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    Dell bootloop chainloader problem

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    • E
      Erik Tank
      last edited by

      I am very new to all of this… the machines wouldn’t boot using the normal method Fog uses… that is why I started looking into this bootlooping/chainloader stuff. Does that answer the question?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • B
        BryceZ
        last edited by

        Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. I thought it was only some of your workstations/servers that were failing to boot properly. Can you post your /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default file? One other thing that comes to mind: what version of syslinux did you use to replace the files with? There were certain versions that had issues with chainloading.

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        • E
          Erik Tank
          last edited by

          I originally tried to use 5.x, but couldn’t figure out the needed files and resorted back to 4.05 since someone on a forum said that worked for them… I have since fallen back on 4.04 since that’s what some guides recommended… none seem to work for me.

          Here’s my default file:

          DEFAULT vesamenu.c32
          MENU TITLE FOG Computer Cloning Solution
          MENU BACKGROUND fog/bg.png
          MENU MASTER PASSWD $1$0123456789
          \n
          menu color title1;36;44 #ffffffff #00000000 std
          \n
          LABEL fog.local
          kernal chain.c32
          append hd0
          MENU DEFAULT
          MENU LABEL Boot from hard disk
          TEXT HELP
          Boot from the local hard drive.
          If you are unsure, select this option.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          LABEL fog.memtest
          kernel fog/memtest/memtest
          MENU LABEL Run Memtest86+
          TEXT HELP
          Run Memtest86+ on the client computer.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          LABEL fog.reg
          kernel fog/kernel/bzImage
          append initrd=fog/images/init.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 ip=dhcp dns=10.10.5.2 mode=autoreg web=10.10.5.88/fog/ loglevel=4
          MENU LABEL Quick Host Registration and Inventory
          TEXT HELP
          Automatically register the client computer,
          and perform a hardware inventory.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          LABEL fog.reginput
          kernel fog/kernel/bzImage
          append initrd=fog/images/init.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 ip=dhcp dns=10.10.5.2 mode=manreg web=10.10.5.88/fog/ loglevel=4
          MENU LABEL Perform Full Host Registration and Inventory
          TEXT HELP
          Perform a full host registration on the client
          computer, perform a hardware inventory, and
          optionally image the host.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          LABEL fog.quickimage
          MENU PASSWD $1$0123456789
          kernel fog/kernel/bzImage
          append initrd=fog/images/init.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 ip=dhcp dns=10.10.5.2 mode=quickimage keymap= web=10.10.5.88/fog/ loglevel=4
          MENU LABEL Quick Image
          TEXT HELP
          This mode will allow you to image this host quickly with
          it’s default assigned image.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          LABEL fog.sysinfo
          kernel fog/kernel/bzImage
          append initrd=fog/images/init.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 ip=dhcp dns=10.10.5.2 mode=sysinfo loglevel=4
          MENU LABEL Client System Information
          TEXT HELP
          View basic client information such as MAC address
          and FOG compatibility.
          ENDTEXT

          LABEL fog.debug
          MENU PASSWD $1$0123456789
          kernel fog/kernel/bzImage
          append initrd=fog/images/init.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 ip=dhcp dns=10.10.5.2 mode=onlydebug
          MENU LABEL Debug Mode
          TEXT HELP
          Debug mode will load the boot image and load a prompt so
          you can run any commands you wish.
          ENDTEXT
          \n
          PROMPT 0
          TIMEOUT 30\n

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          • B
            BryceZ
            last edited by

            OK, everything looks good there, so let’s check the BIOS.

            In the BIOS, under Settings -> General -> Boot Sequence, is the Boot List Option set to Legacy? Also, under Settings -> System Configuration -> SATA Operation, is it set to AHCI? Not sure how those settings might affect chainloading, but they seem like they might play a role.

            Another point to consider, these workstations/servers, are they using the onboard ports or are they configured in some sort of RAID?

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            • E
              Erik Tank
              last edited by

              I’m not sure about the boot list option - I don’t recall seeing anything called legacy. I’m sure they are AHCI and not RAID. The server is RAID, but the server also wasn’t even supposed to be on pxe boot. 😉

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              • B
                BryceZ
                last edited by

                At this point I’m not sure where the problem is. I have a couple hundred 790’s using the syslinux 4.04 files and the same fog.local option in the default file.

                I would suggest backing up your /tftpboot directory and copying the original tftp directory from the installer in its place, and then walking through the steps in the wiki again using syslinux 4.04.

                Sometimes the quickest fix is to just go back and do it again.

                … And then I just had a thought; check the permissions on those files you replaced. I’m not sure how it would affect the boot process if it tried to call chain.c32 and found it couldn’t because of permissions, but that might be it.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • E
                  Erik Tank
                  last edited by

                  I checked the permissions, even used chmod 777 to give everyone access to those files - still repeatedly counts down from 3 at the graphical menu. I copied the files from the installers tftp directory, but then the menu was the non-graphical version (?) and it still rebooted the system instead of booting off the hard drive.

                  So next, I got a totally different server, fresh install of everything, same results (reboots without syslinux patch, menu countdown never ends with syslinux patch)

                  I’m not sure what to do or try next… Any help is greatly appreciated.

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                  • B
                    BryceZ
                    last edited by

                    OK, I just reread through your default file very closely…

                    Is the line:
                    kernal chain.c32
                    Or:
                    kernel chain.c32

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                    • E
                      Erik Tank
                      last edited by

                      Bryce, you just made my day. That was definitely the problem. YAY!!

                      Thanks for being my hero for the day!

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • N
                        nshapter
                        last edited by

                        I am astounded that I had this exact problem, and found this answer six months later.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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