import any pools. There's an option to drop to a recovery shell via the escape key. Once you're in the recovery shell please run zpool import and zpool list and relay exactly what the commands show.

It says "Loading zpool ... Failed, no file or directory".
When should the encryption kick in btw? Before or after zfsbootmenu?..

[zdykstra]

Please reboot your system and tell me exactly what countdown screen shows. We can go from there once you've confirmed the basics.

[bobblkabb]

Please reboot your system and tell me exactly what countdown screen shows. We can go from there once you've confirmed the basics.

I see the "Boot Menu".
There are a few entries in the meantime because I tried to fix it. So now I have

ZFSBootMenu 1.12.0_5
ZFSBootMenu 1.12.0_4
ZFSBootMenu 1.12.0_3
ZFSBootMenu 1.12.0_2

And on the bottom there's a timer counting from 5 to 0 over and over.

[zdykstra]

Okay, you're stuck in syslinux and not ZFSBootMenu. That's a completely different problem that is very difficult to debug. Does your system not support UEFI ?

[bobblkabb]

The laptop is a little older and I couldn't get UEFI work on it. System wasn't recognized, it always jumped to the next available boot option. Installed it a few times.
I installed the pre-build zfsbootmenu binary. refind-install gave me an error and suggested to rename refind_x64.efi to bootx64.efi, which I did. It also showed some efi variable errors. efivar-tester said it doesn't support efi variables or so.
Fiddled with Bios settings (CSM -> enabled/disabled) but without success.

[zdykstra]

Unfortunately, syslinux can be very hit-or-miss. The only suggest I have would be to do the following:

• Rename /boot/syslinux/zfsbootmenu to /boot/syslinux/zbm on your syslinux partition.
• Edit /etc/zfsbootmenu/config.yaml and change ImageDir to /boot/syslinux/zbm.
• Re-run generate-zbm and after that, verify that /boot/syslinux/syslinux.conf has the corrected paths in the file.

If that doesn't work, you'll have to dig around external syslinux documentation to see if you can find any clues as to what might be going wrong.

[bobblkabb]

There is only /boot/syslinux - nothing inside! So here's the problem!

Or did I do anything wrong to access the system?:

1. Boot hrmpf system from USB
2. xbps-reconfigure -a
   modprobe zfs
3. zpool import -N -R /mnt zroot
   zfs load-key -L prompt zroot
   zfs mount zroot/ROOT/void
   zfs mount zroot/home
4. mount -t proc proc /mnt/proc
   mount -t sysfs sys /mnt/sys
   mount -B /dev /mnt/dev
   mount -t devpts pts /mnt/dev/pts
   chroot /mnt /bin/bash

[zdykstra]

You wouldn't see a syslinux menu with ZFSBootMenu items in it if that were the case. You just need to mount the partition/filesystem that holds /boot/syslinux. Probably /dev/sda1.

[bobblkabb]

It's on sda1 - of course!
Now I renamed, edited and checked but still the same behavior.

Maybe I should try to install it on different hardware.

[Dragon-debian]

@bobblkabb
can you put the config.yaml content here?

[bobblkabb]

config.yaml:

Global:
  ManageImages: true
  BootMountPoint: /boot/syslinux
  DracutConfDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/dracut.conf.d
  PreHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.pre.d
  PostHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.post.d
Components:
  ImageDir: /boot/syslinux/zbm
  Versions: 3
  Enabled: true
  syslinux:
    Config: /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg
    Enabled: true
EFI:
  ImageDir: /boot/efi/EFI/void
  Versions: false
  Enabled: false
Kernel:
  CommandLine: ro quiet loglevel=0

[Dragon-debian]

your config.yaml seems ok.

It's on sda1 - of course! Now I renamed, edited and checked but still the same behavior.

Maybe I should try to install it on different hardware.

generate-zbm unmounts $BootMountPoint after its job is done, if it wasnt mounted before running generate-zbm.

mount /boot/syslinux somewhere (e.g. /mnt) and list its content. according to your config.yaml, there should be at least a syslinux.cfg in there, plus zbm directory which holds kernel and initramfs of ZFSBootMenu.

check syslinux.cfg content and see if it matches the available kernel and initramfs pairs.

[bobblkabb]

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
ls -l /mnt/sda1

--> syslinux.cfg is in it and there's also that subfolder zbm:

[ahesford]

Try changing "KERNEL" to "LINUX" in your syslinux.cfg.

[bobblkabb]

Didn't work, still the same. Or do I need to execute a command after I changed it?

[Dragon-debian]

Try to load the kernel and initramfs manually.
In syslinux menu, press Escape, you should see a boot: prompt. type this, it should load the kernel and initramfs. see what happens.

.linux /zbm/vmlinuz-1.12.0_13 initrd=/zbm/initramfs-1.12.0_13.img

you may need to replace 1.12.0_13 with something else.
use ls /zbm in syslinux to find the right name

[bobblkabb]

Loading manually doesn't work - 'no directory / file found..'.
'ls' show syslinux.cfg and many other files. There's also the zbm folder but when I do 'ls /zbm' or 'cd zbm' it fails, 'no such file or directory' (?!)
When I boot the system via hrmpf I can access this folder.

[ahesford]

I have seen this issue before and am not aware of a solution. Things you can try:

• Move the ZBM kernel and initramfs out of zbm and into the syslinux root
• Try replacing the ext4 Stalinist partition with another filesystem that suslinux can read; maybe ext3 or ext2 will give you more luck.

In any event, this is definitely a syslinux problem. If you want to keep discussing this, please take this up in the "Discussions" page above, or join us on IRC at #zfsbootmenu on libera.chat.

[bobblkabb]

I'm getting a bit closer to it. In fact, it doesn't work with ext4. I tried a second time and then chose ext3.

However, I now encounter the next problem: after the zfs boot menu, I get to a screen where it says in the middle that you can boot with Return and get to the boot menu with ESC. Here, the system no longer accepts keyboard input. After the timeout, the password is requested (Enter passphrase for 'zroot':). Here, too, no input is accepted.

[Dragon-debian]

try fat or vfat (fat32) for syslinux partition. Im using ZFSBootMenu + syslinux on an old machine (from 2007). the syslinux partition is formated with vfat.
also enable usb keyboard support in bios if there is any. I wasnt able to use keyboard in syslinux until I enabled that.

[bobblkabb]

Formated sda1 to vfat but still the same.
Toggled those Bios settings:

Legacy USB Support - Enabled/Disabled
USB Port - Enabled/Disabled
XHCI Controller Setting - Standard/Compatible
Under 'Intel Management Engine Configuration':
USB Provisioning - Enabled/Disabled

[bobblkabb]

I'll try another UEFI installation. Made progress on a different laptop.

[bobblkabb]

Again, laptop ignores keyboard input.

[bobblkabb]

Bios Update didn't help. Was nearly 5 years old, over 10 iterations.

[ahesford]

These are not ZBM problems, but a dracut problem. You are either missing keyboard support in the ZBM dracut image or the keyboard is not properly configured. On some laptops, to get the keyboard working in the initramfs, I need to play around with some of the i8042 module options. On a modern laptop, I use

i8042.dumbkbd i8042.noaux i8042.nomux

There are many other options; modinfo i8042 will show you descriptions.

[bobblkabb]

Great. That's it. Thanks! Keyboard works.
Now I'm getting the same error like described here on a second laptop.