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Troubleshooting Linux Installation
- Authors
- Name
- Jackson Chen
Reference
https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/index.html
Troubleshooting Oracle Linux Installations
Troubleshooting menu options
The boot menu on the Oracle Linux installation media contains a Troubleshooting option with the following options:
Install the Oracle Linux release in basic graphics mode Use this option if the screen goes blank or appears distorted when you try to install Oracle Linux in graphics mode.
Rescue a Oracle Linux system Use this option to boot an installed system in a mode that enables you to edit partitions or configuration files to fix a variety of boot problems.
Run a memory test Use this option to run the memtest86 utility, which verifies the integrity of the system's RAM.
Boot from local drive Use this option to boot an installed system from the hard disk.
Debug and Log Information
During an installation, you can press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to display the virtual console for the installation program. This console contains messages and debugging information output for the installation program. Additional virtual consoles are available to display log information from different sources, as described in the following section. Press Ctrl+b, and then press either n (for next) or b (for back) to switch between the virtual consoles. To return to the graphical installation program, press Ctrl+Alt+F6.
# Display or switch to virtual console
# This console contains messages and debugging information output for the installation program.
Ctrl+Alt+F1
# Switch between the virtual consoles
1. Ctrl + b
2. Then press n # fir next
3. b # for back
# Switch back to GUI installation program
Ctrl+Alt+F6
During an installation, several log files are generated, which capture messages from the following sources:
Anaconda program
The /tmp/anaconda.log file contains Anaconda logs relating to the installation.
During the installation you can access the messages stored in this log by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 to display the virtual console, then press Ctrl+b, and then press 3. If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/anaconda.log.
Hardware detection and configuration
The /tmp/syslog file contains messages relating to the system hardware. If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/syslog.
Kickstart
The /tmp/ks-name.log file contains logs from kickstart installations. If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/ks-script-name.log.
Network detection and configuration
The /tmp/ifcfg.log file contains logs relating to network configuration. If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/ifcfg.log.
Other programs
The /tmp/program.log file contains logs from all other programs used during the installation. During the installation you can view the messages stored in this log by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 to display the virtual console, then press Ctrl+b, and then press 5.
If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/program.log.
Package installation
The /tmp/packaging.log file contains package installation messages output by the dnf and rpm commands. If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/packaging.log.
Storage detection and configuration
The /tmp/storage.log file contains logs from the storage modules. During the installation you can view the messages stored in this log by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 to display the virtual console, then press Ctrl+b, and then press 4.
If the installation succeeds, the log file is copied to /var/log/anaconda/storage.log.
If the installation fails, the messages from these log files are combined into a single log file at /tmp/anaconda-tb-name .
To access a shell prompt as the root user during the installation, press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to display the virtual console. Then, press Ctrl+b, followed by pressing the number 2.
You can use the shell prompt to access the log files and to copy them to a local storage device such as a USB device. Or, you can copy the log files to a network location by using the scp command.
Preparing to install
Whether you are installing on a single system or on multiple systems, you should plan ahead to ensure a successful installation.
- System Requirements
- System Configuration
- Obtaining Installation Images
- Preparing Installation Media
Obtaining Installation Images
To install Oracle Linux, download the installation images from the following locations:
Oracle Software Delivery Cloud at https://edelivery.oracle.com. Oracle Linux yum server at https://yum.oracle.com/oracle-linux-isos.html. Note, however, that the Oracle Linux yum server does not provide equivalent repositories for some channels that are available on Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN). These channels provide non-open source packages. For more information about ULN, see Oracle Linux: Managing Software on Oracle Linux.
The following installation images are available for both the x86_64 platform and the aarch64 platform, unless indicated otherwise:
Full ISO of Oracle Linux for typical installations on systems that are located locally or remotely. Boot ISO of Oracle Linux for network installations or if the installation media lacks space to store the full ISO. Boot ISO of the supported UEK release for installations in which you want to use the Btrfs file system or for installing on hardware that is supported only on UEK. For instructions to install Oracle Linux with the Btrfs files system, see Installing a System With a Btrfs root File System.
Source DVDs that contain the source code for the software packages in the release.
Create bootable USB drive
To create a bootable drive, use the dd command. Or, use a separate third-party utility to write the ISO image to a drive. See, for example, Create USB Installation Media for Oracle Linux with Fedora Media Writer.
1. Insert the USB into an Oracle Linux system
2. Check the file system that are on the drive
sudo df /media/usb
3. Write the contents of the ISO image file to the USB drive
sudo dd if=/path/to/full_image.iso of=/dev/sd<x> bs=512k
Note: Verify the sdx number for the usb drive
Network Drive
For the network drive, the image that you download can either be the full ISO image or just the boot image, while the network server can be of any type, such as NFS or a web server.
To copy the ISO image to a network drive, first mount the image and then use the following command syntax:
sudo cp -a -T path-to-mounted-ISO-image network_dir
For example, if you are using a web server to host the network drive,
and have mounted the ISO image on the server’s /mnt location, you could run the following command:
sudo cp -a -T /mnt /var/www/html/OSimage/OL9
When the command completes, you can boot the system from the network drive.
Driver Update Disk
A Driver Update Disk (DUD) provides a mechanism for delivering updated device drivers during system installation. On some systems, hardware might not be fully supported for an Oracle Linux release. In these cases, a DUD may be released at a later date to facilitate installation on newer hardware.
DUDs are released as modules and become available for previously unsupported hardware. The DUD is usually in the form of an ISO and is available in the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud or through MyOracle Support.
Like the other ISOs, the DUD must be stored in an appropriate media or an alternative storage device before it can be used to for installation. To use the driver update disk, issue the dd command line utility to transfer the DUD image to a separate storage device:
sudo dd if=/path/to/DUD.iso of=/dev/sdX
Customizing Boot Loader Actions
Boot options determine how the installation proceeds. In addition to default settings, you can add more options before you start the installation.
- Configuring the Boot Loader
- Installation Boot Options
Configuring the Boot Loader
Boot options are specified at the boot command line of the boot menu.
- Boot the system.
- When the boot menu is displayed, select any installation option, then press either E on UEFI-based systems or Tab on BIOS-based systems.
The boot options line is displayed with some default options already defined.
- Add options at the end of the line.
Separate multiple boot options with a space. Options that require parameters must be in the option=parameter format.
For a list of common boot options, see Installation Boot Options.
- Save the changes by pressing either Ctrl+X on UEFI-based systems or Return on BIOS-based systems.
To discard your changes and return to the boot menu, press Esc.
This example shows settings for the inst.repo and inst.ks options:
inst.repo=nfs:nfs.example.com:/ISOs/OL9/full_image.iso \
inst.ks=nfs:nfs.example.com:/kickstart/OL9/server-ks.cfg ip=dhcp
With these directives, the installation program is instructed to do the following:
. Use the full installation image stored on an NFS share directory.
2. Start the installation automatically by using a file also stored on an NFS share directory.