Why GRUB and FSTAB has become so complicated?

[frenchn00b]

Hello,

For old LINUX users, one has noted that GRUB1 to GRUB2 have become far more complicated to use, and similar was for fstab which uses now the UUID and nothing else.

2 Tera bytes harddisks arent recognized anymore by fdisk, nor cfdisk.

What is going with LINUX? How such changes?

Doesnt Ubuntu, made for simplifiying LINUX for everyone, listened in the choices made on LINUX? Ubuntu has a word to say, and hoping that Ubuntu will be listen in development of LINUX. Linux can be for everyone, it can drag new users for a better and larger community.

Let's believe.

[MarcusW]

Fdisk finds both my 1TiB disks and my 2TiB disk, no problem. UUID makes life a lot easier since you never have to worry about device names changing when you insert new disks (for example, my sda1 is not the same partition it was a year ago, but the UUIDs never change).

However, I don't like how complicated GRUB2 is compared to GRUB1, can't seem to learn how to use it correctly...

[jrothwell97]

GRUB2 really isn't that complex compared to legacy GRUB - the configuration file's just generated by a series of scripts in /etc/grub.d, with certain variables set by /etc/default/grub.

It's a little more cumbersome than editing /boot/grub/menu.lst manually, but it's easier to work with, more expandable and more fault-tolerant in the long run.

[Elfy]

GRUB Legacy is not actively developed any longer. Only bugfixes will be made so that we can continue using GRUB Legacy until GRUB 2 becomes stable enough. If you want more features in GRUB, it is a waste of time to work on GRUB Legacy, because we never accept any new feature. Instead, it is better to take part in the development of GRUB 2. no-one is working on grub legacy it seems. As far as UUID goes - you can do either though I am not sure why it is harder to paste one thing than another?

[frenchn00b]

The problem is that fdisk does not list all the partitions of disks of high size , ie. 2 TB.
At the installation although they are seen. Linux is buggy.

And the second, to get those UUID is really hard because the fdisk does not see everything, and how to retrive those UUID with an human way.

It is messy and lot of typing to simply get to know which device is plugged.

Why they make everythign impossible to use the coders?

[MarcusW]

The problem is that fdisk does not list all the partitions of disks of high size , ie. 2 TB.
At the installation although they are seen. Linux is buggy.

And the second, to get those UUID is really hard because the fdisk does not see everything, and how to retrive those UUID with an human way.

It is messy and lot of typing to simply get to know which device is plugged.

Why they make everythign impossible to use the coders?

Dude, fdisk still seeing my 2TB disk just fine, and the partition which covers the entire disk.

"sudo blkid"

There you have all UUID.

[JohnFH]

I don't understand your complaints. I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 and there is not a single UUID in my /etc/fstab file as I use labels, besides, the blkid command is not exactly very difficult to use. Changing grub configuration is easier - just edit /etc/default/grub and run update-grub. If you are having difficulty understanding editing /boot/grub/grub.cfg then you're doing it wrong as you are not meant to edit that file.

[frenchn00b]

Dude, fdisk still seeing my 2TB disk just fine, and the partition which covers the entire disk.

"sudo blkid"

There you have all UUID.

unfortunately fdisk does not see the several partitions of my 2.0 TB, nor gparted parted magic from usb pendrive bootable.

But it boots well from normal start on the disk :) what's going on with LINUX?

/dev/sda:
sda1: EXT4 / 30GB (often not seen )
sdaX : swap 10GB (often not seen )
sdaX: JFS 1.8TB

[toupeiro]

ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid

I totally understand, and like the UUID structure. It's so funny when people compare "old" to "new" without taking into consideration how much hardware has changed... Flash drives are rampant, phones are also mass storage devices, as are cameras. Depending on the order they are plugged in, they will get a different SD(letter) ID every time you plug it in... UUID's are a way of always getting the right device, no matter which order or which controller its plugged into...

using fdisk doesn't change. use dmesg to determine the device file its using, and use fdisk to modify that device.. UUID's are a post-fdisk utility**

Technology changes. Get used to it now. :P


**statement subject to change as technology changes...

[koenn]

unfortunately fdisk does not see the several partitions of my 2.0 TB, nor gparted parted magic from usb pendrive bootable.

But it boots well from normal start on the disk :) what's going on with LINUX?


fdisk is from the time when disk sizes were measured in MB, I wouldn't trust it with partitions or disks in the TB range (and I have actually noticed it misreading partition tables on TB-size disks - I wouldn't risk using it to actually create partitions on such a disk)

use parted / gparted in stead.

If that also has problems reading your partition table, I'd start worryin,g about the disk itself, or the partition tables. Or maybe you're just doing it wrong ?

[toupeiro]

fdisk is from the time when disk sizes were measured in MB, I wouldn't trust it with partitions or disks in the TB range (and I have actually noticed it misreading partition tables on TB-size disks - I wouldn't risk using it to actually create partitions on such a disk)

use parted / gparted in stead.

If that also has problems reading your partition table, I'd start worryin,g about the disk itself, or the partition tables. Or maybe you're just doing it wrong ?

uhh.. its math.. Just because the value is TB now that you're used to looking at doesn't change how many MB it is, or even KB... I just recently used it on a 1TB disk formatted ext3 in a RHEL box and it did just fine. you NEVER get a full TB usable out of your drive, and this has been explained numerous times for decades, regardless of FSType. It has to do with byte rounding and marketing.

Use gparted for ease, but not out of fear.

[koenn]

I totally understand, and like the UUID structure. It's so funny when people compare "old" to "new" without taking into consideration how much hardware has changed... Flash drives are rampant, phones are also mass storage devices, as are cameras. Depending on the order they are plugged in, they will get a different SD(letter) ID every time you plug it in... UUID's are a way of always getting the right device, no matter which order or which controller its plugged into...


Technology changes. Get used to it now. :P

this.

And then people come nagging about buggy and al that. hm.

[koenn]

uhh.. its math.. Just because the value is TB now that you're used to looking at doesn't change how many MB it is, or even KB... I just recently used it on a 1TB disk formatted ext3 in a RHEL box and it did just fine. you NEVER get a full TB usable out of your drive, and this has been explained numerous times for decades, regardless of FSType. It has to do with byte rounding and marketing.

Use gparted for ease, but not out of fear.

abouth the math, I meaned that I think it's not unlikely that fdisk has some arbitrary upper limit, one you wouldn't notice with disks under, say, 2 TB ore something.

either that, or it misreads EFI/GPT partition tables.


(this guy appears to agree with me : http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/fdisk-unable-to-create-partition-greater-2tb.html )

[mcduck]

Why have computers become so complicated? We used to have just a couple of switches and LEDs and now we need to deal with all this "user interface" stuff. :/

The point being that time goes on, computers become more and more a thing for "the normal people" and everybody demands for new features and better usability, and creating that kind of things automatically results in the underlying mechanisms becoming more complicated.

Not that I'd see anything complicated in using the UUID's. Probably the best thing that has happened for mounting since the ability to automount removable drives. :D

Actually basic Grub configuration tasks are easier than before as well, as the config file is broken into smaller file most of which you can just ignore and instead simply concentrate to the few options in /etc/default/grub. Besides, the old menu.lst wasn't that easy either, quite many people seemed to never realize that they can't just move things around freely or edit the kernel options without editing the defaults section as well, and as a result ended loosing their configurations over and over again when kernel updates overwrote th changes they had made.. :D

[CharlesA]

Dude, fdisk still seeing my 2TB disk just fine, and the partition which covers the entire disk.

"sudo blkid"

There you have all UUID.

I recently used this command to get the UUID:


tune2fs -l /dev/sdx1

Works for me. :P

As for fdisk, it shows my 4TB RAID array, and both my 2TB and 1.5TB external drives.

The only "problem" I have is that fdisk spits back this:


WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdb'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.


Disk /dev/sdb: 4000.6 GB, 4000627818496 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 486381 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 267350 2147483647+ ee GPT


But that is because the 4TB partition is GUID volume.

[oldfred]

If you are using GPT, you might want to download gdisk.

GPT fdisk Tutorial -srs5694 in forums
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1439794
http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/

[CharlesA]

Gparted or parted works fine for GPT disks. :)