Debian Bug report logs - #22393
libc on rescue disk lacks mkfifo

Package: bootdisk; Maintainer for bootdisk is (unknown);

Reported by: bernd@fki.dtu.dk (Bernd Dammann)

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 08:18:01 UTC

Severity: normal

Done: unknown

Bug is archived. No further changes may be made.

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Report forwarded to debian-bugs-dist@lists.debian.org, Maintainer Group <sr1-boot-floppies@debian.org>:
Bug#22393; Package bootdisk. (full text, mbox, link).


Acknowledgement sent to bernd@fki.dtu.dk (Bernd Dammann):
New bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to Maintainer Group <sr1-boot-floppies@debian.org>. (full text, mbox, link).


Message #5 received at submit@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: bernd@fki.dtu.dk (Bernd Dammann)
To: submit@bugs.debian.org
Cc: bernd@fki.dtu.dk
Subject: libc on rescue disk lacks mkfifo
Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 10:15:01 +0200
Package: bootdisk
Version: Debian-1.3.1.r7

When booting from the rescue floppy, tar can't be used to restore a
backup of the root filesystem.  It fails to create some of the
devices, e.g. /dev/initctl, with the error message "Missing symbol
'mkfifo'."  This function is missing in the libc that comes with the
rescue disk.

A workaround is to exclude all critical files from the backup, and then
creating them manually after the system is restored (using the mkfifo
command and the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable, pointing to a complete
libc).  However, if one forgets to create /dev/initctl, the system
can't be booted.  IMHO, a "rescue" disk should allow to restore a
backup of the system.

Regards,
Bernd Dammann

-- 
# Bernd Dammann          <bernd@fki.dtu.dk> | "Why stop now,
# Department of Chemistry                   |      just when I am hating it?"
# The Technical University of Denmark       |---------------------------------
# Building 207                              | phone: (+45) 45 25 24 81
# DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark                   | http://www.fki.dtu.dk/~bernd/
    print unpack("u", "<22!K;F5W('1H870@>6]U)VQL(&1O('1H870A\"@``" );


Information forwarded to debian-bugs-dist@lists.debian.org, Maintainer Group <sr1-boot-floppies@debian.org>:
Bug#22393; Package bootdisk. (full text, mbox, link).


Acknowledgement sent to Luis Francisco Gonzalez <luisgh@cogs.susx.ac.uk>:
Extra info received and forwarded to list. Copy sent to Maintainer Group <sr1-boot-floppies@debian.org>. (full text, mbox, link).


Message #10 received at 22393@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Luis Francisco Gonzalez <luisgh@cogs.susx.ac.uk>
To: Bernd Dammann <bernd@fki.dtu.dk>, 22393@bugs.debian.org
Subject: Re: Bug#22393: libc on rescue disk lacks mkfifo
Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 12:11:02 +0100
Bernd Dammann wrote:
> Package: bootdisk
> Version: Debian-1.3.1.r7

Thanks for the report. There are some things that we'd like to clarify.

> When booting from the rescue floppy, tar can't be used to restore a
> backup of the root filesystem.  It fails to create some of the
> devices, e.g. /dev/initctl, with the error message "Missing symbol
> 'mkfifo'."  This function is missing in the libc that comes with the
> rescue disk.
The only tar present in the rescue disks is "star". Are you using this or 
your "own" copy of tar? The boot-floppies include a reduced libc that is
only guaranteed to contain the symbols used by the programs *in* them. So
if you use your "own" copy of tar, there is no guarantee that it will have
all the needed symbols available.

> A workaround is to exclude all critical files from the backup, and then
> creating them manually after the system is restored (using the mkfifo
> command and the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable, pointing to a complete
> libc).  However, if one forgets to create /dev/initctl, the system
> can't be booted.  IMHO, a "rescue" disk should allow to restore a
> backup of the system.
This is odd as the base system is installed as from a compresed tar file and
it includes all device special files that come as standard from Debian. It
would help if you could be more detailed in your account of the specific files
that failed and the exact process you tried out when it failed (commads,
devices, etc.)

Thanks,
Luis.
-- 
Luis Francisco Gonzalez <luisgh@cogs.susx.ac.uk>
PGP Fingerprint = F8 B1 13 DE 22 22 94 A1  14 BE 95 8E 49 39 78 76


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