[SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

Martin · 2017-07-28 19:00:58

So I got myself a used Lenovo x230. I have a working live-USB (latest archlabs) and the machine booted to this stick with no issues. Everything seemed to work just fine so I decided to install.

Well into the install process, the part when you wait and watch the 'commercials', I get an error message to the effect that mounting something or the other failed.

After this the machine does not boot at all unless I go into the bios boot menue and manually direct it towards the USB stick.

Further investigations (and some soul searching) indicate I forgot to create a bootable partition. There may be more issues I have not found. Gparted does not like the HDD now and gives me an error message rather than showing me the partitions. Just starting the install process again does not work. It stalls when it is scanning the HDD.

How do I 'repair' the HDD or perhaps better, how do I get back to square one and start over?

There is no system or data on this machine so there is nothing to loose.

/Martin

Last edited by Martin (2017-07-29 14:19:39)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-07-28 19:12:20

Martin wrote:

how do I get back to square one and start over?

You can load up one of our ISO images and boot to the "live" session then use this command to wipe any partition tables from the drive:

sudo apt install gdisk
sudo sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sdX

Replace X with the letter assigned to your main drive (probably a).

You may also have to clear the motherboard NVRAM entries (used for UEFI booting), check them with:

sudo efibootmgr

Remove any specific operating system entries with:

sudo efibootmgr -b xxxx -B

Replace xxxx with the bootnumber (from the previous command).

Martin · 2017-07-28 19:51:33

Thanks, I think you saved me again.
(I have not tried installing anything yet but booting to USB is back to normal again.)

/Martin

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-07-28 20:23:42

Good stuff

This may be worth a bug report to the ArchLabs team, I think they use Calamares [expired SSL certificate] as the installer.

Martin · 2017-07-29 14:17:24

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

Good stuff
This may be worth a bug report to the ArchLabs team, I think they use Calamares [expired SSL certificate] as the installer.

Yes, maybe I should bring it up with them.

After my second failed installation attempt yesterday I ran a series of HDD tests from the pre-boot menu of the bios. There is about 40 bad sectors on the disk and only 8 could be recovered.

Then I tried installing ArchLabs again and it failed again -- it stalls during very last phase.

Then, for the %&$! of it, I tried to install bunsenlabs -- I went for the guided install and only changed ext4 to btrfs. It worked! No complaining or stalling!??!!?

Any further HDD tests I can do to establish its health? I have nothing of value on this machine...

/Martin (first post from x230)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-07-29 20:53:19

Martin wrote:

Any further HDD tests I can do to establish its health?

Try smartmontools — there is a GUI available for it (if you are so inclined):

https://packages.debian.org/jessie/gsmartcontrol

I think this will also install & enable smartd.service & smartmontools.service which will monitor drive health at every boot and record the results in the systemd journal.

journalctl -u smartmontools

DeepDayze · 2017-07-29 22:52:05

I would replace the disk if there are bad sectors found as that disk could be in the pre-fail stage. See what smartmontools says about the drive and if it is indeed at pre-fail best bet is to replace the drive.

Döbbie03 · 2017-07-29 23:09:55

This is interesting, this is the third time I have come across and ArchLabs install failing in the last few days.

I have browsed the bugs at https://github.com/calamares/calamares/issues and there is no mention of these errors and install fails. I'm wondering if it is an ArchLabs issue.

Martin · 2017-07-30 09:29:30

sudo smartctl --all /dev/sda

tells me among other things

SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: FAILED!
Drive failure expected in less than 24 hours. SAVE ALL DATA.
See vendor-specific Attribute list for failed Attributes.

The printout is kind of long so that's all I have digested so far.

/Martin

Sector11 · 2017-07-30 17:24:06

Martin's HDD told him:
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: FAILED!
Drive failure expected in less than 24 hours. SAVE ALL DATA.

1. - Backup any important data.
2. - wipe drive
3. - scrape drive

Martin · 2017-07-30 19:58:06

Dobbie03 wrote:

This is interesting, this is the third time I have come across and ArchLabs install failing in the last few days.
I have browsed the bugs at https://github.com/calamares/calamares/issues and there is no mention of these errors and install fails. I'm wondering if it is an ArchLabs issue.

Since I am just playing around with this computer anyway I just gave ArchLabs another chance. It looked a little different now that there was already a Linux system on HDD. I choose to go for the guided install using defaults throughout and now there was no problem with the install process whatsoever.

/Martin

Martin · 2017-08-01 15:06:00

Sector11 wrote:

Martin's HDD told him:
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: FAILED!
Drive failure expected in less than 24 hours. SAVE ALL DATA.
1. - Backup any important data.
2. - wipe drive
3. - scrape drive

1. Nothing to backup.
2. Thanks for the link -- done that but please scroll down as there are two typos in the original text.
3. I got another HDD from the vendor and this one seems OK -- at least if you trust Lenovo's test suite.

/Martin

Sector11 · 2017-08-01 15:57:04

Well, you got a link out of it, and the typos were not mine.

#1 2017-07-28 19:00:58

[SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#2 2017-07-28 19:12:20

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#3 2017-07-28 19:51:33

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#4 2017-07-28 20:23:42

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#5 2017-07-29 14:17:24

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#6 2017-07-29 20:53:19

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#7 2017-07-29 22:52:05

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#8 2017-07-29 23:09:55

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#9 2017-07-30 09:29:30

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#10 2017-07-30 17:24:06

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#11 2017-07-30 19:58:06

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#12 2017-08-01 15:06:00

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

#13 2017-08-01 15:57:04

Re: [SOLVED] HDD partitioning failed during install -- how to start f...

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