Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

[Skeptical33]

I have a Fedora 2 system that I'm trying to upgrade to Fedora 8 with.

I ran this from within that server:

./unetbootin-fedora8rev49.sh installmode=nohost targetpartition=/dev/sda3 formatpartition=yes

Next I rebooted, and now all I see is a "grub>" command line. I don't know what to type from there to get the install working. Help?

[tuxcantfly]

I have a Fedora 2 system that I'm trying to upgrade to Fedora 8 with.

I ran this from within that server:

./unetbootin-fedora8rev49.sh installmode=nohost targetpartition=/dev/sda3 formatpartition=yes

Next I rebooted, and now all I see is a "grub>" command line. I don't know what to type from there to get the install working. Help?

Strange, it should have displayed a menu rather than the grub prompt, seems like the partition didn't get properly unmounted, or something else failed on the grub install process... Anyhow these commands should do the job:

root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/ubnkern
initrd /boot/ubninit

or, this might also do the job:

root (hd0,2)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

If it still doesn't work, try it with different options for the first line, like root (hd0,1) and the like

[Skeptical33]

Strange, it should have displayed a menu rather than the grub prompt, seems like the partition didn't get properly unmounted, or something else failed on the grub install process... Anyhow these commands should do the job:

root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/ubnkern
initrd /boot/ubninit

or, this might also do the job:

root (hd0,2)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

If it still doesn't work, try it with different options for the first line, like root (hd0,1) and the like

Awesome advice! The second command worked! Thank you!

[Skeptical33]

A new problem. Once the setup proceeds to the hard drive partitioning area, it's not able to locate any of my hard disks!

I'm running RAID 5 on an Adaptec 2015s SCSI Raid card.

How can I resolve this problem?

[tuxcantfly]

A new problem. Once the setup proceeds to the hard drive partitioning area, it's not able to locate any of my hard disks!

I'm running RAID 5 on an Adaptec 2015s SCSI Raid card.

How can I resolve this problem?

Sorry, can't help on that one; I'm no RAID expert. Once the installer has been loaded (as it seems to now have been), any issue after that is a general Fedora hardware bug, not one related to UNetbootin (all this does it load the installer, after that it's the standard procedure). Since your hardware seems to have worked fine with an older version of Fedora, this sounds like a pretty nasty regression. I'd suggest filing a bug on Fedora's bug tracker, maybe some developers who know more about Fedora's kernel and RAID handling system might be able to help. If you're not specifically tied in to Fedora, you could always try some different distribution (might work better with your hardware, and these days most mainstream distros are practically the same), but that's just about all I can suggest.

[Skeptical33]

Sorry, can't help on that one; I'm no RAID expert. Once the installer has been loaded (as it seems to now have been), any issue after that is a general Fedora hardware bug, not one related to UNetbootin (all this does it load the installer, after that it's the standard procedure). Since your hardware seems to have worked fine with an older version of Fedora, this sounds like a pretty nasty regression. I'd suggest filing a bug on Fedora's bug tracker, maybe some developers who know more about Fedora's kernel and RAID handling system might be able to help. If you're not specifically tied in to Fedora, you could always try some different distribution (might work better with your hardware, and these days most mainstream distros are practically the same), but that's just about all I can suggest.

Say I wanted to switch distros or even versions of Fedora, how can I accomplish this now? I'm remotely controlling this server via KVM over IP and don't have physical access to the machine.

Can I still boot back to my original Fedora 4.4, since it hasn't been deleted yet? What command would I type in grub to get it back?

[tuxcantfly]

Say I wanted to switch distros or even versions of Fedora, how can I accomplish this now? I'm remotely controlling this server via KVM over IP and don't have physical access to the machine.

Can I still boot back to my original Fedora 4.4, since it hasn't been deleted yet? What command would I type in grub to get it back?

The command would depend on what partition the original install was on. If, say, it was on /dev/sda4, then it would be (I'm assuming you're using GRUB not LILO as the Fedora bootloader):

root (hd0,3)
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

The second number is always 1 less than the partition number in the Linux notation (since GRUB numbering starts at 0 not 1).

Or, if you were using a dedicated /boot partition as /dev/sda2, then it would be:

root (hd0,1)
configfile /grub/menu.lst

Or, this may also work, if the bootloader was installed to the partition itself (in this example /dev/sda6):

root (hd0,5)
chainloader +1

[Skeptical33]

Great that worked. Now, how do I erase the UNetbootin thing so that next time I reboot, my old system is back, rather than dropping me to the grub command line?

Also, you mentioned that UNetbootin just gets you to the normal install screen. However, I do recall that during the first install screen, it should ask you if you have a third-party scsi drivier to load?

[tuxcantfly]

Great that worked. Now, how do I erase the UNetbootin thing so that next time I reboot, my old system is back, rather than dropping me to the grub command line?

Also, you mentioned that UNetbootin just gets you to the normal install screen. However, I do recall that during the first install screen, it should ask you if you have a third-party scsi drivier to load?

Once you boot into fedora, enter the following command (as root):

grub-install /dev/sda

That should install GRUB back to overwrite the UNetbootin-installed MBR. Otherwise, there's a more sophisticated approach that can be used if that doesn't work, it basically goes along these lines, details at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...-natively.html

grub
(grub prompt should now show up)
root (hd0,2)
setup (hd0)
quit

As for the third-party scsi driver part, I don't recall ever seeing that even when installing from DVD (though I may just have overlooked it), nor do I see it in the official install docs. Perhaps the feature may have been removed in newer Fedora versions?

(PS did the RPM version not work, or why did you use the shellscript "installmode=nohost formatpartition=yes" installation option? That approach is generally intended for usage from liveCD/liveUSB distros to install on a computer with no functional Linux or Windows install, since it overwrites the MBR and installs its own bootloader)

[Skeptical33]

As for the third-party scsi driver part, I don't recall ever seeing that even when installing from DVD (though I may just have overlooked it), nor do I see it in the official install docs. Perhaps the feature may have been removed in newer Fedora versions?

Well it has been a long while so perhaps I've gotten things confused with the Windows 2003 install process? But as I recall, there was some way to install a third-party SCSI driver.

Anyways, I searched online and found that my Adaptec 2015s runs on I2O (whatever that is). And from this page, http://i2o.shadowconnect.com/faq.php#fedora_howto, it seems like it's only supported up to Fedora 4.

(PS did the RPM version not work, or why did you use the shellscript "installmode=nohost formatpartition=yes" installation option? That approach is generally intended for usage from liveCD/liveUSB distros to install on a computer with no functional Linux or Windows install, since it overwrites the MBR and installs its own bootloader)

I did the first option and rebooted, but nothing seemed to have happened. This is why I went with the second option. Maybe I did something wrong?
[edit] on second thought, i think I may have missed that new menu option. Wasn't looking closely for it.