[Bug 324987] Re: Kernel *loses* partitions at partitioning stage; installer fails

[Phillip Susi]

I had noticed this bug in parted and worked up a patch to fix it several
months ago, but it was never applied upstream.  I'll do some poking.


** Changed in: parted (Ubuntu)
   Importance: Undecided => Low

** Changed in: parted (Ubuntu)
       Status: Confirmed => Triaged

** Changed in: parted (Ubuntu)
     Assignee: (unassigned) => Phillip Susi (psusi)

** Summary changed:

- Kernel  *loses* partitions at partitioning stage; installer fails
+ parted doesn't handle extended partitions that don't leave at least a 2 sector gap

** Description changed:

- Binary package hint: ubiquity
- 
- Affects: Jaunty live-CD alpha-4, alpha-3 and daily 0203.1 (amd64)
- 
- The description of this bug report might also read "Separate /boot/
- partition fails". The installer fails because a partition it is trying
- to prepare *disappears* as a result of one of the many scan/file-system
- detection operations that ubiquity/partman perform. I've been unable to
- pin-point the culprit so far.
- 
- Note: this affects installations that don't attempt to use
- LVM/encryption as described in the initial description - see later
- comments for 'simpler' scenarios that still fail.
- 
- Checking /proc/partitions shows that sda5 has gone missing.
- 
- Before:
- 
- major minor  #blocks  name
- 
-    7        0     690828 loop0
-    8        0  390711384 sda
-    8        1    9764864 sda1
-    8        2   28738560 sda2
-    8        3    4194304 sda3
-    8        4          1 sda4
-    8        5     122880 sda5
-    8        6  347889719 sda6
-    8       16    2000880 sdb
-    8       17    2000061 sdb1
-  252        0   19529728 dm-0
-  252        1    9764864 dm-1
-  252        2    4882432 dm-2
-  252        3    9764864 dm-3
-  252        4    3903488 dm-4
-  252        5    9763836 dm-5
-  252        6    3902460 dm-6
-  252        7   19528700 dm-7
- 
- After:
- 
- major minor  #blocks  name
- 
-    7        0     690828 loop0
-    8        0  390711384 sda
-    8        1    9764864 sda1
-    8        2   28738560 sda2
-    8        3    4194304 sda3
-    8        4          1 sda4
-    8        6  347889719 sda6
-    8       16    2000880 sdb
-    8       17    2000061 sdb1
-  252        0   19529728 dm-0
-  252        1    9764864 dm-1
-  252        2    4882432 dm-2
-  252        3    9764864 dm-3
-  252        4    3903488 dm-4
-  252        5    9763836 dm-5
-  252        6    3902460 dm-6
-  252        7   19528700 dm-7
- 
- Although I'm testing Jaunty amd64 alpha-3 live-CD, this bug also occurs
- using the Intrepid amd64 live-CD.
- 
- The Sony Vaio VGN-FE41Z (laptop) has a single new SATA 400GB disk-drive
- (replacing the original 200GB drive to gain more space). It has been
- organised thus:
- 
- /dev/sda1 Windows Recovery ntfs ~9GB
- /dev/sda2 Windows Vista ntfs ~28GB
- /dev/sda3 Linux swap ~4GB
- /dev/sda4 extended
- /dev/sda5 Linux ext3 ~125MB
- /dev/sda6 Linux LVM
- 
- Once the live-CD environment starts I install LVM and cryptsetup,
- 'mount' the LVM volumes and unlock them (each is secured using LUKS and
- a key-file.
- 
- VG = Ubuntu
- LVs (in /dev/Ubuntu/) = Jaunty, Jaunty_var, home
- encrypted (in /dev/mapper) = root (ext4), var ext4), home (ext3)
- 
- sda3 is for swap
- sda5 is for /boot/ (ext3)
+ Parted fails to update the kernel partition table when an extended
+ partition starts on the sector immediately following the EBR instead of
+ leaving two sectors for LILO.  This can cause otherwise apparently fine
+ partitions to get "lost" during installation when parted deletes the
+ kernel partition table and tries to recreate it and fails.

-- 
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/324987

Title:
  parted doesn't handle extended partitions that don't leave at least a
  2 sector gap

Status in “parted” package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged

Bug description:
  Parted fails to update the kernel partition table when an extended
  partition starts on the sector immediately following the EBR instead
  of leaving two sectors for LILO.  This can cause otherwise apparently
  fine partitions to get "lost" during installation when parted deletes
  the kernel partition table and tries to recreate it and fails.

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