I just realized that I never updated the list on this project. I did as Karl suggested, except skipped the --simulate step (got impatient). Everything worked absolutely flawlessly, except my attempt to write LILO to the new drive without a floppy boot. I tried changing /etc/lilo.conf to write to /dev/hdb (which soon became /dev/hda) but the boot stopped at LI. So I booted with the rescue disk, used root=/dev/hda, and re-edited lilo.conf.
(Minor note: it might be useful to have a LILO option to write to somewhere that seems counterintuitive at the time. In this case, it would have been nice to be able to write a lilo configuration pointing at /dev/hda to what was then /dev/hdb.) Thanks for everyone's help. The machine is now happily humming along and the dead drive is now a paperweight. ap ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew J Perrin - http://www.unc.edu/~aperrin Assistant Professor of Sociology, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill [EMAIL PROTECTED] * andrew_perrin (at) unc.edu On Mon, 13 May 2002, Karl E. Jorgensen wrote: > On Mon, May 13, 2002 at 09:48:49AM -0400, Andrew Perrin wrote: > > Greetings- > > > > I have a machine currently running potato. It has four IDE drives in > > it. /dev/hda does nothing important; it's an old (probably 1993 or > > 1994) 1.2G whose sole role in life at this point is to have an MBR with > > LILO to boot DOS, NT, or (99% of the time) Debian. > > > > That drive is quickly dying, and when it dies it brings down the IDE bus > > and therefore the system. So I need to get rid of it. I'd like to upgrade > > to woody at the same time. > > If I was doing that, I would prefer to keep the woody upgrade separate > from moving disks around. Take a break in between, so you can ensure > that everything is working OK (= food & drink) and do a backup. One > thing at a time. > > By the way: If in any doubt whatsoever: keep off-line backups :-) > > > Here's my plan; any comments or advice are welcome. > > > > 1.) Back up /etc to somewhere safe > > 2.) Edit /etc/fstab: > > change all references to /dev/hdb* to /dev/hda* > > remove references to (unused) filesystems on what is now /dev/hda > > change references to /dev/hdc* to /dev/hdb* > > change references to /dev/hdd* to /dev/hdc* > > As others have mentioned, you need not worry about hdc & hdd. > > > (cdrom and zip drive are SCSI so not relevant to this process) > > 3.) Edit /etc/lilo.conf to point linux to /dev/hda instead of /dev/hdb > > 4.) Write /etc/lilo.conf to the MBR of the current /dev/hdb (about to > > become /dev/hda). THIS IS THE STEP I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO. > > 5.) Power down > > 6.) Remove current /dev/hda > > 7.) Rejumper current /dev/hdb as master > > 8.) Power back up > > What about this plan instead? It's longer and probably slower, but *I* > would feel more comfortable with it, as each step can be (relatively) > easily double-checked. But most importantly: It will be relatively easy > to go back as well: > > [ Disclaimer: This stuff is Not Tested. Read, validate and make sense of > it (!) before applying it. Keep backups. ] > > 1) Make sure that all data on /dev/hda is copied away from /dev/hda: > - /boot should copied to /dev/hdb (if it is a separate partition) > - / should be copied to /dev/hdb (rsync?) > As you have guessed, the idea is to create duplicate file systems. > > 2) /etc/fstab: Change all references of /dev/hda* to /dev/hdb* > depending on where the partition has been copied to. Apart from / and > /boot they *could* be copied to one of the SCSI disks. > (Here we're talking about your existing root filesystem, not the > copy...) > > 3) Add a few lines to /etc/lilo.conf so you can boot from /dev/hdb *as > well* as your current config. > > (Again, this is done to your *existing* root filesystem; so your > copied of the root file system still says /dev/hda* in lilo.conf...) > > 4) Make a boot floppy with your current kernel with lilo (e.g. via the > mkrboot package). Anything that allows you to choose the root > filesystem, before accessing the IDE drives will do. > > [ I don't know how to get lilo to write the boot sector to /dev/hdb; > but I *do* know how to use a floppy. Besides, when messing with the > boot block, it's nice to know that you can *always* get back in > again curtesy of the floppy... ] > > 5) Test out that you can boot from the floppy and select either root fs. > You need to have the option of supplying "init=/bin/bash" to the > kernel too. > > 6) shut down. Remove /dev/hda, rejumber /dev/hdb as master. Assemble > things back, and look for loose screws. (where *do* they come from > anyway?) > > You *could* also re-jumber the dying IDE drive as slave and plug it > back in. Perhaps it won't hang the IDE bus when it is not being > used? It might be handy to have access to it, just in case something > isn't right. But it will also add to the confusion, since /dev/hda is > now /dev/hdb and vice versa... > > 7) Power on, and boot from the floppy, and select /dev/hda* as the root > file system, and init=/bin/bash. > > 8) Modify /etc/fstab: (here we will be on the *new* root file system) > # mount -oremount,rw / > # vi /etc/fstab > change references to /dev/hdb* to /dev/hda* > # # If /boot is a separate fs, make sure it is mounted > # lilo > # mount -oremount,ro / > # # umount any other filesystems you mounted > # sync ; sync; sync ; # Repeat ad infinitum :-) > > 9) Hit the reset button (or cycle power) and watch your updated system > come up. If everything is OK, it should look and feel idential to > before (albeit with one less disk, depending on whether you plugged > the dying IDE drive back in). > > Once you're satisfied that everything is working OK, then you can embark > on the woody upgrade (after the obligatory backups! You can never have > enough!). > > > > > > ---At this point I *hope* to have the old system (potato) up and running > > without the dead disk.--- > > > > 9.) edit /etc/apt/sources.list to point to testing instead of stable > > (should I use woody instead of testing?) > > 10.) apt-get update > > 11.) apt-get install apt apt-utils > > I believe that dpkg is updated too (and apt-utils is optional after > all). And apt-listchanges is handy too: > > 11.) apt-get install apt apt-utils dpkg apt-listchanges > > (This may pull in a new version of libc, so look for any system > instability after that; things core dumping etc). > > > 12.) apt-get dist-upgrade > > Again, being (very?) conservative, I'd prefer something like this: > > 12) apt-get --download-only --yes dist-upgrade > (I hope you have a relatively fast internet connection...) > > 13) apt-get --simulate --show-upgraded dist-upgrade > > Review what will be done. Keep an eye out for packages that you consider > important (or important to your users). The truly paranoid may want to > take it one package at a time and use the command line above as a > "what's left-to-do-list". It will be long though... > > > What, if anything, am I missing, or should I be worried about? > > > > Thanks. > > Backups. Backups. Backups. Think each step through before you take it, > and make sure that you can go back again. You'll walk slower that way, > but you're more likely to get there in one piece... > > -- > Karl E. Jørgensen > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > www.karl.jorgensen.com > ==== Today's fortune: > The only person who always got his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe. > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
