Perhaps I am missing something, but maybe you missed a "/" somewhere?
-Scott Jacobs
-----Original Message-----
From: jeff <address@hidden>
To: help-grub <address@hidden>
Sent: Thu, Jan 1, 2015 5:44 pm
Subject: Grub install fails on single boot Mint 17, 3TB RAID1, GPT & EFI
Greetings -
I am trying to install Linux Mint 17.1 onto a new Dell Precision and am getting
a grub-install failed error from the installer. This is a new single-boot UEFI
system with 2 blank 3 TB drives. Specifically the error is:
Running grub-install /dev/md127
Unable to install GRUB in /dev/md127
Executing ‘grub-install /dev/md127’ failed
This is a fatal error
Since this is the only error information that I have, I am assuming that it
could be a result of the raid and partitioning setup that the installer balks at
when installing Grub2. So I will start by clearly stating what my objective is,
then my disk setup.
My objective is to have Mint installed onto a software RAID1 system that is
bootable if either drive failes (or is removed from the system), with minimal
downtime by just installing a new drive and resyncing the RAID. I want to avoid
additional steps that involve reinstalling grub or the boot files after the
failure to make the system bootable again.
A summary of my disk setup steps are as follows.
1. Boot to SystemRescueCD and from a terminal window create a RAID1 array from
both drives.
root# mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md127 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda
/dev/sdb
This displays the standard warning about ensuring that your resulting boot
loader understands md/v1.x metadata. Then defaults to using version 1.2
metadata. According to the Grub2 manual, Section 1.3, Grub2 can read files
directly from LVM and RAID devices, therefore version 1.2 should be ok.
2. In GParted, selected the raid device (/dev/md127) and assigned a GPT
partition to it.
3. Using GParted created 3 partitions on the raid array.
md127p1 /boot/efi 550 MB FAT32 EFI System Partition, boot & esp flags set
md127p2 /boot 550 MB FAT32
md127p3 2.73 TB Lvm2 Physical Volume
If I recall correctly, GParted leaves 1 MB untouched before the first partition.
Then I left 100 MB unallocated after md127p3.
4. From the terminal window, create the following logical volumes.
root# lvcreate -L 8G -n lv_mintroot vg_jab
root# lvcreate -L 4G -n lv_mintvar vg_jab
root# lvcreate -L 2G -n lv_mintswap vg_jab
root# lvcreate -L 80G -n lv_minthome vg_jab
root# lvcreate -L 1000G -n lv_mintgis vg_jab
Side Note: Mint will be a KVM host that will also run a Win7 guest with a couple
of additional logical volumes for the Windows guest, hence the naming of logical
volumes. I use a similar setup on my CentOS 6 KVM Host Server with several
guests and it makes managing the storage easy and understandable.
5. Eject the SystemRescueCD and reboot to the Linux Mint LiveCD installer. Do
some housekeeping to get Mint to recognize the raid array.
address@hidden sudo apt-get update
address@hidden sudo apt-get remove dmraid
address@hidden sudo apt-get install mdadm
address@hidden sudo mdadm --examine --scan
ARRAY /dev/md/127 metadata=1.2 UUID baf72191:8d8bb4e4:6b31b91a:c0efe33e
name=sysresccd:127
address@hidden sudo mdadm --assemble --scan
mdadm: /dev/md/127 has been started with 2 drives
address@hidden cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [raid1]
md127 : active raid1 sda[0] sdb[1]
6. Start the Mint installer and select custom partitioning. The custom
partitioning dialog correctly recognizes the raid array, all previously
configured partitions, logical volumes, and boot flags.
7. Select each partition and logical volume established in steps #2 and #3 above
and identify the mount point and assign the appropriate file system. The
/boot/efi and /boot partitions were formated as shown in step #2 above. The LVM
logical volumes were formatted as XFS file systems, except swap.
8. In Mint there is a menu list below the custom partitioning to identify and
select the location for installing the boot loader. The RAID1 device
(/dev/md127) was selected for installing the boot loader (not an individual
partition or a single drive).
9. Installation progressed normally until the point of installing grub, which
resulted in the following error:
Running grub-install /dev/md127
Unable to install GRUB in /dev/md127
Executing ‘grub-install /dev/md127’ failed
This is a fatal error
It is my understanding that Mint17.1 is based on Ubuntu 14.04, which includes
Grub2. And looking at the documentation for Grub2 includes support for Linux
software (mdadm) RAID1, EFI, and GPT. So I don't know what I am missing with
this configuration that causes grub-install to fail. I can provide more
diagnostic information if necessary, but don't know what may be needed, and I am
looking here for some expert advice.
I am open to suggestions that are oriented towards my objective of having a
bootable software RAID1 installation if there is something else I need to
consider. Thanks for reading my (long) post.
Please cc me directly on any replies, as I am subscribed to the daily digest.
Jeff
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