Option/Extra disk

Issues related to hardware problems
Centie140
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Joined: 2018/04/20 18:44:43

Option/Extra disk

Post by Centie140 » 2018/04/23 18:28:42

Hi...

I had a working Centos 7 system. I tried to update the NVidia Quadro 600 driver and somehow trashed the system (would not boot).

So now I have a fresh Centos 7 system.

How can I mount the first disk as an option/extra disk on the new fresh system? I want to retrieve the /home directory.

Thanks!
JK

tunk
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Joined: 2017/02/22 15:08:17

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by tunk » 2018/04/23 19:12:47

What's the output of: fdisk -l

Centie140
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Joined: 2018/04/20 18:44:43

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by Centie140 » 2018/04/24 12:08:35

When both disks are attached the system will not boot. Maybe because they both have boot partitions? I tried excluding the trashed disk in the bios as a boot device but that made no diff.

I had Clonezilla laying around and used that to see the disks:

sudo fdisk -l

Device Boot .... Type
/dev/sda1 * .... Linux
/dev/sda2 .... Linux LVM

Device Boot .... Type
/dev/sdb1 * .... Linux
/dev/sdb2 .... Linux LVM

tunk
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Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by tunk » 2018/04/24 12:19:31

Could you try to switch the cables of the two disks and see if it boots from the new installation?
I don't have any experience with LVM, so I don't know how to show or mount any LVM partitions.

Centie140
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Joined: 2018/04/20 18:44:43

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by Centie140 » 2018/04/24 12:37:23

Switching cables did not make any difference. Here's what happens with both disks attached:

[ OK ] Started Show Plymouth Boot Screen.
[ OK ] Reached target Paths.
[ OK ] Reached target Basic Systems.

Hangs there a while then a whole stream of these warnings

[ 187.157976] dracut-initqueue[287]: Warning: dracut-initqueue timeout - starting timeout scripts
[ 187.158377] dracut-initqueue[287]: Warning: Could not boot
[ 187.159565] dracut-initqueue[287]: Warning: /dev/centos/root does not exist
[ 187.159897] dracut-initqueue[287]: Warning: /dev/centos/swap does not exist
[ 187.160232] dracut-initqueue[287]: Warning: /dev/mapper/centos-root does not exist
Starting Dracut Emergency shell . . .
(more warnings like above)

dracut:/#

After I logout of dracut nothing happens.

tunk
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Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by tunk » 2018/04/24 12:50:13

On many PCs there's an option at boot to select which device to boot from (typically one of the function keys).
Or you may try to reset the bios to default values.

Centie140
Posts: 7
Joined: 2018/04/20 18:44:43

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by Centie140 » 2018/04/24 12:54:50

Thanks. Tried that. No difference.

I suspect the problem is further down the line. I was just reading up on dracut, and it appears to build some sort of RAM based filesystem for the impending boot.

I also wonder if deleting the boot partition on the trashed disk would help, or if that would render the disk unusable. Not sure what tool to use to try that either.

tunk
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Joined: 2017/02/22 15:08:17

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by tunk » 2018/04/24 13:09:00

Boot from Clonezilla and mount both /home partitions and then copy.
Or put the old disk in an USB enclosure and plug it in after you booted from the new installation, and then mount it.

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TrevorH
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Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by TrevorH » 2018/04/24 13:15:41

Did you clone the old disk to the new one? That would cause this problem since all the filesystem and partition UUIDs will be the same and it will not know which one it should use so won't use either in case the one it picks is the wrong one.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

Centie140
Posts: 7
Joined: 2018/04/20 18:44:43

Re: Option/Extra disk

Post by Centie140 » 2018/04/24 13:42:52

No, I didn't clone the disks. Both installs were from a DVD made from the latest ISO image.

I'm going to try tunk's latest suggestion.

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