Soft RAID won't boot after update [solved]

Hi everyone, I broke my system with an upgrade and have realised I have no idea what I'm doing at the ramfs prompt at all. The deal is this:
/dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 are (were?) RAID1 /boot
/dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdc2 are RAID1 /swap
/dec/sda3 /dev/sdb3 /dec/sdc3 are RAID5/LVM
I did an -Syu which hadn't been done for quite some time and it updated 432 packages. I noted there was a nasty looking warning about dmraid 1.5 so I set that package BACK to 1.4 to be safe. Unfortunately that didn't work, clearly, as I have encountered the problem I was trying to avoid. It appears to not be able to find any of the /dev/md* devices on boot and I get dumped at the ramfs prompt.
[edit] Specifically I get:
md: Will configure md0 (super-block) from /dev/sda3,/dev/sdb3,/dev/sdc3, below.
md: Loading md0: /dev/sda3
md: open failed - cannot start array /dev/md0
:: Running Hook [raid-partitions]
md: Will configure md0 (super-block) from /dev/sda3,/dev/sdb3,/dev/sdc3, below.
md: Loading md0: /dev/sda3
md: open failed - cannot start array /dev/md0
Root device '/dev/mapper/array-root' doesn't exist, attempting to create it
I can mount my drives but I still don't really know what to fix. I tried putting the 1.5 dmraid in. That hasn't helped yet.
Can someone point me some tips in the right direction?
Last edited by esh (2009-12-19 10:01:23)

Thanks saharchie, the live CD really helped. I can't do mount --bind in the emergency console so I couldn't figure out how to get the devfs remounted inside my chroot, but it seems that wasn't too hard in the live cd.
Also B, it was a year ago in October the system was installed. I haven't updated since then because of Python 2.6 issues with the vast quantity of department software. Yes, I guess that Arch probably wasn't the ideal choice for such a machine, but I do like it so
Anyway I appear to have magically found the issue. I think it is less of a dmraid update problem and more of an Arch update problem (or at least a feature change I was unaware of). The fix was editing /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and removing 'raid' and 'raid-partitions' from HOOKS and replacing it with 'mdadm', I then removed the md=0,... parameters from the kernel line in /boot/grub/menu.lst, and did a grub->root(hd0),setup(hd0,0) then did pacman -U kernel26... to reinstall the kernel which did all the initcpio magic for me, this time everything was found and it went merrily on its way.

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Software raid won't boot after updating to "mdadm" in mkinitcpio.conf

After a power outage I've discovetred the config I was using (with raid in mkinitcpio.conf) no longer works, it's mdadm now - that's fine. I've updated that and re-run mkinitcpio successfully, however my system is unable to boot from the root filesystem /dev/md2 like so:
Waiting for 10 seconds for device /dev/md2 ...
Root device '/dev/md2' doesn't exist. Attempting to create it.
ERROR: Unable to determine major/minor number of root device '/dev/md2'.
You are being dropped to a recovery shell
Type 'exit' to try and continue booting
/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off
[ramfs /]#
As far as I can see from reading various threads and http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ins … AID_or_LVM I'm doing the right things now (although I'm not using lvm at all, which makes the installation document a little confusing).
I think I've included all the appropriate bits of config here that should be working. I assume I've missed something fundamental - any ideas?
menu.lst:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux [/boot/vmlinuz26]
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/md2 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
mkinitcpio.conf:
HOOKS="base udev autodetect pata scsi mdadm sata filesystems"
fstab:
/dev/md1 /boot ext3 defaults 0 1
/dev/md2 / ext3 defaults 0 1
mdadm.conf
ARRAY /dev/md1 level=raid1 num-devices=2 metadata=0.90 UUID=7ae70fa6:9f54ba0a:21
47a9fe:d45dbc0c
ARRAY /dev/md2 level=raid1 num-devices=2 metadata=0.90 UUID=20560268:8a089af7:e6
043406:dbdabe38
Thanks!

Hi magec, that's quite helfpul - I've certainly got further.
Before I was doing this to set up the chroot (which is what is suggested in the wiki article about setting up software raid):
mdadm -A /dev/md1 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1
mdadm -A /dev/md2 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2
mount /dev/md2 /mnt
mount /dev/md1 /mnt/boot
mount -o bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
chroot /mnt /bin/bash
But based on your suggestion it's working better
mdadm -A /dev/md1 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1
mdadm -A /dev/md2 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2
mount /dev/md2 /mnt
mount /dev/md1 /mnt/boot
mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
mount -t sysfs none /mnt/sys
mount -n -t ramfs none /mnt/dev
cp -Rp /dev/* /mnt/dev
chroot /mnt /bin/bash
The boot is now getting further, but now I'm getting:
md: md2 stopped.
md: bind<sdb2>
md: bind<sda2>
raid1: raid set md2 active with 2 out of 2 mirrors
md2: detected capacity change from 0 to 32218349568
mdadm: /dev/md2 has been started with 2 drives.
md2: Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/md2 ...
unknown partition table
mount: mounting /dev/md2 on /new_root failed: No such device
ERROR: Failed to mount the real root device.
Bailing out, you are on your own. Good luck.
/bin/sh: can't access tty; job contol turned off
[ramfs /]#
The bit that really confuses me is this:
[ramfs /]# cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [raid1]
md2 : active raid1 sda2[0] sdb2[1]
31463232 blocks [2/2] [UU]
md1 : active raid1 sda1[0] sdb1[1]
208704 blocks [2/2] [UU]
unused devices: <none>
[ramfs /]# mount /dev/md2 /new_root
mount: mounting /dev/md2 on /new_root failed: No such file or directory
[ramfs /]# ls /dev/md2
/dev/md2
[ramfs /]#
So the array is up, the device node is there but it can't be mounted? Very strange.
Last edited by chas (2010-05-02 11:24:09)

Mac won't boot after updating to OSX 10.6.4

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Hi everyone,
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After installing the update to 10.6.8
What update was that?
So I put in my snow leopard dvd to boot into that, but I can't even get it to boot into the install dvd.
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There is no warrany anymore, and technical support would cost me 49 euros per incident..
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Hello
I bought used macbook 2007 late, and I try to update to LION, and everything was good, then os x give me chance to download updates. I downloaded about 2,3 gb and reset notebook.... Then it's started. It won't boot, just circle is spinning.... On app store i've search for fresh download and purchase but only mountain lion is there to buy.. What can i do now? Where can i find link for app store Lion to buy, so I can install trough recovery.

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I have also started it in the mode to see which disks are available and the HD icon appears but has a circle with an X in it at the lower side of the icon. It almost seams like the OS got corrupted.
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An install disc would really help. Besides eBay & such, You have to call Apple & ask for a Product Specialist to get it, if they still have it.
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http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
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Drive Genius 2…
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drive_genius.php
TechTool Pro 4…
http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=83
BTW, you might enjoy this DiskWarrior review/recommendation...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9645801&#9645801

MBP won't boot after update!

I've got a late 2006 model. I'm hoping my problem isn't related to a hardware failure. I left it on during the day, came home, the fan was running hard and it was really hot. Performance was slow, but everything worked.
it was asking me to restart for the latest update anyway and I'd been putting it off for a day or two, so I decided to restart and let it go through with that.
But now, it won't boot. It starts up with the grey screen, a bar starts filling at the bottom, gets maybe 1/10th of the way, blinks out then another bar appears, starts filling, gets a little further, then the machine shuts off. Exact same process every time I start it.
I'm not really familiar with what my options are here.

alphaflight wrote:
I've got about 300 GB of space, so that shouldn't be the issue.
No, that certainly isn't the issue! Just had to make sure.
If it's not a hardware issue which happened to coincide with the update, the update may be corrupted or not completed. If either is the case, and you have another Mac available, you can try downloading the update from Apple Support Downloads, booting the MBP into FireWire Target Disk Mode (if it will cooperate), and trying to install the update that way. I have not tried this method, so cannot say if it will work or not, but I would try it prior to the alternative, which is to reinstall the OS (or, better yet, clone a backup to the MBP).

Macbook pro won't boot after updating to 10.9.3

I ran the update to 10.9.3 yesterday. After reboot the Mail program gave me an error that it might not be compatible with the OS. I restarted, now I get the a progress bar. It goes for about 30 seconds then powers the macbook down.
Here's what I've tried.
1. Booting into recovery mode (both Internet recovery and regular recovery)
2. I cant repair permissions or repair the disk. It says that it needs to be reloaded, etc
3. I tried a reinstall. I'm getting a disk locked error on the Macintosh HD and recovery HD.
4. Can't boot into safe boot. I get a driver error and Mac OS Version: not set yet.
5. I tried Turning off Encryption. It won't turn off.
6. When I choose the startup disk to boot to, it still shows 10.9.2, even though the app store showed that 10.9.3 was installed.
Pretty much combed the forums, but I'm not really sure what to do at this point. The machine is out of warranty and I don't have another Mac to do any cloning, usb startup disks, etc. I made an appointment with the genius bar tomorrow but I wanted to see if there's something else I can try! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
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Do you have a Time Machine backup? If so, erase the disk and reinstall OS X. HOWEVER, DO NOT CONTINUE UNLESS YOU HAVE A TIME MACHINE BACKUP!!! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A BACKUP AND STILL DECIDE TO CONTINUE, BE AWARE THAT ALL YOUR DATA WILL BE LOST FOREVER!!!
Erase and Reinstall OS X
Note: This will delete all data on the disk. Back up important files before continuing.
Erasing and then reinstalling OS X can give you a fresh start, making your computer exactly as it was whenever you received it from Apple. This can solve various problems such as corrupt system files.
Shut down the computer by going to Apple () > Shut Down…
Select Shut Down or allow the computer to shut down automatically.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter into a power source and then connect it to your Mac if you have not already done so.
Press the Power Button to turn on the computer.
Press and hold both the R and Command (⌘) keys on the keyboard until the Recovery partition loads. If this does not work, shut down the computer, press the Power Button to turn on the computer, and then hold in the Alt (⌥) button immediately after you press the power button. Then, select the Recovery HD partition to boot up in the Recovery HD partition.
Select Disk Utility and then choose Continue.
Select your startup disk (Macintosh HD by default) from the left.
Select the Erase tab.
Choose the Format pop-up menu and choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled), enter a name for your disk, and then click Erase.
After the disk is erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.
Select Reinstall OS X and then choose Continue.
Follow the instructions.
I hope I helped.
Austin

Soft RAID won't boot after update [solved]

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