Re: cvs commit: src/sys/boot/common help.common src/sys/boot/forth loader.conf

On Tue, Aug 10, 2004 at 10:36:17AM -0700, John-Mark Gurney wrote:
> Ruslan Ermilov wrote this message on Tue, Aug 10, 2004 at 18:47 +0300:
> > > Have you tried booting another kernel?  I can't see how your machine
> > > could of booted /boot/kernel.old ever with kernel modules, if your
> > > machine is currently having troubles with loading kernel modules.
> > > (Since kernel.old would not have been added to module path, since it
> > > isn't being now, and the correct modules would never load.)
> > > 
> > Do you get the correct module_path with beastie_disable="YES" set in
> > /boot/loader.conf?  (Sorry, but I cannot try it right now.)
> 
> Yep, I do:
> # sysctl kern.module_path
> kern.module_path: /boot/kernel;/boot/modules
> # kldload pf
> # kldunload pf
> # grep beastie /boot/loader.conf
> beastie_disable="YES"
> # uname -a
> FreeBSD carbon.funkthat.com 5.2-CURRENT FreeBSD 5.2-CURRENT #1: Sun Aug  8 22:07:02 PDT 2004     jmg_at_carbon.funkthat.com:/a/obj/a/src/sys/GENERIC  i386
> 
OK, now we have a real problem here.

I have updated my system today, and when I let it boot automatically,
it didn't result in module_path set to point to the kernel directory,
as many others here have reported.  I did some experimenting though.
If I enter the loader(8) prompt and type

	unload
	boot /boot/kernel/kernel

then it'd set module_path correctly.  Finally, I've been able to find
the root of this problem: this is rather an old and sad story about
/boot/loader.rc -- the latter does not get updated automatically by an
installworld.  I had my /boot/loader.rc matching revision 1.1 of
sys/boot/i386/loader/loader.rc.  Now (because I knew this magic) after
I've manually updated it to:

$ ident /boot/loader.rc
/boot/loader.rc:
     $FreeBSD: src/sys/boot/i386/loader/loader.rc,v 1.2 2003/11/21 19:01:02 dcs Exp $

it all works as you intended.  I think a lot of people will be bite
by this (since installworld doesn't update this file if it exists).
I suggest that at least a HEADS UP is sent and the UPDATING entry
is made, describing symptoms and a solution.

You can reproduce it yourself by downgrading your /boot/loader.rc
to rev. 1.1, and trying to reboot.  I have beastie_enable="NO" set
in my /boot/loader.conf, FWIW.  I didn't try without it.


Cheers,
-- 
Ruslan Ermilov
ru_at_FreeBSD.org
FreeBSD committer