Debian Bug report logs - #47830
modutils upgrade warning message incomplete

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

From: Eric Meyer <eemeyer@quoininc.com>

To: submit@bugs.debian.org

Subject: modutils upgrade warning message incomplete

Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 19:54:56 -0400 (EDT)

Package: modutils
Version: 2.3.5-1

When I recently upgraded my debian, I actually took time to read the
following message:

...

WARNING: the configuration format for modutils has changed!

Your modutils configuration contains path statements. Since version
2.3.1
of modutils the syntax for this statement has changed. The section is
no longer automatically appended to the given path. To demonstrate: if
you have a statement like this:

  patch[fs]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`

it should be replaced with this statement:

  patch[fs]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/fs

For more documentation on the syntax please see the modules.conf
manpage.

...

I checked, and the only path directive I had came from
/etc/modutils/pcmcia

so I changed 

path[pcmcia]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`

to

path[pcmcia]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/pcmcia

That was the only path statement I had.

I then ran "depmod -a"

Then the next time I **tried** to reboot, I discovered that I could
not boot my kernel anymore. After **several hours** of examination, I
discovered that the /lib/modules/2.2.12/modules.dep file contained
**only** information on my pcmcia modules. 

This should not have been according to "man modules.conf":

       If  the configuration file '/etc/modules.conf' is missing,
       or if any  directive  is  not  overridden,  the  following
       defaults are assumed:

         depfile=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/modules.dep

         path[boot]=/lib/modules/boot
         path[fs]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/fs
         ....

I edited /etc/modutils/paths and added

path[net]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/net
path[block]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/block
path[cdrom]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/cdrom
path[fs]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/fs
path[ipv4]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/ipv4
path[ipv6]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/ipv6
path[misc]=/lib/modules/`uname -r`/misc

and ran depmod -a, and now /lib/modules/2.2.12/modules.dep contains
all of the required information, and I can boot my 2.2.12 kernel
again.


Suggested fix: either make depmod work as described in
"man modules.conf" or explicitly document this problem in the message
that tells users to update their path entries.

Regards,
Eric

======================================================================
  Eric Meyer                                      eemeyer@quoininc.com
  Software Engineer                                       617 492-6461
  Quoin Inc.                                   http://www.quoininc.com
  1208 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 3    Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
======================================================================

Message #10 received at 47830@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Ross Paterson <ross@soi.city.ac.uk>

To: 47830@bugs.debian.org

Cc: eemeyer@quoininc.com

Subject: Re: modutils upgrade warning message incomplete

Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 17:30:05 +0100 (BST)

> This should not have been according to "man modules.conf":
>
>       If  the configuration file '/etc/modules.conf' is missing,
>       or if any  directive  is  not  overridden,  the  following
>       defaults are assumed:

It seems that the default paths are assumed only if no path directives
are given (which isn't quite what the manual says).  The new modutils
replaces /etc/modutils/paths, removing all the paths it used to have,
because the Debian definitions have been incorporated as the upstream
defaults.  (When I read the above message, I scurried off and changed
/etc/modutils/paths, only to have dpkg then ask me if I wanted the new
version, because I'd just changed the supplied version.)

That means that with the default setup, desktops are fine, but laptops
will include /etc/modutils/pcmcia, which sets path[pcmcia], thus hosing
the defaults.  Mine wouldn't boot, and just kept saying that it couldn't
load net-pf-1.  Instead of putting stuff back in /etc/modutils/paths,
I emptied /etc/modutils/pcmcia, which also works, but isn't ideal.
But reading the modules.conf(5), I came across the keyword "keep",
which turns off the overriding, as long as it comes before any "path"'s.

So I suggest the following fix:

	add a file /etc/modutils/0keep containing the word "keep"

A small change, but this bug is critical for laptops.

Also, the above wording in modules.conf(5) could be improved, perhaps
to something like

	If the configuration file '/etc/modules.conf' is missing, or
	if no path directives are overridden, the following defaults
	are assumed:

Message #15 received at 47830@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: "Eric E. Meyer" <eemeyer@quoininc.com>

To: <47830@bugs.debian.org>

Subject: Re: modutils upgrade warning message incomplete

Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 12:45:14 -0400

I had the exact same problem, and should note that my system is a
laptop with the pcmcia modules.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ross Paterson <ross@soi.city.ac.uk>
To: 47830@bugs.debian.org <47830@bugs.debian.org>
Cc: eemeyer@quoininc.com <eemeyer@quoininc.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: modutils upgrade warning message incomplete


>> This should not have been according to "man modules.conf":
>>
>>       If  the configuration file '/etc/modules.conf' is missing,
>>       or if any  directive  is  not  overridden,  the  following
>>       defaults are assumed:
>
>It seems that the default paths are assumed only if no path
directives
>are given (which isn't quite what the manual says).  The new modutils
>replaces /etc/modutils/paths, removing all the paths it used to have,
>because the Debian definitions have been incorporated as the upstream
>defaults.  (When I read the above message, I scurried off and changed
>/etc/modutils/paths, only to have dpkg then ask me if I wanted the
new
>version, because I'd just changed the supplied version.)
>
>That means that with the default setup, desktops are fine, but
laptops
>will include /etc/modutils/pcmcia, which sets path[pcmcia], thus
hosing
>the defaults.  Mine wouldn't boot, and just kept saying that it
couldn't
>load net-pf-1.  Instead of putting stuff back in /etc/modutils/paths,
>I emptied /etc/modutils/pcmcia, which also works, but isn't ideal.
>But reading the modules.conf(5), I came across the keyword "keep",
>which turns off the overriding, as long as it comes before any
"path"'s.
>
>So I suggest the following fix:
>
> add a file /etc/modutils/0keep containing the word "keep"
>
>A small change, but this bug is critical for laptops.
>
>Also, the above wording in modules.conf(5) could be improved, perhaps
>to something like
>
> If the configuration file '/etc/modules.conf' is missing, or
> if no path directives are overridden, the following defaults
> are assumed:
>

Message #20 received at 47830@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Wichert Akkerman <wichert@liacs.nl>

To: Eric Meyer <eemeyer@quoininc.com>, 47830@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Re: Bug#47830: modutils upgrade warning message incomplete

Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 14:38:46 +0200

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Previously Eric Meyer wrote:
> Suggested fix: either make depmod work as described in
> "man modules.conf" or explicitly document this problem in the message
> that tells users to update their path entries.

It works as described in that manpage. Look for the `keep' and `add path'
statements. I've fixed this in 2.3.6-3 by adding a keep-statement at the
beginning of modules.conf.

Wichert.

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