Difficulties installing EasyOS and some suggestions

[libertas]

Hi,

I'm trying to install EasyOS again, now the 5.6.4 version.

As per the other thread, I didn't find the information provided to me at https://easyos.org/, namely, that the EasyOS usb image should be copied to a usb stick of at least 16GB of capacity.
I think that this information should be clear and easily found on the installation part of the site.

In the web page referring to the frugal installation, at https://easyos.org/install/easy-frugal- ... ation.html, it is said the three files should be copied to a ext4 partition.
The first option consists of opening the .img file for EasyOS. Well, if we are booting from the usb stick there's no access to the .img file, but only to the result of copying it to the stick.

A second option is mentioned:

You have got access to those three files, either by opening up the image-file or by writing the image-file to a USB-stick. The image-file consists of two partitions, like this:

Secondly, the ext4 partition:
To install EasyOS to the ext4 partition on the computer internal drive, copy those three files 'vmlinuz', 'initrd' and 'easy.sfs' across.

I open my sdb2 partition from the usb stick and only find initrd and vmlinuz, besided file directories: containers, data, files, releases, sfs.
The tutorial fails to mention where is the easy.sfs file. Should it be at the root like initrd and vmlinuz?
I try to find it using the right-click in the window where those files are, then Next Click, Find.
Nothing shows up, i.e., no dialog window.

So, I have to start a terminal at that sda5 partition.
The very common 'll' alias for 'ls -l' doesn't work. Could it be added?

# find . -name easy.sfs
./releases/easy-5.6.4/easy.sfs

So, I go to ./releases/easy-5.6.4 and find out that the file is a symlink.
easy.sfs -> ../../sfs/easyos/oe/kirkstone/easy_5.6.4_amd64.sfs

Now, I have to go find that file, copy it to sda5 and rename it. The help webpage doesn't seem to mention this.

Any newbie would find this a challenge, any person not used to Linux or any Unix like OS, would have left EasyOS by now.

The Limine installer has detected the EasyOS files successfuly, let's see if I can boot this system from the SSD this time.

The help page is missing the steps I mentioned.

[libertas]

I tried to reboot the frugal EasyOS installation on the SSD.

First try: kernel panic.
Rebooted using S15 (present in the same sda5 partition) and found out that the wkg_dir had a bad partition id. The partitions ids for vmlinuz and initrd were fine.
This limine.cfg file had a modified timestamp of some minutes ago when I installed Limine.

I corrected the partition id, then reboot.
EasyOS asks me to choose the keyboard layout and key in the number.
Then, it exits to the shell.
Cannot find the easy.sfs file!

As can be seen from the attached screenshot, easy.sfs is right next to vmlinuz and initrd.

So, what is wrong?
Does this happen only to me?

[Federico]

@ Libertas

Just go here:

https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/

and download the img file which corresponds to the version you want to install on your USB stick. Presumably easy-5.6.4-amd64.img.

Then go here:

https://www.alexpage.de/usb-image-tool/download/

and download USB Image Tool.

Now: from Windows run USB Image Tool and use it to restore your downloaded img file onto your USB stick. This will last half an hour or so.

Lastly, reboot, enter the BIOS and instruct it to boot from your USB stick.

You can eventually also use USB Image Tool later for creating backups of your configured EasyOS USB system.
It will create a new img file to be saved on your internal or external HDD, containing the whole contents of your EasyOS USB stick (pay attention to the fact that the backup img file will be as big as your whole USB flash drive. You can eventually compress it using 7zip).

That's all, really.

Very important: the USB (flash memory) technology is not suitable for running operating systems generally speaking (although EasyOS has been optimized for this purpose).
My experience is that only good quality sticks will do the job.
I have never had failures with Sandisk and / or Lexar, but obviously not just the brand but also the age and the model of the stick do also matter a lot.
If you are using an old and low quality stick it will most probably burn and fail after 4 ~ 5 boots.
If you really wish to use the system and don't want any headaches go out and buy a new decent one (Sandisk is the best brand imo). If you buy a stick with dual jack (USB type A and C), please do not use the type C jack. Only use type A because type C gives problems in my experience.
Also try to connect the stick directly to your PC and avoid hubs.

[BarryK]

@libertas
I could keep adding more details to a tutorial page. I have previously written tutorial pages that try and explain everything, but too much detail confuses people. I have learnt to keep the explanations simple.

The explanation about easy.sfs getting moved is in this page:

https://easyos.org/tech/how-easy-works.html

I have looked through the frugal install tutorial page, and it is quite clear. Why have you written this, it is a wrong statement:

The first option consists of opening the .img file for EasyOS. Well, if we are booting from the usb stick there's no access to the .img file, but only to the result of copying it to the stick.

Actually, the minimum recommended size is 8GB; 16GB is better. That fact is mentioned in various places. I just now looked at:

"how to write EasyOS to a flash drive"
https://easyos.org/install/how-to-write ... drive.html

...and it does specify the minimum size.

Anyway, these days who would be using a flash stick smaller than 8GB? if I go to my local supermarket, the smallest available is 32GB.

Then there is your comment about Limine not being able to find easy.sfs. So, you have not configured the Limine menu entry correctly. Easily fixed by a bit of basic study how Limine works.

This statement doesn't make any sense:

Rebooted using S15 (present in the same sda5 partition) and found out that the wkg_dir had a bad partition id.

I suggest that you apply yourself to understanding the principles before complaining here.

[Caramel]

Excerpt from https://easyos.org/install/easy-frugal- ... ation.html

Install to ext4 partition

Installation is incredibly simple. You just need to create a folder in the ext4 partition, and copy three files, 'vmlinuz', 'initrd' and 'easy.sfs' into that folder. Those files are inside the 'easy-<version>-amd64.img' file.

Which raises the question, how do you open up that image file and extract those files?
If you go to this page, various ways of opening up the image file are explained:

https://easyos.org/user/how-to-update-e ... l_updating

You can do it while running any Linux distribution; however, with EasyOS it is extremely simple, just click on the image file.

So, you might find it will make life easier to write the image file to a USB-stick and boot that. That is also easy, explained here:

https://easyos.org/install/how-to-insta ... w-ssd.html

You have got access to those three files, either by opening up the image-file or by writing the image-file to a USB-stick

It could be confusing for a complete beginner.
Indeed it is not so obvious that there are 2 usages of a usb stick in the suggestions in this quote (One with a stick with EasyOS completely installed for opening the .img file, and another with a stick where the .img was just been written on it but which has never been booted (or launched, I'm not sure of the right word))

@libertas,
Just after you have written the img file on the usb stick, the easy.sfs file is in the easyos folder of the second partition. But If you launch EasyOS with the stick, easy.sfs is moved and renamed

I tried to reboot the frugal EasyOS installation on the SSD.

First try: kernel panic.
Rebooted using S15 (present in the same sda5 partition) and found out that the wkg_dir had a bad partition id.

I suppose S15 is Slackware 15.
Could you please share your limine.cfg file?

[don570]

Note to BarryK

I was working on UExtract 4.11 and I stumbled on some important info about right click menus.
I found that your suggestion to type

Code: Select all

# build-rox-sendto

worked. ....but this is awkward to do each time the right click menu items disappears.

So I checked how the right click menu items worked for image formats like PNG.
and I discovered that if I choose 'Customise Menu' the right click menu items disappear.
So this is a general problem. I'm sure it can be solved by automatically building in 'build-rox-sendto'
command.

screenshot-customize.png (23.92 KiB) Viewed 1331 times

[libertas]

@libertas
I could keep adding more details to a tutorial page. I have previously written tutorial pages that try and explain everything, but too much detail confuses people. I have learnt to keep the explanations simple.

The explanation about easy.sfs getting moved is in this page:

https://easyos.org/tech/how-easy-works.html

I have looked through the frugal install tutorial page, and it is quite clear.

@Barryk, you are the architect of EasyOS, and probably have installed it hundreds of times, so it's easy and clear for you.
If you'd like to accept some suggestion very good. If not, no problem.
EasyOS has a different concept and I appreciate it, but it's difficult to have it going, not easy.
Maybe you could have a succint list of steps that could point to the relevant sections.

Then there is your comment about Limine not being able to find easy.sfs. So, you have not configured the Limine menu entry correctly. Easily fixed by a bit of basic study how Limine works.

My limine.cfg is this one:

Code: Select all

QUIET=no
TIMEOUT=20
GRAPHICS=no
DEFAULT_ENTRY=1
EDITOR_ENABLED=yes
INTERFACE_BRANDING=EasyOS Limine Boot Manager


:EasyOS Kirkstone64 (partition sda5, path easyos/kirkstone)
    COMMENT=EasyOS bootup
    PROTOCOL=linux
    KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
    KERNEL_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/easyos/kirkstone/vmlinuz
    MODULE_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/easyos/kirkstone/initrd

:EFI Chainload Puppy (partition sda1)
    PROTOCOL=chainload
    IMAGE_PATH=guid://6d5d9e83-147a-4a0d-b266-22f24cfc93c5/EFI/Puppy/BOOTX64.EFI

:Puppy Linux s15pup64 (partition sda5, path puppy/s15pup64)
    PROTOCOL=linux
    KERNEL_CMDLINE=psubdir=puppy/s15pup64 pmedia=ataflash
    KERNEL_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/puppy/s15pup64/vmlinuz
    MODULE_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/puppy/s15pup64/initrd.gz

:Puppy Linux vpup64 (partition sda5, path puppy/voidpup64)
    PROTOCOL=linux
    KERNEL_CMDLINE=psubdir=puppy/voidpup64 pmedia=ataflash
    KERNEL_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/puppy/voidpup64/vmlinuz
    MODULE_PATH=guid://00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6/puppy/voidpup64/initrd.gz

:Windows 10
    COMMENT=Windows bootup
    PROTOCOL=chainload
    IMAGE_PATH=guid://6d5d9e83-147a-4a0d-b266-22f24cfc93c5/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi

Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?

[libertas]

Excerpt from https://easyos.org/install/easy-frugal- ... ation.html

Install to ext4 partition

Installation is incredibly simple. You just need to create a folder in the ext4 partition, and copy three files, 'vmlinuz', 'initrd' and 'easy.sfs' into that folder. Those files are inside the 'easy-<version>-amd64.img' file.

Which raises the question, how do you open up that image file and extract those files?
If you go to this page, various ways of opening up the image file are explained:

https://easyos.org/user/how-to-update-e ... l_updating

You can do it while running any Linux distribution; however, with EasyOS it is extremely simple, just click on the image file.

So, you might find it will make life easier to write the image file to a USB-stick and boot that. That is also easy, explained here:

https://easyos.org/install/how-to-insta ... w-ssd.html

You have got access to those three files, either by opening up the image-file or by writing the image-file to a USB-stick

It could be confusing for a complete beginner.

Exactly.
Maybe I've overlooked, but I haven't read anywhere that one has to copy the file easy_5.6.4_amd64.sfs to the target directory where vmlinuz and initrd are, from the easyos/sfs/easyos/oe/kirkstone directory (and rename it).

@libertas,
Just after you have written the img file on the usb stick, the easy.sfs file is in the easyos folder of the second partition. But If you launch EasyOS with the stick, easy.sfs is moved and renamed

Yes, I already know this and read the webpage about it.

I tried to reboot the frugal EasyOS installation on the SSD.

First try: kernel panic.
Rebooted using S15 (present in the same sda5 partition) and found out that the wkg_dir had a bad partition id.

Could you please share your limine.cfg file?

I did it in the last message.

[Wiz57]

"Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?"

Not having experience with limine, on first glance it does look incorrect...
add a leading slash to the part "wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone" like this "wkg_dir=/easyos/kirkstone" save, then try and reboot.
Wiz

[williwaw]

Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?

please post the output from running blkid in the terminal. also post the path(s) where your install components exist (sda?/installfoldername)

you mentioned earlier

I corrected the partition id, then reboot.

are you attempting a custom install or wish to have everything in the same install folder?

[libertas]

"Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?"

Not having experience with limine, on first glance it does look incorrect...
add a leading slash to the part "wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone" like this "wkg_dir=/easyos/kirkstone" save, then try and reboot.
Wiz

Hi Wiz57, thank you for trying to help.
I did as suggested and the boot process cannot still find easy.sfs.
I had tryied it before, too, but https://easyos.org/install/how-to-insta ... w-ssd.html shows no leading slash, too (under Precaution section).

[libertas]

Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?

please post the output from running blkid in the terminal. also post the path(s) where your install components exist (sda?/installfoldername)

Hi williwaw, thank you for the help.
Here it is:

Code: Select all

# blkid
/dev/sda5: UUID="201b7560-4a1d-4885-a91a-d0910e984f11" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="Linux" PARTUUID="00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6"
/dev/loop1: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/loop2: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/loop0: TYPE="squashfs"
/dev/sda4: BLOCK_SIZE="512" UUID="F470B42F70B3F708" TYPE="ntfs" PARTUUID="26070bff-ae94-4b45-8805-bc6714b95c13"
/dev/sda2: PARTLABEL="Microsoft reserved partition" PARTUUID="4afa412d-18ef-49a4-aea7-aa0461fa2713"
/dev/sda3: BLOCK_SIZE="512" UUID="C236734D36734209" TYPE="ntfs" PARTLABEL="Basic data partition" PARTUUID="5639e0ca-4590-4914-b069-f63b07681bdf"
/dev/sda1: UUID="5672-9FA1" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="EFI system partition" PARTUUID="6d5d9e83-147a-4a0d-b266-22f24cfc93c5"
/dev/zram0: UUID="c2f6c4f3-7113-40b5-ace7-8e7ecdb90d04" TYPE="swap"
/dev/loop3: TYPE="squashfs"

Code: Select all

# ls -l /mnt/home/easyos/kirkstone/
total 811088
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 818425856 nov 26 15:28 easy.sfs
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   5509632 nov 26 15:28 initrd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   6609600 nov 26 15:28 vmlinuz

I wish I could find a correspondence between /mnt/home and /dev/sda5, but there's no direct connection:

Code: Select all

 mount
/dev/sda5 on /initrd/mnt/dev_save type ext4 (rw,noatime)
tmpfs on /initrd/mnt/tmpfs type tmpfs (rw,relatime,size=8495912k,inode64)
/dev/loop0 on /initrd/pup_ro2 type squashfs (ro,noatime,errors=continue)
unionfs on / type aufs (rw,relatime,si=b28ed95922acd9f3)
/dev/loop1 on /initrd/pup_f type squashfs (ro,noatime,errors=continue)
/dev/loop2 on /initrd/pup_z type squashfs (ro,noatime,errors=continue)
/dev/loop3 on /initrd/pup_a type squashfs (ro,noatime,errors=continue)
devtmpfs on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,relatime,size=8096624k,nr_inodes=2024156,mode=755,inode64)
none on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,gid=2,mode=620,ptmxmode=000)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
cgroup2 on /sys/fs/cgroup type cgroup2 (rw,relatime,nsdelegate,memory_recursiveprot)
shmfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,relatime,size=3817468k,inode64)
none on /sys/firmware/efi/efivars type efivarfs (rw,relatime)

you mentioned earlier

I corrected the partition id, then reboot.

are you attempting a custom install or wish to have everything in the same install folder?

I'm attempting a frugal installation.

[BarryK]

Note to BarryK

I was working on UExtract 4.11 and I stumbled on some important info about right click menus.
I found that your suggestion to type

Code: Select all

# build-rox-sendto

worked. ....but this is awkward to do each time the right click menu items disappears.

So I checked how the right click menu items worked for image formats like PNG.
and I discovered that if I choose 'Customise Menu' the right click menu items disappear.
So this is a general problem. I'm sure it can be solved by automatically building in 'build-rox-sendto'
command.

screenshot-customize.png

Replied elsewhere:

viewtopic.php?p=105008#p105008

[BarryK]

"Is this line wrong?
KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone
Is this the reason why the boot process can't find easy.sfs?"

Not having experience with limine, on first glance it does look incorrect...
add a leading slash to the part "wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone" like this "wkg_dir=/easyos/kirkstone" save, then try and reboot.
Wiz

No, the leading slash is not required.

[BarryK]

@Barryk, you are the architect of EasyOS, and probably have installed it hundreds of times, so it's easy and clear for you.
If you'd like to accept some suggestion very good. If not, no problem.
EasyOS has a different concept and I appreciate it, but it's difficult to have it going, not easy.
Maybe you could have a succint list of steps that could point to the relevant sections.

@libertas
Excuse my earlier impatience.
Yes, sometimes what is obvious to me, may not be to a newcomer.

Your limine menu is wrong:

Code: Select all

KERNEL_CMDLINE=rw wkg_uuid=00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6 wkg_dir=easyos/kirkstone

You have put the PARTUUID, which is the "partition UUID".
What is required is the UUID, which is the "filesystem UUID"
They are two different things.

Code: Select all

# blkid
/dev/sda5: UUID="201b7560-4a1d-4885-a91a-d0910e984f11" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="Linux" PARTUUID="00dabd81-7401-4d64-b530-64de156c55b6"

Note, EasyOS has the full 'blkid' utility, from the 'util-linux' package.
Some of the pups only have the busybox blkid, which does not display the PARTUUID, only the UUID.
Which you can verify:

Code: Select all

# busybox blkid

[libertas]

Thank you @BarryK for your help!

I've corrected the PARTUUID to UUID and the boot process advanced until a new stopper.

There's a kernel panic because /init at line 1300 cannot find file or directory /mnt/sda5/easyos/kirkstone/sfs/settings/initrd/CONFIG.

I booted to a Puppy and opened the target sda5.
Clicked in the easy.sfs file that got mounted at

Code: Select all

# pwd
/media/+mnt+home+easyos+kirkstone+easy.sfs

Tried to find for the missing file and was not found.

Code: Select all

# find . -name CONFIG

Maybe this has to do with the initrd file at sda5.
The attached image shows the three files at sda5.

[williwaw]

Maybe this has to do with the initrd file at sda5.
The attached image shows the three files at sda5.

Were the three frugal files all extracted from the same easy-5.6.4-amd64.img?

[n00b]

Try changing sda5 write permissions to all.

[BarryK]

There's a kernel panic because /init at line 1300 cannot find file or directory /mnt/sda5/easyos/kirkstone/sfs/settings/initrd/CONFIG.

It looks like earlier trouble getting it to work resulted in creation of /mnt/sda5/easyos/kirkstone/.session folder.

In ROX-Filer, right-click in a blank area of the window and choose "Display -> Show hidden"
If .session folder exists, delete it.

I presume this is the frugal install in your ssd.
If you booted with a password to encrypt folders, then that .session folder will have an encrypted name.

Boot Easy on the usb-stick and you will be able to view the .session folder in the ssd.
If the folders do have encryption, there will be a popup when you mount sda5, asking for the password.

EDIT:
If there is no .session folder, next thing to check is post from williwaw above.