[Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

hmj · 2020-03-04 17:22:01

I'm actually using a computer with intel-cpu on a ASUS-Mainboard. Using lilo I change between Devuan ascii (backport kernel 4.19), beowulf and Debian buster (kernel 5.4). A very special buster without systemd, using slim. Everything runs without any problem.

I bought a new computer - ASUS-mainboard with AMD ryzen 3 - and put the harddisk in the new computer. After changing the UEFI-parameters in the BIOS I started.

The kernel was booted, but booting stopped with the message, that the root device with UUID ... was not found. But of course it exists. The problem is the same on ascii and buster. And my keyboard and mouse are not available, so the offer to use the programs of the initrd was not helpful.

Using a Debian live-DVD with buster and gnome everything is starting, the UUIDs of the partitions are found.

The mainboard has the possibility to connect mouse and keyboard using PS/2. Would searching adapters of the type usb to PS/2 be helpful?

Because the root device and the other partitions are not mounted, I have no entries in the files of /var/log.

Is the problem a lack of firmware, or do you have another idea? Is there a need to rebuild the initrd-images after starting the new system?

This is my first posting. So I give you the information, that I'm a german. If you like it you can send messages in german or french.

Thank you for your answers.

Last edited by hmj (2020-06-01 16:23:54)

rolfie · 2020-03-04 18:39:28

Maybe putting your HD into a different PC deleted some entries in /boot/efi that are required. Give the following procedure a try:

* Boot from your Live DVD
* chroot into one of the 3 installations you want to revive.
* As root:

update-grub
apt-get --reinstall install grub-common grub-efi-amd64 os-prober

Good luck, rolfie

Dutch_Master · 2020-03-04 18:44:12

Wilkommen ins Forum!

Boot into the Live-CD, then do a filesystem check (fsck) of all partitions. Make sure your Devuan system has the requisite tools available, various packages offer support for individual file systems (like XFS, JFS, BTRFS, etc). What's the contents of the file /etc/fstab? (use the code tags in the forum to keep things neat and tidy)

hmj · 2020-03-04 19:10:13

@rolfie
Thank you, but, as I wrote, i'm using lilo. And I changed some values of the new bios to eliminate UEFI. My old computer has no UEFI-Bios, so I changed the values of the new one to be able to start. It boots, but stops. I think with an activated UEFI-Bios I had no chance ti start the new computer.

@Dutch_Master
I'm using ext4. And I had verified after booting the Live-DVD, whether the UUID-names of the partitions existed. blkid and the content of fstab brought the correct values.

ToxicExMachina · 2020-03-05 07:48:07

1. Boot into recovery mode of installer CD/DVD/USBstick.
2. Choose root partition for chroot
3. update-grub

golinux · 2020-03-05 07:51:19

That might work if hmj was using grub but according to the post immediately above yours, (s)he is using lilo.

rolfie · 2020-03-05 10:01:22

@hmj: sorry, I overread the Lilo topic. This is outside my expertise, I am using grub only.

To get a clue what might be going wrong we will need more details.

How is the original PC set up? It had a conventional Bios without UEFI, so the assumption is that the HDD had a msdos partition table. Showing this might also give a clue. Are the three installations using standard or custom kernels/initrds? Was the HDD the only device on that old PC? Are the installations using encryption/LVM or other specialities? What kind of mouse and keyboard interface has this mainboard? Is the HDD still booting in the old PC?

Booting from the new PC should work in principle, but .....
Different graphics, different network chipset etc. might need different firmware. But all of these things should only count when the kernel is booting up.

Can you tell us which parameters you modified in the UEFI bios to make CSM work? Secure boot out of the way? Boot from Legacy set for storgaer devices?

To the keyboard trouble: if you are using an USB keyboard, make sure you got the legacy USB mode enabled in the bios. It might be worth trying an old PS2 keyboard if available.

Is the HDD the only device connected to the new mainboard? Have a close look to other devices on the new mainboard like USB sticks, card readers .....

Is lilo able to start against an UUID? Or does it still use the oldfashioned hd0,0 notation? When I looked into lilo last it couldn't cope with UUID.

I hope this gives you some ideas what to check and something to think about.

Good lukc, rolfie

Last edited by rolfie (2020-03-05 16:47:35)

hmj · 2020-03-05 17:24:40

@rolfie
Thank you - a lot of questions

It may be useful to give some informations about my experiences with linux-systems.

I started my linux life in the late nineties with a SuSE 5.3. Some years later I changed to debian, about since one year I'm working with devuan. I'm using lilo from the very beginning. Before starting with linux I used OS/2 and MSDOS. With lilo it was possible to start MSDOS on a second harddisk. I installed linux on a lot of computers including computers of friends. As a result I have a great experience with multiboot-systems.

- the HDD has a MSDOS partition-table. An early copy of the first 512 bytes is written in /boot under the filename boot.0800.

- I only used devuan-kernels 4,19 for devuan, debian kernel 5.4 for buster. As I've found, AMD ryzen 3 is supported since the version 4.17. Devuan stable has on the install-dvd 4.09. That's why the devuan live dvd is booting, but the amdgpu is not supported. But: it doesn't stop, the screen is not readable, that's all.

- only one hdd and one /dev/sr0 (read and write dvds). No encryption, no LVM, nothing special. Mouse and keyboard ar connected with USB 2..

- I put the devices back in the old PC, no problem at all. I write this on my old computer.

- Firmware: Searching in synaptic, i found an amd-microcode, made non-free by amd, and a firmware-amd-graphics. Software from the backports is chosen in sources-list, but, very funny, the stable-versions for these two packages are shown, I had to force the new backport-version to activate in in the list.
Concerning graphics: amdgpu.ko exists für 4.19 and 5.4. And I've found a posting, that the microcode could bring problems when booting.

ASUS-boards have extended possibilities to configure the bios. Choosing them you can exclude the UEFI and secure-boot possibilities. Some time ago I installed another computer with an ASUS-board and an AMD-cpu, where the same procedures in the bios made the system boot without any problem - but it was no ryzen-cpu.

memtest86+.bin is booting without problem, the kernels for linux are booting, but stopping.

- The program liloconfig will write a file lilo.conf. There you find the boot device by id and the partitions by uuid -> values: blkid and etc/fstab. I've found, some years ago, the modern systems using libata would need such a unique ID. There is another possibility to give a value to a partition by using PARTUUID= ... Should I try it? Until now I just use it for the swap-partition, file: /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume. And I could try to use /dev/sda1 and so on, because, when watching the informations given bei dmesg, I find sda1, sda2 etc., not the UUIDs.

My plan: I will boot the debian-live dvd, mount the partitions needed, using update-initramfs to renew the initrd.img.

By reasons that not concern the starting problems I actually change the computer against another with the same mainboard and the same cpu. So it will last some days before I can retry the installation. I'm sure: I'll find the right way ...

Head_on_a_Stick · 2020-03-05 18:08:32

hmj wrote:

AMD ryzen 3

Do you mean a third generation Ryzen chip or do you mean a Ryzen 3, generation unspecified? What is the full model designation for your CPU?

Third generation Ryzens are not supported by the 4.19 kernel (but should work with your 5.4 kernel).

hmj wrote:

Is there a need to rebuild the initrd-images after starting the new system?

I don't think so, the default /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf specifies MODULES=most so it should already include any modules you may need. Does your file still have that setting?

hmj wrote:

I've found a posting, that the microcode could bring problems when booting

Do you have a link for that? It is my understanding that the µcode is necessary and should fix problems rather than cause them.

hmj wrote:

i'm using lilo

LILO is dead upstream and hasn't been developed since January 2016. Do you still experience this problem if you try GRUB instead?

rolfie · 2020-03-05 19:31:14

When lilo supports UUID, an additional device smuggling itself into the device list should not matter at all. Something else is wrong.

I am running a ASUS Prime X470 Pro, Ryzen7 2700X CPU, Pulse Radeon RX 570 running ASCII with backports kernel. UEFI mode, gpt partition table, grub, encrypted except boot. A different HW and system setup, but with some relation to yours.

I needed to install firmware-linux-free from stable and firmware-linux-nonfree from backports to support the HW. firmware-linux-nonfree automatically pulls firmware-amd-graphics and the amd microcode required to support the Ryzen. Give that a try.

BTW: when there are package versions in stable and backports, without specifying explicitely backports the stable version is installed. i.e. you need to write apt -t ascii backports install .... to get the backports package.

rolfie

Last edited by rolfie (2020-03-05 19:34:56)

hmj · 2020-03-05 21:12:36

@Head_on_a_Stick

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
Sorry, I didn't save the link, it was an opinion of someone, who answered a question concerning the microcode. I read it today, and I ever clean everything when closing the browser.
And, concerning grub: I don't think that the problem is caused by lilo.

@ rolfie
firmware-linux-free has been installed, but not yet firmware-linux-nonfree - thank you, I will try it. And, of course, after booting the debian live-dvd, I will look at the packages in synaptic, where I suppose that something could be needed.

Synaptic is rather comfortable, so I like to use it. Of course, I also use apt, when there is a need. When the backports in sources-list are activated, normally I get the backport-versions in synaptic. In the two cases I've written above I found the information by clicking on "versions", that synaptic in that special case didn't offer to download the actual versions. But thank you for that hint.

Finally, when you are using a Ryzen 7, I'm convinced to succeed. In 2018 there seemed to be some errors with randomize-numbers, produced by the kernel. Of course I will add some packages before changing the devices into the new computer.

Hans-Martin
(hmj are my initials)

czeekaj · 2020-03-09 06:48:27

hmj wrote:

2018 there seemed to be some errors with randomize-numbers,

I think that is a issue with AMD random number generation more then the kernel. Something to do with the secure processor cryptography.

I don't know for sure tho, I don't have any ryzen cpu.

GlennW · 2020-03-15 23:49:55

I have read that some newer firmware packages, I personally am using a git clone... that they require a late bios version. Not mentioned here... I hope it helps.

I've come this path to install a wireless card that is not supported in 4.09 kernel, which required me to install backport kernel 4.19.

One other thing, it's my understanding that uuid is most useful for systems that swap hardware frequently, and is better for security (booting).
Otherwise, I have found in a pinch that /dev/sd(x)(n) works fine.

hmj · 2020-06-01 16:36:31

Meanwhile I have another computer with the same mainboard and the AMD CPU Ryzen 3 3200G. I changed the computer by other reasons than mainboard and CPU. The system is running fine. Very seldom it occurred that my usb-keyboard and mouse were lost.  In the thread i got a lot of advices. Most of them didn't concern the reasons of my problem. So I will give some information, what is needed to use the CPU.
 
1. No problem using lilo with UUID. Indeed: Using /dev/sdaX as root devices instead of UUID makes no problems.
 
2. The package firmware-linux-free is installed, it is not necessary to select firmware-nonfree.
 
3. Before putting the harddisk in the new computer, I changed my selection in /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d.d/driver-policy from MODULES=dep to #MODULES=dep, then I updated the
initrd.img for one kernel - it grew from about 7 MB to 21 MB. I installed the packages firmware-amd-graphics and amd-microcode.
 
4. So I could boot using the big initrd. I have a system with 3 installations, that I can boot from the same menu. That means: the boot directory contains more initrd.imgs. Using the
small (MODULES=dep) the root device was not found. Using the big one I had nearly succeeded, because with a kernel version 4.19 the framebuffer-font (terminus 11x22) did not appear, my screen was not detected, I suppose a default mode of the X-server. Installing a kernel of version 5.4 made everything run.

5. After these steps there is no need to keep the big initrd.img Set /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d.d/driver-policy to MODULES=dep, and rebuild the initrd.img.

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#1 2020-03-04 17:22:01

[Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#2 2020-03-04 18:39:28

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#3 2020-03-04 18:44:12

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#4 2020-03-04 19:10:13

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#5 2020-03-05 07:48:07

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#6 2020-03-05 07:51:19

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#7 2020-03-05 10:01:22

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#8 2020-03-05 17:24:40

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#9 2020-03-05 18:08:32

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#10 2020-03-05 19:31:14

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#11 2020-03-05 21:12:36

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#12 2020-03-09 06:48:27

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#13 2020-03-15 23:49:55

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

#14 2020-06-01 16:36:31

Re: [Solved ]Mainboard ASUS with AMD Ryzen 3: root device not found

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