Topic: Gparted Help

[derekb]

Hi

I just wanted to check if anyone would be able to assist in order for myself to get Gparted onto my SME server?

i have tried gdisk, parted but no matter what i do the disk just does not want to allow me to format in ext3/4 with a GUID partition table. Im using a seagate external hard drive for Affa backups.

# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 (mockbuild@builder10.centos.org) (gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-51)) #1 SMP Thu Oct 20 16:20:37 EDT 2011

SME Server 8.0

[root@netkeeper ~]# parted /dev/sdc
Warning: Device /dev/sdc has a logical sector size of 4096.  Not all parts of GNU Parted support this at the moment, and the working code is HIGHLY
EXPERIMENTAL.

GNU Parted 1.8.1
Using /dev/sdc
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) print
Error: Unable to open /dev/sdc - unrecognised disk label.
(parted) mklabel gpt
Error: Invalid argument during write on /dev/sdc
Retry/Ignore/Cancel? c
(parted)

[root@netkeeper ~]# gdisk /dev/sdc
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.6.10

Partition table scan:
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.

Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sdc: 732566646 sectors, 2.7 TiB
Logical sector size: 4096 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 07D2E01A-215C-4B65-B33B-8A82A0D4B291
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 6, last usable sector is 732566640
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 2042 sectors (8.0 MiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048       732566640   2.7 TiB     8301  Linux reserved

Command (? for help):

[root@netkeeper ~]# fdisk /dev/sdc -l

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdc'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

Note: sector size is 4096 (not 512)

WARNING: The size of this disk is 3.0 TB (3000592982016 bytes).
DOS partition table format can not be used on drives for volumes
larger than 2.2 TB (2199023255040 bytes). Use parted(1) and GUID
partition table format (GPT).


Disk /dev/sdc: 3000.5 GB, 3000592982016 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 45422 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16128 * 4096 = 66060288 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1               1       45423  2930266580   ee  EFI GPT

The partition is created but i cant mount/format the drive in order to make it usable.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

[purvis]

SME does not support GUID formated drives.
Either use another operating system that supports GUID partitioned drives and use that on your larger than 2tb drive or get a 2TB drive.
That is my recommendation.

If you are going to install a system that supports GUID partition then might as well get a big drive, like a 6 TB Drive.
You can run virtual sme operating systems on using virtualbox.

Good luck!
Please write back with what you decided to do.
 

[derekb]

Hi Purvis

Thank you for the reply.

This drive wont be used for SME itself. I'm trying to format it for an Affa backup.

fdisk unfortunately does not support the size of the disk in order for myself to create the required partition and then format it in ext3.

all i need is to format the drive within Linux itself as i have tried within another interface but it looks like there is an issue with the partitioning table.

all i need it to create the partition and format it - any assistance to get this complete would be greatly appreciated (i have spent most of the past week trying to get this done).

PS: This is our main server and i will unfortunately not be able to run it as a virtual box.

Thanks again for the reply

[derekb]

Does anyone have any assistance to how i will be able to format the 3TB drive on the server itself? i really need some help as i have never run into so many issue to get the drive working.
I have also never had an issue like this before.

The REHL on the unit support EFI so there should be an issue logically.

[janet]

derekb

Have you fully cleaned, (ie erased) all partition information from that drive before starting ?
ie using the dd command or some other software tool

See this thread
http://forums.contribs.org/index.php/topic,49551.msg247768.html#msg247768

and also read the links in that thread.

They talk about formatting larger than 2Tb drives using parted, so you may get some clues.
parted seems to be the right "tool" to use.

Sorry I cannot help further, my largest drive is 2Tb.

[janet]

derekb

Maybe this can help you.
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/fdisk-unable-to-create-partition-greater-2tb.html

Here is another one
http://www.newitperson.com/2011/02/creating-partition-size-larger-2tb-linux/

Also there is this comment, not sure if it is still applicable and relevant, although it is a relatively recent post.
http://forums.contribs.org/index.php/topic,48093.msg244954.html#msg244954
It says "At this stage, and based on Redhat bug resolution (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=467848) GPT partitioning is not supported in CentOs 5, hence SME8, regardless of the size of the hard drive.  GPT partitioning is partly supported in SME7, the system will install OK but the total useable size of all partitions will be limited to 2TB."

[derekb]

Hi Janet

Thank you for the reply on this again.

My biggest issue is that on all the information i have read my system is suppose to support GPT partition for external storage:

[CONFIG_EFI_VARS=y
CONFIG_EFI=y
CONFIG_FB_EFI=y
CONFIG_CACHEFILES=m
CONFIG_CACHEFILES_DEBUG=y
CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION=y
/quote]

But no matter what i try i cant get the device mounted:

[root@netkeeper ~]# fdisk -l /dev/sdc

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdc'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

Note: sector size is 4096 (not 512)

WARNING: The size of this disk is 3.0 TB (3000592982016 bytes).
DOS partition table format can not be used on drives for volumes
larger than 2.2 TB (2199023255040 bytes). Use parted(1) and GUID
partition table format (GPT).


Disk /dev/sdc: 3000.5 GB, 3000592982016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 45600 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 4096 = 65802240 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1               1       45601  2930266580   ee  EFI GPT
[root@netkeeper ~]#

[root@netkeeper ~]# mount -rw /dev/sdc1
mount: special device /dev/sdc1 does not exist
[root@netkeeper ~]# mount -rw /mnt/affadevice/
mount: special device /dev/sdc1 does not exist
[root@netkeeper ~]# mount /mnt/affadevice/
mount: special device /dev/sdc1 does not exist

fstab:
/dev/main/root          /                       ext3    usrquota,grpquota        1 1
/dev/md1                /boot                   ext3    defaults        1 2
tmpfs                   /dev/shm                tmpfs   defaults        0 0
devpts                  /dev/pts                devpts  gid=5,mode=620  0 0
sysfs                   /sys                    sysfs   defaults        0 0
proc                    /proc                   proc    defaults        0 0
/dev/main/swap          swap                    swap    defaults        0 0
/dev/sdc1               /mnt/affadevice         ext3    defaults

[root@netkeeper ~]# cat /etc/mtab
/dev/mapper/main-root / ext3 rw,usrquota,grpquota 0 0
proc /proc proc rw 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,gid=5,mode=620 0 0
/dev/md1 /boot ext3 rw 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs rw 0 0
none /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc binfmt_misc rw 0 0

I just dont understand why the device wont mount (the file system is ext3)

[janet]

derekb

My biggest issue is that on all the information i have read my system is suppose to support GPT partition for external storage:

Did you actually read anything I posted ?
Did you follow all the links I posted & the links they also refer to & read what they are saying ?

The last comment says CentOS 5 (therefore sme 8 ) does not support GPT.

Your hardware/BIOS "system" may support it, but it appears the software kernel does not.
The problem is not sme server, the problem is upstream with CentOS.


You are also running an older version of the kernel so you should do
yum update

cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.18-348.12.1.el5 (mockbuild@builder17.centos.org) (gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-54)) #1 SMP Wed Jul 10 05:31:48 EDT 2013

I also asked you earlier if you cleaned the disk before starting to partition it etc.
Refer
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=467848#c10


This Dell support document implies (read it all) larger than 2Tb drives using GPT are supported as secondary data drives, so your problem may be the procedure you are using to partition & format your drive.
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/w/wiki/2837.aspx

Always start with a clean (erased partition) drive.

[derekb]

Hi Janet

I actually did go through all the links in your previous post. (in retrospec i actually did find those before i actually started the post in this forum).

i have run a yum update but its not updating my kernel:

[root@netkeeper mnt]# yum update
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, protect-packages, smeserver
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: mirror.ufs.ac.za
 * smeaddons: mirror.canada.pialasse.com
 * smeextras: mirror.canada.pialasse.com
 * smeos: mirror.canada.pialasse.com
 * smeupdates: mirror.canada.pialasse.com
 * updates: mirror.ufs.ac.za
Excluding Packages from CentOS - os
Finished
Excluding Packages from CentOS - updates
Finished
Setting up Update Process
No Packages marked for Update
[root@netkeeper mnt]# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 (mockbuild@builder10.centos.org) (gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-51)) #1 SMP Thu Oct 20 16:20:37 EDT 2011
[root@netkeeper mnt]#

I'm also formatting the disk with the seagate utility before starting to do anything on it. Creating partition, etc. I have also tried 2 different casing for the drives - 1 from seagate itself and another were i bought the casing separate with a separate drive.

[purvis]

Some things i have to do at times.

Turn off server computer. Unplug server computer from power source.
Power off my routers completely, unplug power from routers, plug power in routers, and restart router.
Plug power cord back into server computer. Start server computer.

I usually have issues with routers maintaining a bad table. I have to recycle the power if i cannot get to the web interface of a router. Oddly, the router will continue to work even when somethings it gets messed up on.

[Stefano]

purvis, we are talking about partition table on a hd..

[janet]

derekb

Do
yum clean all
wait a few minutes and then do
yum update
again

You need to erase the partitions using the dd command.
Connect your drive directly to a spare port on your sme server motherboard.
see example here
http://wiki.contribs.org/Raid#Reusing_Hard_Drives
or use the dd command provided earlier in this thread.
Use the correct ID for your drive eg
/dev/sdc
or whatever it is

Then start again using parted & follow the steps in one of the Howtos I provided a link for.

Also refer also to
http://wiki.contribs.org/USBDisks
where it says
4K block size: 2TB max file size, 16 TB max disk size

so the block size is correct

[derekb]

hi janet

i will try the below and revert on the outcome.

Kind regards

[derekb]

hi janet

is there any other reason why the kernel would not update after completing the below without success:

Do
yum clean all
wait a few minutes and then do
yum update
again

Results:

[root@netkeeper ~]# yum clean all
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, protect-packages, smeserver
Cleaning up Everything
Cleaning up list of fastest mirrors
[root@netkeeper ~]# yum update
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, protect-packages, smeserver
Determining fastest mirrors
 * base: mirror.ufs.ac.za
 * smeaddons: smeserver.mirror.garr.it
 * smeextras: smeserver.mirror.garr.it
 * smeos: smeserver.mirror.garr.it
 * smeupdates: smeserver.mirror.garr.it
 * updates: mirror.ufs.ac.za
base                                                     | 1.1 kB     00:00
base/primary                                             | 983 kB     00:02
base                                                                  2770/2770
smeaddons                                                | 2.5 kB     00:00
smeaddons/primary_db                                     |  30 kB     00:00
smeextras                                                | 2.5 kB     00:00
smeextras/primary_db                                     |  80 kB     00:01
smeos                                                    | 2.7 kB     00:00
smeos/primary_db                                         | 625 kB     00:11
smeupdates                                               | 2.5 kB     00:00
smeupdates/primary_db                                    | 332 kB     00:08
updates                                                  | 1.9 kB     00:00
updates/primary_db                                       | 525 kB     00:01
Excluding Packages from CentOS - os
Finished
Excluding Packages from CentOS - updates
Finished
Setting up Update Process
No Packages marked for Update
[root@netkeeper ~]# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 (mockbuild@builder10.centos.org) (gcc version 4                                                                              .1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-51)) #1 SMP Thu Oct 20 16:20:37 EDT 2011

is there any chance they are pointing to the wrong items to try and update 

[janet]

derekb

Please check the FAQ (link at top of Forums), or see
http://wiki.contribs.org/SME_Server:Documentation:FAQ:Section01#Yum_Updates
& read ALL of the sections all about Repositories & ensure you have the correct repos enabled & check that all other repos are disabled.
There are also some other useful commands for troubleshooting etc.
You can also check the status of each mirror (server) to see if they are fully synchronized & up to date, there should be a link to that somewhere there or from the main wiki page.
On the main wiki page select Downloads, then select the "closest mirror" link to see
http://mirror.contribs.org/mirrors/
It looks like all mirrors are up to date.
I think you local DNS servers probably have stale information.
I have seen similar before in these forums for .za domains.

You can also reset all your repos to defaults.

You can also manually check the packages on the repos.
Use this specific URL but change the mirror address & the repo name to check & compare rpms against the mirrors your system is using to update from.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/smeserver/releases/8/smeupdates/i386/RPMS/

[derekb]

hi janet

i have gone through all the links a FAQ to ensure my repositoties are enables, etc as well as shutdown all the devices with routers, etc and the system still does not want to update the OS.

Excluding Packages from CentOS - os
Finished
Excluding Packages from CentOS - updates

I have made sure this is enabled wherever it needs to be. at the moment im at an ends.... 

[elmarconi]

Maybe it is installed but derekb has booted an older kernel?

check:

cat /proc/version never mind, has been checked...
cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
ls -la /boot/vmlinuz*
rpm -qa | grep kernel

[purvis]

Stephano

Op posted he could not do yum updates.
I know what  the thread is about.
Maybe it was you that did not read thoughly this time.

[purvis]

I have no idea what the OP is trying to accomplish at this point.
If it was to install SME on a guid formatted drive.
Then I thought he was given a way to clean the drive before an install.

If he is trying to format a drive with GUID for another system, then that system is where he neds to look for answers.

If he is trying to do backups from SME to a USB GUID formatted drive and if SME can work with a drive Formatted in that way on a certain computer. Then the OP should just use other software to format that USB drive to a GUID format.
I did see where there is a Gparted Live OS on the Internet.
Some of the USB Seagate drives can be disassembled. I did that to some.
So,if you cannot format a USB drive to GUID. You can place the drive  in the computer and attach it then format it.
I am not certain all computers have the ability to format a drive like that or not.

I also believe Linux Mint has Gparted on their Live CD.

I suppose I don't have to say that if you have SME installed. You should disconnect  the drives with  SME on them first before trying to format.


FYI
I am using Arch Linux Arm on a Pogoplug system where I have a Seagatev3TB USB drive connected and using shares on it to have cameras directly recording video the Pogoplug.
As far as I remember.  I formatted the 3TB drive to GUID and I have a larger than 2TB partition.
The processor is a bit slower on the Pogoplug to achieve fast copy performance.

[janet]

purvis

I have no idea what the OP is trying to accomplish at this point.

Then perhaps you should not be commenting.

OP is trying to format an external USB drive to the full 3Tb capacity in one partition to use for Affa backups.

[janet]

derekb

i have gone through all the links a FAQ to ensure my repositoties are enables, etc

That may be so, but you appear to have NOT looked at the mirror list using the link I provided.
You would have seen that the mirror site you are using for the base & updates repositories is not listed, so is therefore an unofficial mirror site
ie
mirror.ufs.ac.za
I would say that mirror is not synchronized & is outdated (edit - or you have it configured incorrectly).

Why are you using that ?

show us the output of
db yum_repositories show base
db yum_repositories show updates

FYI I do see the current kernel listed here
http://mirror.ufs.ac.za/centos/5/updates/i386/RPMS/

What is your system, 32 bit or 64 bit, what kernel are you running, standard or PAE ?

[derekb]

hi Janet

Please find below:

[root@netkeeper ~]# db yum_repositories show base
base=repository
    EnableGroups=no
    Exclude=initscripts,libgsf
    GPGCheck=yes
    MirrorList=http://mirrorlist.centos.org/?release=$releasever&arch=$basearch&repo=os
    Name=CentOS - os
    Visible=yes
    status=enabled

[root@netkeeper ~]# db yum_repositories show updates
updates=repository
    EnableGroups=no
    Exclude=initscripts,libgsf
    GPGCheck=yes
    MirrorList=http://mirrorlist.centos.org/?release=$releasever&arch=$basearch&repo=updates
    Name=CentOS - updates
    Visible=yes
    status=enabled

To be honest i do not know why it is showing to mirror.ufs.ac.za. Its a 32bit system.

thanks again for all the assistance

[janet]

derekb

They look correct.

Show output of
rpm -q kernel

[derekb]

hi Janet

Below is the output:

[root@netkeeper ~]# rpm -q kernel
kernel-2.6.18-274.7.1.el5
kernel-2.6.18-348.6.1.el5
kernel-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5
[root@netkeeper ~]#

Kind regards

[janet]

derekb

So you already do have the latest kernel installed, that is why nothing happens when you run the yum update command.
ie
kernel-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5
but you are not booting to it.

As suggested previously show output of
cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
ls -la /boot/vmlinuz*

[janet]

derekb

To be honest i do not know why it is showing to mirror.ufs.ac.za.

That's OK, the main mirrors are pointing you to a local mirror. Your repos are configured correctly.

[derekb]

hi janet

i chekced the server with a screen and keyboard directly and you are right - im not booting into the correct kernel.

sorry for my ignorance but will be current configuration transfer if i boot into the updated kernel?

regards

[_alex]

hi,

fyi, here is a /boot/grub/grub.conf that boot the newest kernel:

#boot=/dev/cciss/c0d0
default=0
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/smeserver.xpm.gz
foreground 000000
background 4E95D3
title SME Server (2.6.18-348.12.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5.img
title SME Server (2.6.18-348.6.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.6.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-348.6.1.el5.img
title SME Server (2.6.18-348.4.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.4.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-348.4.1.el5.img

Note that "default=0" means boot the first kernel of the list

will be current configuration transfer if i boot into the updated kernel?

yes. but be carefull if you are using modules like, for example, dahdi.

[janet]

derekb

You can manually change the settings in grub.conf.
Ignore the warnings as you can safely manually edit it & changes will be retained.

You do not even need to manually change the grub.conf file.
Just press a key when you see the splash screen listing the kernels & select the latest kernel from the list.
You have to be ready & be quick unless you change the timeout setting to something like 5 or more (seconds).

sorry for my ignorance but will be current configuration transfer if i boot into the updated kernel?

Yes but as noted if you have applications that depend on a certain kernel (& modules) then you may have trouble.
You can simply reboot & select the old kernel & everything should work correctly again.

Do you have any kernel dependent applications running ?

[derekb]

hi janet/_alex

i dont believe we have any kernel specific modules running. i will be booting into the updated kernel tonight and will revert should there be any issues.

Thanks again for all the help.

Kind regards

[purvis]

More than likely, your USB 3TB drive will not work.
Even if you go it to working.
You could face troubles down the road if you have to pull the drive out of its USB casing
because manufacturer specific SATA hardware that allow some of these drives to be formated to 4096 byte sectors to be seen as 512 bytes to an OS.
I read specifically that even Centos 6 would not support boot up to a non MBR formatted drive and that they are just supporting data drives with the 4096 sector size formatted drives.

I did not realize that AFFA supported USB external drives. I thought it was only for communicating with another server.

I have purchased two 3 TB drive also. One in a USB external case and another as a bare drive.
Both gave me nothing but headaches.
If SME supports multiple USB drives. I would try to use multiple 2TB drives. They may be cheaper in the long run. Specially with your time.


   

[derekb]

hi purvis

i dont want to boot from the 3tb drive. i want to use is as an external for affa 

hi Janet

looks like i will have some module issues witht he conversion - i will have to schedule this for another day.

Also changing the value to 0 on my default did not work - it reverted back to normal...

[root@netkeeper ~]# cat /boot/grub/grub.conf
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE:  You have a /boot partition.  This means that
#          all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
#          root (hd0,0)
#          kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/main/root
#          initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/md1
default=2
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/smeserver.xpm.gz
foreground 000000
background 4E95D3
title Welcome to Netkeeper Pro III (2.6.18-348.12.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-348.12.1.el5.img
title Welcome to Netkeeper Pro III (2.6.18-348.6.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.6.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-348.6.1.el5.img
title Welcome to Netkeeper Pro III (2.6.18-274.7.1.el5)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 ro root=/dev/main/root
        initrd /initrd-2.6.18-274.7.1.el5.img

[janet]

derekb

Also changing the value to 0 on my default did not work - it reverted back to normal...

If you edit grub.conf using
nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf
& change it to read
default=0
timeout=5
& then save it, the new value should be retained.

Unless of course you select a different kernel from the boot up splash screen, because when you select the third kernel listed, then the value will be permanently changed to
default=2
which is possibly what happened in your case.

[elmarconi]

If you edit grub.conf using
nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf
& change it to read
default=0
timeout=5
& then save it, the new value should be retained.

Unless of course you select a different kernel from the boot up splash screen, because when you select the third kernel listed, then the value will be permanently changed to
default=2
which is possibly what happened in your case.

Please check if there are in fact these kernel images there:

ls -la /boot/vmlinuz*

[purvis]

derekb

Did you ever get the external usb 3tb to working.
I am working on some drives and i might have some time to work on it.