Error Checking filesystems

[Iguana]

I think I have a big problem
I was following along with these guides(because I wanted to speed up linux):
http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?p=14791#14791

uncholowapo
You can stop services in YDL. It helped me here is a list of services that I have disabled.

* anacron
* atd
* avahi-daemon
* bluetooth
* cpuspeed
* cups
* hidd
* hplip
* ip6tables
* iprinit
* iprdump
* iprupdate
* isdn
* mcstrans
* mdmonitor
* nfslock
* pcscd
* restorecond
* rpcbind
* rpcgssd
* rpcimapd
* sendmail
* setroubleshoot
* smartd
* sshd
* yum-updatesd



It is taken from the install guide of Fedora 7 from our moderator billb. Some services might not be there but most of them are there. Also note that you have to disable them on both runlevel's 3 and 5. Up near the top you will see a drop down menu that says Runlevel.

tcrroadie
If you are using Gnome, you can find the GUI service manager under System > Administration > Services.

I have another tip for you on how to increase system performance. You can increase hard drive read and writer performance a bit by setting a couple additional mount options on your system. Here is how.

1. Open a terminal and switch to your root user.

2. We are going to edit a file called /etc/fstab. Lets back it up first by running in your terminal

Code: Select all
cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.backup



3. Next open up /etc/fstab in gedit

Code: Select all
gedit /etc/fstab



4. Add the mount options noatime and nodiratime to your root partition and home partition if you have a separate partition for your home directory. As an example, here is what my fstab looks like.

Code: Select all
LABEL=/ / ext3 defaults,noatime,nodiratime 1 1
LABEL=/home /home ext3 defaults,noatime,nodiratime 1 2
spufs /spu spufs defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs defaults 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
LABEL=SWAP-ps3da2 swap swap defaults 0 0



Save the file and exit gedit. The new mount options you added will be applied the next time you boot your system.

http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3497&start=45#p28041

bonedome
Hello
along with stopping unused services there's a couple of other ways to increase the small amount of available RAM that've been buried in the forum but here they are.
in the file /etc/inittab you can disable some or all of your "virtual terminals" (the terminal you get if you type Ctrl Alt F1) this only frees up a few hundred Kbs per terminal but hey who needs 6 of them.
type this into a terminal

Code: Select all
su -
root password
gedit /etc/inittab

once open look for these lines

Code: Select all
# Run gettys in standard runlevels
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1
2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2
3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3
4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4
5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5
6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

I only have the one, so I've edited it to look like this

Code: Select all
# Run gettys in standard runlevels
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1
#2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2
#3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3
#4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4
#5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5
#6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

I'd recommend having at least one uncommented.

And I think I messed up on something from the first two quotes above..
Because when I started up my ps3 after doing these things, heres what happend:
* I switched to Linux from the Game OS;
* took me to the boot screen with the two penguins where it sets the video output;
* it successfully went past the video boot with the two penguins;
* then it takes me to the main boot (YDL boot up screen) where it shows me what works and what doesn't with either an [OK] or [FAILD] indications (They all passed);
* but here's where the problem lies, at the beginning of the screen where it has the YDL logo on top with the version listed underneath(6.2) and towards the bottom of the screen it has a blue box with a lite blue striped bar going across and a button -> Show Details..
* At the beginning of this part i get this:

Code: Select all

Loading default key map (us):                                      [OK]
Setting hostname localhost.localdomain:                            [OK]
Setting up local volume management:                                [OK]
Checking filesystems
fsck.ext3: unable to resolve 'LABEL=/'

                                                                   [FAILD]

***An error occurred during filesystem check.
***Dropping you to a shell; the system will reboot
***When you leave the shell.
Give root password for maintenance
(or type control-D to continue)

And here is where I'm stuck and I can't do anything and I tried rebooting to see if maybe I wouldn't get this error message again, but there's no change... Oh and I logged into the shell with the root password and it gives me this

Code: Select all

(Repair filesystem) 1 #

though can't gedit and if I try nano It opens up a nano editing screen but its only blank space. What should I do?

[EDIT]Actually I think I messed up on the second quote, Oh and nano works.. Soo if i type: "nano /etc/fstab" it takes me to edit that page, but idk what to edit it to... Plus, I set mine up to look like his (from the above quote)

LABEL=/ / ext3 defaults,noatime,nodiratime 1 1
LABEL=/home /home ext3 defaults,noatime,nodiratime 1 2
spufs /spu spufs defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs defaults 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
LABEL=SWAP-ps3da2 swap swap defaults 0 0

But I guess his setup doesn't work for me [EDIT]

[EDIT]Here's what my /etc/fstab looks like before I changed it:

Code: Select all

LABEL=/1               /                ext3       defaults          1 1
LABEL=/boot            /boot            ext3       defaults          1 2
spufs                  /spu             spufs      defaults          0 0
tmpfs                  /dev/shm         tmpfs      defaults          0 0
devpts                 /dev/pts         devpts     gid=5,mode=620    0 0
sysfs                  /sys             sysfs      defaults          0 0
proc                   /proc            proc       defaults          0 0
LABEL=SWAP=ps3da3      swap             swap       defaults          0 0

In nano if I try to save this file, it says that I cant make any changes to it, because it has read only privlages
I think I have this guys problem:
http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3497&start=30

zeroword
I have tried the fstab edit and both times it has prevented me from logging into linux. It tells me the file system is now read-only. What did I do wrong?

Maybe I can resolve my problem with this method:

billb

zeroword wrote:

I have tried the fstab edit and both times it has prevented me from logging into linux. It tells me the file system is now read-only. What did I do wrong?

Hard to say without knowing exactly what you did or having any idea of what kind of error your getting at startup.

You should be able to get at your /etc/fstab file using the boot recovery method here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

Though the /etc/fstab file is probably on /dev/sda2 instead of /dev/sda1 (in the / partition, /etc/yaboot.conf is a link to /etc/yaboot.conf on the /boot partition, but /etc/fstab is probably actually on the / partition).

I think I'm answering my own questions here...[EDIT]

Any help would be appreciated(if not then I'll re-install 6.2 soon)

[ppietro]

So - I don't have much time to help right now, but looking at this:

Code: Select all

Loading default key map (us):                                      [OK]
Setting hostname localhost.localdomain:                            [OK]
Setting up local volume management:                                [OK]
Checking filesystems
fsck.ext3: unable to resolve 'LABE=/'

                                                                   [FAILD]

***An error occurred during filesystem check.
***Dropping you to a shell; the system will reboot
***When you leave the shell.
Give root password for maintenance
(or type control-D to continue)

It appears that you had, indeed, introduced an error into your /etc/fstab file. It's the LABE=/ line - that should be LABEL=

Also - not every install has the same LABEL for the root volume. The example given is LABEL=/, but from your original fstab, it appears that when you installed YDL, the installer named your root volume /1, so you need to edit your /etc/fstab to

Code: Select all

LABEL=/1               /                ext3       defaults          1 1

If you want to add the ,noatime,nodiratime, it would look like this:

Code: Select all

LABEL=/1               /                ext3       defaults,noatime,nodiratime          1 1

Let me make this clear for folks following along....

You can't cut and paste example /etc/fstab files on your system!!!!



The reason is that the installer is dynamic, and your setup may not be the same. Pasting an incorrect /etc/fstab will render your system unbootable.

Also - looking further, you'll have to fix your SWAP line too, I think. The example is on a different partition. You'll want to restore it to your original. i.e.

Code: Select all

LABEL=SWAP=ps3da3      swap             swap       defaults          0 0

As for your inability to write to the partition, what you listed seems reasonable. You might be able to use the kboot prompt to figure out the mounting with fdisk -l (that's a dash lowercase L), but I'm not at my PS3 to be able to test this.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

Ohh, Thanks, I'll try that sometime today...
Also when I figure out the mounting, what would I do from there(since I can't save or overwrite anything)?

As for your inability to write to the partition, what you listed seems reasonable. You might be able to use the kboot prompt to figure out the mounting with fdisk -l (that's a dash lowercase L), but I'm not at my PS3 to be able to test this.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. this part made me laugh a lot at how foolish I was --->>

Let me make this clear for folks following along....

You can't cut and paste example /etc/fstab files on your system!!!!

[EDIT]Here's what I get from the KBOOT: fdisk -l

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/ps3da: 10.7 GB, 10737414144 bites
255 heads, 63 sectors/tracks, 1305 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

     Device    Boot    Start      End       Blocks    ID    System
/dev/ps3da1      *         1       13       104391    83     LINUX
/dev/ps3da2               14     1240     9855877+    83     LINUX
/dev/ps3da3              1241    1305      522122+    82     LINUX swap

I don't know how this would help solve my problem, but I can always reinstall.(even though I don't really want to )

Also,

Code: Select all

fsck.ext3: unable to resolve 'LABE=/'

It appears that you had, indeed, introduced an error into your /etc/fstab file. It's the LABE=/ line - that should be LABEL=

Oh I didn't see that... It was actually:

Code: Select all

fsck.ext3: unable to resolve 'LABEL=/'

Soo I'll edit it in the above post [EDIT]done[EDIT],
Sorry...[EDIT]

[Noons]

Hi paul
I'm following along lol and thanks for the detailed explanation as always noticed that there were instructions to make a backup of the fstab file before editing, could he somehow utilize that to restore the original setup

[ppietro]

Hi paul
I'm following along lol and thanks for the detailed explanation as always noticed that there were instructions to make a backup of the fstab file before editing, could he somehow utilize that to restore the original setup

You bet. The main issue is that Iguana can't write to the / volume right now. If Iguana can figure out how to edit and save fstab, we can get it working.

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

Ohter than these editing tools what else can I try?

* nano /etc/fstab
* gedit /etc/fstab
* vi /etc/fstab

Oh and what does "vi" do?

[ppietro]

Ohter than these editing tools what else can I try?

* nano /etc/fstab
* gedit /etc/fstab
* vi /etc/fstab

Oh and what does "vi" do?

Oh - I see the issue. In the post you quoted from billb above, there was a link to follow. That's what this meant:

You should be able to get at your /etc/fstab file using the boot recovery method here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

I assumed you had read through that link, and just accidentally killed it when you cut and pasted it into your post. However - if you haven't been there, here's the link for reals:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

That should get you to a point where you can edit.

vi is a text editor. If you're used to Unix/Linux, it's great, but it's not as "user friendly" as nano. Also - it's on pretty much every unix system, whereas nano might not be. I use it all the time for system editing - it's like an old friend to me now.

gedit won't work because you can't boot x-windows. nano's probably the easiest for you right now, but might not work with the limited command set of kboot:. The guide listed in the link above has a quick vi tutorial.

Also - based on your fdisk -l output above, I think billb's advice is probably right. In step 5, I would try:

Code: Select all

mount /dev/sda2 tmp

Then, step 6 for you would be

Code: Select all

vi tmp/etc/fstab

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

Thanks, I knew I was right in the beginning--->>

Maybe I can resolve my problem with this method:

billb

zeroword wrote:

I have tried the fstab edit and both times it has prevented me from logging into linux. It tells me the file system is now read-only. What did I do wrong?

Hard to say without knowing exactly what you did or having any idea of what kind of error your getting at startup.

You should be able to get at your /etc/fstab file using the boot recovery method here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

Though the /etc/fstab file is probably on /dev/sda2 instead of /dev/sda1 (in the / partition, /etc/yaboot.conf is a link to /etc/yaboot.conf on the /boot partition, but /etc/fstab is probably actually on the / partition).

I think I'm answering my own questions here...

Thanks again, I'll post back when I fix this...
I guess I've learned my lesson for now

Ohter than these editing tools what else can I try?

* nano /etc/fstab
* gedit /etc/fstab
* vi /etc/fstab

Oh and what does "vi" do?

Oh - I see the issue. In the post you quoted from billb above, there was a link to follow. That's what this meant:

You should be able to get at your /etc/fstab file using the boot recovery method here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

I assumed you had read through that link, and just accidentally killed it when you cut and pasted it into your post. However - if you haven't been there, here's the link for reals:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3097

That should get you to a point where you can edit.

vi is a text editor. If you're used to Unix/Linux, it's great, but it's not as "user friendly" as nano. Also - it's on pretty much every unix system, whereas nano might not be. I use it all the time for system editing - it's like an old friend to me now.

gedit won't work because you can't boot x-windows. nano's probably the easiest for you right now, but might not work with the limited command set of kboot:. The guide listed in the link above has a quick vi tutorial.

Also - based on your fdisk -l output above, I think billb's advice is probably right. In step 5, I would try:

Code: Select all

mount /dev/sda2 tmp

Then, step 6 for you would be

Code: Select all

vi tmp/etc/fstab

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

I got to step 4, but now I'm stuck again
I booted up into safe mode and when I put in my usb keyboard the on screen script goes crazy with this:

Code: Select all

drivers/usb/imput/hid-core.c: imput irq status -32 received

It just keeps repeating this over and over again really fast and the number 32 changes really fast to another number every 3-5 lines(Its like taking a video of an old T.V. screen; where in real life it doesn't flicker, but on a camera it flickers and you can see all the frames zoom by really fast..), but when I take out the usb keyboard, I can see the normal safe mode boot prompt with no disruptions...
Wait should I have the YDL dvd in when I switch to the otheros under safe mode, or am I doing something else wrong?
Because I'm guessing that it's my keyboard.

billb
1 - Download the otheros.safe bootloader from here (right-click, save as). It is a bootloader originally created for Gentoo.

2 - Rename the otheros.safe bootloader to otheros.bld and save it to any media supported by your PS3 (memory stick, compact flash, secure digital, USB drive, etc). It must be in this location on the media: /PS3/otheros/otheros.bld

3 - Install the safe mode bootloader from the Game OS (Install OtherOS). When you do this make sure it is reading from your media and not from a Yellow Dog install DVD.

4 - Boot to the Other OS. The safe mode bootloader doesn't look at your yaboot.conf file so it will stop at the kboot prompt.

5 - Mount the boot partition of your PS3's internal hard drive to tmp.

ppietro
Code: Select all

Code: Select all

mount /dev/sda2 tmp

billb
6 - Use vi to edit your yaboot.conf file located at tmp/etc/yaboot.conf.

ppietro
Code: Select all

Code: Select all

vi tmp/etc/fstab

billb
A quick vi tutorial: Use the arrow keys to move around. Use the x key to delete text. Press the i key to begin inserting text. Press the Esc key to exit insert mode. Hold down shift and press zz to save and exit, or use :wq to save and exit. To exit without saving, use :q! For more info, see this tutorial.

7 - Use the boot-game-os command to get back to the Game OS

Code: Select all
boot-game-os



8 - Reinstall the regular bootloader from the YDL 6 install DVD. Make sure you remove the install DVD afterward.

9 - Boot to the Other OS and see if you've fixed your /etc/yaboot.conf file.

[ppietro]

I booted up into safe mode and when I put in my usb keyboard the on screen script goes crazy with this:

Code: Select all

drivers/usb/imput/hid-core.c: imput irq status -32 received

It just keeps repeating this over and over again really fast and the number 32 changes really fast to another number every 3-5 lines(Its like taking a video of an old T.V. screen; where in real life it doesn't flicker, but on a camera it flickers and you can see all the frames zoom by really fast..), but when I take out the usb keyboard, I can see the normal safe mode boot prompt with no disruptions...

Sounds like you need a different keyboard.

Wait should I have the YDL dvd in when I switch to the otheros under safe mode, or am I doing something else wrong?

No - once you've installed the safe mode OtherOS, you don't need a disc in the drive at all. Definitely not the YDL DVD, or you won't get to the kboot: prompt you need.

Because I'm guessing that it's my keyboard.

Yup - sounds like it.

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

I booted up into safe mode and when I put in my usb keyboard the on screen script goes crazy with this:

Code: Select all

drivers/usb/imput/hid-core.c: imput irq status -32 received

It just keeps repeating this over and over again really fast and the number 32 changes really fast to another number every 3-5 lines(Its like taking a video of an old T.V. screen; where in real life it doesn't flicker, but on a camera it flickers and you can see all the frames zoom by really fast..), but when I take out the usb keyboard, I can see the normal safe mode boot prompt with no disruptions...

Sounds like you need a different keyboard.

Because I'm guessing that it's my keyboard.

Yup - sounds like it.

Cheers,
Paul

This is the kind of usb keyboard I have, and it's one of the cheepest ones out there that doesn't run on batteries, soo that's why I got it, plus it has all the keys of a standard desktop keyboard and it's really nice to use; Oh and it works with YDL, but for some reason it doesn't work with Gentoo's safe mode boot-up:
http://www.amazon.com/iHome-IH-K200MB-Multimedia-Keyboard/dp/B001R0MO3S

If I need to get a new keyboard, then I'd rather try to borrowing one from someone, though I don't know from who I could borrow one since I don't really have many friends... But if I can't borrow a wireless or wired keyboard from someone, then I'll just get a new hard drive something like 320~500GB(which I have been planing to get for a while now) and partition it so that Game OS has 10gb and Other OS has the rest and with my original 80gb hdd I'll use to store and play: working ps3, ps1 games, and downloaded movies/videos and maybe store some music and even pictures..

The good thing about all this is that I've backed up most of the important stuff that was stored in the other os, except some emulator games and some word documents, but other than that I've backed up everything else.. for the emulator gaming roms I'll just download most of them again, but for my word documents I'll just have to figure out what to with the lost info, most of the word documents were just copying and pasting articles from this site and other related YDL sites and modifying the tips and tutorials that all you guys give.

Soo, for now I guess I won't be using linux until I eather fix my mistake or get a new hard drive, and a reason I don't wanna re-install linux is because maybe until I get a new hard drive someone might just lend me their usb/bluetooth keyboard for a couple of minutes use so I can fix my mistakes..
Oh and I'm never updating my ps3 I love Linux!!

[alastor]

Oh and I'm never updating my ps3 I love Linux!!

That's the spirit ! You are not alone.
Even after I have crashed my system more then 50 - 60 times, ( one day, I remember I got 3 fatal errors, 2 of which I was able to solve, third one has defeated me ) I had no intention to loose to the "pinguin".
My crashes:
about 20 - messed up gtk/glib - lost gui
about 10 - screwed pango ( I still can't believe that font library can crash the system ) - o, no, actually pango screwed me
5 - 10 - broke libgcc ( nonsense - how on earth can programs depend on compiler library ??? there is glibc for that, isn't it ? ) - few 100 of broken packages
3 - messed restoring of system - run out of space - 10 GB partion ...
"Remember, don't login as root unless you know what you are doing." - good advice - still, I like experimenting
20 times - missing shared libraries - stupid me

[ppietro]

This is the kind of usb keyboard I have, and it's one of the cheepest ones out there that doesn't run on batteries, soo that's why I got it, plus it has all the keys of a standard desktop keyboard and it's really nice to use; Oh and it works with YDL, but for some reason it doesn't work with Gentoo's safe mode boot-up:

I've been thinking about it. Since you don't have an error in /etc/yaboot.conf, I don't think you need to use the Gentoo boot.

Try flashing the firmware back to the YDL otheros.bld. Then, try If you can get to kboot: from the YDL firmware, you can probably do what you need to do from there. In other words - try Install Other OS from your YDL install disc, then follow the rest of the steps in the procedure.

Cheers,
Paul

[Iguana]

This is the kind of usb keyboard I have, and it's one of the cheepest ones out there that doesn't run on batteries, soo that's why I got it, plus it has all the keys of a standard desktop keyboard and it's really nice to use; Oh and it works with YDL, but for some reason it doesn't work with Gentoo's safe mode boot-up:

I've been thinking about it. Since you don't have an error in /etc/yaboot.conf, I don't think you need to use the Gentoo boot.

Try flashing the firmware back to the YDL otheros.bld. Then, try If you can get to kboot: from the YDL firmware, you can probably do what you need to do from there. In other words - try Install Other OS from your YDL install disc, then follow the rest of the steps in the procedure.

Cheers,
Paul

Ok, so here's what I did from these instructions:
-In the game os I inserted the YDL dvd and I went to install other os and installed the YDL otheros.bld
-Then I switched over to other os(With YDL dvd still inside) and at kboot I type:

Code: Select all

mount /dev/sda2 tmp

And it tells me:

Code: Select all

mounting /dev/sda2 on // tmp faild

And if I type this (after typing the above):

Code: Select all

vi tmp/etc/fstab

kboot: changes to

Code: Select all

/init:

And it tells me:

Code: Select all

eval: 1: vi: not found

-Then I decide that I don't want to continue a reinstall of 6.2, so I boot back into game os
-From there I take out the YDL dvd and boot into other os and repeat these procedures, but no change in the outputs at kboot:

Code: Select all

mount /dev/sda2 tmp

And it tells me:

Code: Select all

mounting /dev/sda2 on // tmp faild

And if I type this (after typing the above):

Code: Select all

vi tmp/etc/fstab

kboot: changes to

Code: Select all

/init:

And it tells me:

Code: Select all

eval: 1: vi: not found

So what now?
I don't wanna give up, because I sort of like solving these types of "messing-up-error" mysteries,
even though I feel like I'm not helping much with the solving part, because you guys are doing most of the solving, and I'm just expressing my problems,
oh wait, I guess I am helping since you guys don't have the same problem as me..

Anyways, from reading your last sentence:

In other words - try Install Other OS from your YDL install disc, then follow the rest of the steps in the procedure.

Did you want me to install YDL again to a certain point or did you mean: install just the YDL otheros.bld and at the kboot continue on with the other instructions (which I did)
And if I do have to install YDL to a certain point, to which point or step should I reach in this guide, before continuing on with the other instructions?:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Installing-Yellow-Dog-Linux-6-1-on-PS3-100880.shtml

[Iguana]

I was wondering if maybe at the kboot prompt or in this part:

Code: Select all

Loading default key map (us):                                      [OK]
Setting hostname localhost.localdomain:                            [OK]
Setting up local volume management:                                [OK]
Checking filesystems
fsck.ext3: unable to resolve 'LABEL=/'

                                                                   [FAILD]

***An error occurred during filesystem check.
***Dropping you to a shell; the system will reboot
***When you leave the shell.
Give root password for maintenance
(or type control-D to continue)

If maybe there could be a way to change the file permission on /etc/fstab so that root users can have read and write access to it instead of just read access?
Here's a video I found on changing file permissions(It's on a mac which uses a unix based shell, but the bad part is that the users logged into the os and that it's in a terminal):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdCnp-siwEc&feature=related
[EDIT]Also, I found some info on /etc/fstab, but I don't think it helps much: http://www.linfo.org/etc_fstab.html
I'll try and see if I can change file permission on /etc/fstab, but idk what will happen[EDIT]