I have:

# apt list lsb*
Auflistung... Fertig
lsb-base/stable,stable,now 10.2019051400 all  [installiert]
lsb-release/stable,stable,now 10.2019051400 all  [Installiert,automatisch]

rolfie

Got the 3.1.0 with openrc to work, Cinnamon as desktop, efi mode, /boot unencrypted, encrypted LVM for root and swap, separate home.

Despite having a mirror set up, the CDROM still was present in the sources.list. Easy to fix.

The installation booted grub with shimx64.efi. I removed it afterwards.

Locale was fine with this setup.

Would say that runit is experimental in the current status.

rolfie

Update on the Beowulf 3.0.0 install on P4/P5:Same issues basically, the boot also ends in the grub-console, no grub menu shown.

Started the rescue mode and fixed issue #1. Looked at the locale, also is at C.UTF-8. Then fidelled a bit with boot, grub-install and update-grub, grub.cfg, efivars and the efibootmgr. Finally used efibootmgr -v and saw that all Devuan entries in the efi memeory were referring to shimx64.efi, despite my disabling Secure Boot.

Well, searched the man pages for grub-install and found the option --no-uefi-secure-boot.
A grub-install --no-uefi-secure-boot --bootloader-id=devuan4 brought a grubx64.efi into play. A reboot showed the usual blue grub splash screen, I am now working on P4/P5 and the Chimaera upgrade. The locale issue is gone too.

Next step is trying the same on the 3.1.0 install.

What I am wondering about: how did I get into this situation in the first place?

rolfie

It may not be that simple. All depends on if the meta package linux-image-amd64 is installed, and if this is linked to the main repository or to backports.

If you choose linux-image-amd64 during installation and not one of the presented dedicated kernel images, apt update && apt upgrade will check for updates and install them when available. For Beowulf this is the 4.19 kernels.

When you only install one dedicated kernel from backports, that will stay forever and not be affected by apt update && apt upgrade. Unless you install the meta-package from backports. Then the stock kernel is left alone and backports is updated.

You can't have both.

rolfie

Read this thread: https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=3616

My suspicion: on a crash the kernel overwrites contents of the efi flash. Got an older socket AMD3+ board that had a similar issue (https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=2820).

Now all my installations have /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/ set to ro in fstab.

I had the ASUS Prime X470-Pro sent back to service. They flashed a new bios and fixed the efi memory, something I could not achieve with the means available to a normal user. Now the board works normal again.

rolfie

Beginning of February I downloaded a current Bullseye netinstall image and installed it in VBox. Can't remember that I got an init choice like in Devuan.

rolfie

Mate 1.20.4 from the Devuan repository.

Rolfie

Kernel:

apt list linux-image-5*
apt install linux-image-5.10.0-0.bpo.3-amd64

Firmware:

apt list firmware-linux-nonfree* -a
apt -t beowulf-backports install firmware-linux-nonfree

Have a read: https://www.debian.org/intro/free.en.html

non-free means code that is propriatry. Unfortunately you will need non-free stuff to get your tg3 working.

Same with me and my AMD GPUs.

rolfie

The problem is also present in a fresh install based on Beowulf 3.0.0 netinstall in VBox. Same procedure used as for the 3.1.0 install, only difference is runit on 3.1.0 and openrc on 3.0.0.

I guess there must be a bug somewhere in Mate. Strangely enough my workstation is fine.

rolfie

Just done a Mate install from 3.1 in VBox, can confirm that that installation forgets the picture from the home folder.

rolfie

Beowulf 3.0 install with Mate dated June 2020, amd64 with backports kernel 5.9, up to date:

Just added a picture from my home folder as background: survives changing the background and a reboot.

rolfie