Syslinux - Oct 2017 - Unable to find linux kernel on ext4, filesystem-related root cause assumed

> On 10/10/17 12:28, Manuel Wagesreither via Syslinux wrote:
> > Dear all,
> > 
> > I'm working on a shell script which is producing a bootable image
file. It contains a populated MBR and a single file system (ext4) which again
contains a debootstrabed debian stable distribution.

> > Used versions:
> > extlinux 6.03
> > QEMU emulator version 2.8.1(Debian 1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u2)
> > 
> > Help or advice is much appreciated,
> > best regards,
> > Manuel
> > 
> 
> Please try the latest 6.04-preX or even better, if you have the ability,
> build it from the git tree and test.
> 
> 	-hpa
> 
 
 
The problem with ext4 (e2fsprogs 1.43+) is explicitly mentioned in the 
wiki, with workarounds.

A patch for Syslinux was proposed by Paulo. It was ignored.

Regards,
Ady.

Am Mi, 11. Okt 2017, um 01:34, schrieb Ady Ady via
Syslinux:
> 
> > On 10/10/17 12:28, Manuel Wagesreither via Syslinux wrote:
> > > Dear all,
> > > 
> > > I'm working on a shell script which is producing a bootable
image file. It contains a populated MBR and a single file system (ext4) which
again contains a debootstrabed debian stable distribution.
> 
> 
> 
> > > Used versions:
> > > extlinux 6.03
> > > QEMU emulator version 2.8.1(Debian 1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u2)
> > > 
> > > Help or advice is much appreciated,
> > > best regards,
> > > Manuel
> > > 
> > 
> > Please try the latest 6.04-preX or even better, if you have the
ability,
> > build it from the git tree and test.
> > 
> > 	-hpa
> > 
>  
>  
> The problem with ext4 (e2fsprogs 1.43+) is explicitly mentioned in the 
> wiki, with workarounds.
> 
> A patch for Syslinux was proposed by Paulo. It was ignored.
> 
> Regards,
> Ady.
I found the wiki page you were referring to [1] and followed the mentioned
advise, that is, I created the ext4 filesystem without the '64bit'
feature. It worked! Booting is possible now.

Unfortunately I did not find that wiki page when I was conducting my own
research. There were some locations were I suspected this kind of information
(namely the "Common Problems" [2] and the "EXTLINUX" page
[3]) but couldn't find any.

Thank you for your help!

Best regards
Manuel

[1] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=Filesystem
[2] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=Common_Problems
[3] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=EXTLINUX

> I found the wiki page you were referring to [1] and followed the
> mentioned advise, that is, I created the ext4 filesystem without the
> '64bit' feature. It worked! Booting is possible now. 
> 
> Unfortunately I did not find that wiki page when I was conducting my
> own research. There were some locations were I suspected this kind
> of information (namely the "Common Problems" [2] and the
"EXTLINUX"
> page [3]) but couldn't find any. 
> 
> Thank you for your help!
> 
> Best regards
> Manuel
> 
> [1] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=Filesystem
> [2] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=Common_Problems
> [3] http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=EXTLINUX
 
 
Thank you for the feedback.

There is no way to effectively cover every-and-all possible situations 
/ messages / behaviors / problems as seen by users, all in one place; 
it would make it impractical for readers and, therefore, useless.

FWIW, both pages, [2] and [3], include link(s) to [1]. And, there is a 
search box in the wiki. IMHO, for the purpose of documenting and 
helping (different kinds of) users by means of the wiki, these are 
adequate.

I will take this opportunity to mention some curiosities.

Relevant developer(s) in Debian have already known about this ext4 
matter for quite some time, but they consciously choose not to add 
information in the relevant bug report in Debian's bug tracker. They 
also actively choose not to implement any workaround nor provide any 
kind of information to its users. (Please note that Debian is not alone 
in this one; I only mention it here because of OP's scenario.)

On the side of Syslinux's development, the complete lack of any minimal 
relevant action about this matter is very disappointing, especially 
considering that:
_ it has been brought up more than once during the last few years (at 
least since 2014), 
_ it has been considered as "high priority" for The Syslinux Project, 
_ and a potential patch has been proposed, with not even a reply to 
ack.

It is interesting to me that the only thing that actually helped, at 
least at some level, is the content of the wiki, even when some users 
don't seem to find the information as soon/easy as they wished. I'm 
glad the proposed workaround helped.

Regards,
Ady.