bugGNU GRUB - Bugs: bug #26954, grub-install on usb drive:...

 
 

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bug #26954: grub-install on usb drive: "Your embedding area is unusually small. core.img"

Submitter:  Peter <peterius>
Submitted:  Sat 04 Jul 2009 02:52:50 AM UTC
   
 
Category:  Disk & Partition Severity:  Major
Priority:  5 - Normal Item Group:  Software Error
Status:  Wont Fix Privacy:  Public
Assigned to:  None Originator Name:  Peter
Open/Closed:  Closed Release:  Bazaar - trunk
Release:  svn Reproducibility:  Every Time
Planned Release:  None

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Sat 16 Oct 2010 09:39:31 PM UTC, comment #8: 

I documented this in info manual

Vladimir Serbinenko <phcoder>
Group administrator
Mon 30 Nov 2009 10:11:28 PM UTC, comment #7: 

The "workaround mentality" comes from the fact that there are no clear suggestions for how to resolve the problem.  The error message is fairly opaque, even though i think i have a decent grasp of what's going on.

It sounds to me like you're saying that the right solution is to create a new partition table on the device with different (better?) parameters.  This would most likely destroy the data currently on the device, right?

I ended up taking this route, by creating a new partition table with 63 sectors per trac with a single VFAT partition on it:


 umount /dev/sdc1
 fdisk -S 63 /dev/sdc
   o
   n
   1

   t
   c
   w
 mkfs -t vfat /dev/sdc1

 
Could you suggest how to make a GPT with BIOS boot partition? Would i use parted for that?

Could the grub-setup error message in this case be friendlier?

What about something like "You could provide more space for embedding by changing your partitioning scheme, though this may put data on the drive in question at risk (see parted(8), for example)" ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS_Boot_Partition_%28GPT%29 suggests that you need parted 2.0 in order to make a BIOS Boot Partition, but http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/download.shtml suggests that version 1.9.0 is the latest stable version.

I don't see how to make a GPT with a BIOS Boot Partition, i'm afraid.

Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg>
Mon 30 Nov 2009 08:47:14 PM UTC, comment #6: 


> Any suggestions for what can be done to work around this?


What's with this workaround mentality?  Just fix the actual problem: your embedding area is unusually small.

Best approach is IMO use GPT with a BIOS Boot Partition.

Robert Millan <robertmh>
Group administrator
Mon 30 Nov 2009 07:57:39 PM UTC, comment #5: 

in #27406, petrius wrote:

   because the usb drive I was using was 32 sectors/track. I didn't even know that could be an issue.

It looks like the USB stick i'm using has the same issue, according to fdisk -l:

  1. pip:~# fdisk -l /dev/sdc


Disk /dev/sdc: 1031 MB, 1031798784 bytes
16 heads, 32 sectors/track, 3936 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 512 * 512 = 262144 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1               1        3936     1007600    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)

  1. pip:~#


Any suggestions for what can be done to work around this?

Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg>
Mon 30 Nov 2009 07:51:58 PM UTC, comment #4: 

I'm also seeing this problem right now on a 1GB USB stick with lots of space available.  I'm using 1.97~beta3-1 on a debian squeeze system:

  1. pip:~# grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sdc

grub-setup: warn: Your embedding area is unusually small.  core.img won't fit in it.
grub-setup: warn: Embedding is not possible.  GRUB can only be installed in this setup by using blocklists.  However, blocklists are UNRELIABLE and its use is discouraged.
grub-setup: error: Cannot read `/grub/core.img' correctly
1 pip:~#

  1. pip:~# grep sdc /proc/partitions

   8       32    1007616 sdc
   8       33    1007600 sdc1

  1. pip:~# df -h /mnt

Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdc1             983M   76M  907M   8% /mnt

  1. pip:~#


Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg>
Fri 14 Aug 2009 10:26:35 PM UTC, comment #3: 

I'm still getting the same error.  I just did svn update.  Should I have done something like -AdP like with cvs?

Peter <peterius>
Fri 14 Aug 2009 08:32:47 AM UTC, comment #2: 

We fixed a bug that caused this false error to be reported.  Please update, and you'll get the correct one.

Robert Millan <robertmh>
Group administrator
Sat 04 Jul 2009 03:30:41 AM UTC, comment #1: 

More info.  The usb disk is 256 mbs and /dev/sdb1 Win95 FAT32 partition starts at "32" whereas the core.img grub-install is trying to put on there is "47".

So I guess this might not be a bug, but I'm wondering where the "core.img" is or if the grub-mkimage makes it from some configuration file, where that configuration file is and how I can lighten it up on the size, if that's the issue.

Peter <peterius>
Sat 04 Jul 2009 02:52:50 AM UTC, original submission:  

grub-install --root-directory=/media/usb0 /dev/sdb

The drive is 8% full, its fairly large.  I might be using the software wrong.

It asks me if I want to --force blocklists but I don't know what those are and I can't imagine that would be necessary.  I was thinking about wandering through the source code to figure out what the issue is, but I want to make sure its not me doing something stupid first.  No matter how many times I've installed boot loaders, I still have to look up a dozen FAQs to remember how.

Peter <peterius>

 

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    Follow 4 latest changes.

    Date Changed by Updated Field Previous Value => Replaced by
    2010-10-16 phcoder StatusNone Wont Fix
        Open/ClosedOpen Closed
        Releaseother Bazaar - trunk
    2009-11-30 robertmh ReleaseNone other

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