Netboot - Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf

[B34N]

Yesterday I tried to get my Wife's HP laptop to netboot using wired connection. I couldn't even get it to find the image so I went to the IRC and was told that since this was my first MD I should to run:

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sudo /usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_CreateTBZ.shI got as far as "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf" and gave up thinking that maybe it was due to the fact that I couldn't disable her WiFi card.

Today I wanted to get my Dell Zino working as a MD and I got as far as "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf". I followed the instructions at http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC. According to lspci, the Zino has a Broadcom Netlink BCM57780. Googling "kernel module BCM57780" seemed to indicate that I should use tg3.ko. (I even tried broadcom.ko). Following the instructions on the Unrecognized NIC page I did

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/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_BuildDefaultImage.sh
No change so I even tried

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mkinitramfs -d /etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/ -o /tftpboot/default/initrd
Which should i have used?

I then came across different instructions at http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/PXE#Other_Network_Cards. I tried them and no luck.

So which is it? Do I need to modify the modules file at "/etc/initramfs-tools-interactor" or "/usr/pluto/diskless/###/etc/initramfs-tools". The modules file at "/usr/pluto/diskless/###/etc/initramfs-tools" had nothing in there but lines starting with #.

I'm a little suspicious that the problem could be on the core since I had this happen with two computers. Sure it could be bad luck in finding two machines with Unrecognized NICs but according the the Wiki entry this is uncommon.

Any suggestions?

[pigdog]

Hi,

Sorry, but I am unfamiliar with your hardware so I will start at the beginning.

Did you set your BIOS on the MD to network boot?  (The BIOS has to support PXE network booting.)

Do you have Broadcom Netlink BCM57780 on both machines?

Cheers.

[B34N]

Did you set your BIOS on the MD to network boot?  (The BIOS has to support PXE network booting.)

Yes. Without that enabled I wouldn't have gotten that far.

Do you have Broadcom Netlink BCM57780 on both machines?

No. The HP laptop has a nVidia MCP67

I edited this response because I realized that I was an idiot and didn't read the part in the instructions where it says that I don't need to manually do anything after 7.04.

Unfortunately the result is the same.

The HP laptop rebooted once, ran Diskless_setup.sh, created and image and took some time loading before getting to the "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf"

The Dell Zino didn't even get to the diskless setup part before getting to "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf"

I tried a 6-year old Dell centrino laptop and it got even further than the other two devices. It installed nvidia video drivers, rebooted for a third time then played a tinkle, tinkle sound and the screen went blank. I connected it to an external monitor and it seems that the video resolution is the problem. The laptop is a 1920x1200 screen. It runs fin on the external monitor but the laptop screen is blank. I set it to the 1280x800 resolution which is the same aspect ratio of 1920x1200 and the laptop screen remains blank and the display on the external monitor get misaligned. Also, on the final setup screen is shows the screen ratio as 4:3 and the video output as VGA. Shouldn't the ratio be 16x10 or at least custom? Should the output be something other than VGA since its using the internal? I only tried out this laptop to make sure that the core was working. And while the video is not working, I feel comfortable that the issues I'm having with the HP laptop and the Zino are with those machines and not the core. However, it would still be nice to get the old Dell laptop working. I'm guessing that the screen doesn't like the resolutions that LinuxMCE offers in the video setup. Can I change the resolution manually?

[pigdog]

Hi,

The black screen after boot please see http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=3931.0

I had problems with a MD to get it to work I had to edit tftboot-default to acpi on or just delete the comment acpi off until it builds.

Afterwards I re-edited the defaults back to original.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[B34N]

The black screen after boot please see http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=3931.0

Thank you for the suggestion. I went through trying each connector. 1, 3, 4, 5, Q, W, L all resulted in vertical lines on the laptop screen and nothing on the external screen. 2 resulted in nothing on the laptop screen and a clear picture on the external monitor. If I hit the CRT/LCD switch on the laptop in any of the 1, 3, 4, 5, Q, W, L modes, I would get both vertical lines on the laptop and a clear picture on the external. I tried each connector at every resolution (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Then with is set to w for VGA-2 and while still just seeing vertical lines on the laptop and enabling the external monitor (using the keyboard switch), I decided to continue past the first screen. The setup wizard was set to VGA-2. I picked 1080p and 60Hz and all of the sudden I had a screen on the laptop! The only problem is that I have a double image across the bottom of the screen.

I had problems with a MD to get it to work I had to edit tftboot-default to acpi on or just delete the comment acpi off until it builds.

Afterwards I re-edited the defaults back to original.

ACPI is for power, right? Are you suggesting this change for the other two machines? Where is tftboot-default. I tried "locate tftboot-default" and didn't find it.

Thank you!

[B34N]

Then with is set to w for VGA-2 and while still just seeing vertical lines on the laptop and enabling the external monitor (using the keyboard switch), I decided to continue past the first screen. The setup wizard was set to VGA-2. I picked 1080p and 60Hz and all of the sudden I had a screen on the laptop! The only problem is that I have a double image across the bottom of the screen.

That was short lived. My next reboot the screen went back to vertical lines. Would changing the Video Setting using webadmin from "1920 1080/60" to "1920 1200/60" be a good thing to do or will it break more? If I change that do I need to do rebuild image or anything else for  the changes to take affect?

[pigdog]

Hi,

You could try webadmin approach or as root you could edit your xorg.conf file to use EDID.

Use nano editor and           nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf   

In two spots there's a line that has useEDID=false - change this to true and your system will use the screens' native resolution.

For trying acpi - as root using nano editor       nano /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default

Hope this helps.

[theteju]

I just built my core few days ago. I have uname -r .17 generic.

I tried to netBoot an MD and got to same problem as this thread started. Unfortunately I had realtek r8169 chipset on my MD.  I know there are forum post and a wiki page for it but Its beyond my understanding.

If you solve this issue Please mentions the step by step approach to follow.

Once again, even this thread is going above my head. Its hard for a normal user to follow what you guys are talking about.

I hope you understand my situation.

Thank you.

[THEVILLAIN]

theteju,
   Your network interface card is not recognized.  In my experience realtek cards are terrible and linux drivers may not be available.  I suggest buying a 100Mb or 1k intel nic, $30 at most places.  you can search for the ubuntu hardware compatibility list if you want more options.

[B34N]

It seems that I was having multiple and different issues:
     The HP laptop "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf" may be caused by the system trying to use the wireless card. I'm going to put aside that issue for now. I've been told that laptops are not recommended to be used as MDs.
     The Dell 8600 problem is due to the resolution that the laptop screen supports. I'm not going to worry myself with it because the machine is so old and slow that it would likely choke on HD videos anyhow.
     I have a Dell 9300 laptop with a faulty screen (has vertical lines) that worked perfectly on the first try. Go figure, the machine with the defective screen works. I may just remove that screen and use that as a MD hooked up to an old LCD TV in my workout room, but for now I'm putting that project aside. At least I was able to confirm that my
     The one machine that I really want/need to get working as a MD is a Dell Zino. This one gets the "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf" error on the first boot attempt and doesn't even start to create a diskless boot image. Is it a safe assumption that the reason for this is that the interface card is not recognized and I should use a different driver? According to lspci the Zino has a Broadcom Netlink BCM57780. Googling "kernel module BCM57780" seemed to indicate that I should use tg3.ko. How do I tell LinuxMCE that it should use a different kernel module to boot the Zino?
     https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525966 seems to indicate that an old kernel had a problem with this chipset. Is that why it's not working for me? The machine works fine using Ubuntu 10.04. The comments on the bug are almost all over my head. Any guidance would be appreciated.
    Are the instructions at http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC still current for 8.10 or will I do more harm than good?

[B34N]

     The one machine that I really want/need to get working as a MD is a Dell Zino. This one gets the "Can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf" error on the first boot attempt and doesn't even start to create a diskless boot image. Is it a safe assumption that the reason for this is that the interface card is not recognized and I should use a different driver? According to lspci the Zino has a Broadcom Netlink BCM57780. Googling "kernel module BCM57780" seemed to indicate that I should use tg3.ko. How do I tell LinuxMCE that it should use a different kernel module to boot the Zino?
     https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525966 seems to indicate that an old kernel had a problem with this chipset. Is that why it's not working for me? The machine works fine using Ubuntu 10.04. The comments on the bug are almost all over my head. Any guidance would be appreciated.
    Are the instructions at http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC still current for 8.10 or will I do more harm than good?

My understanding is that the the instructions for the Unrecognized_NIC are still valid. I don't know if I need to run the "/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_BuildDefaultImage.sh" or if "mkinitramfs -d /etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/ -o /tftpboot/default/initrd" should be enough, but I tried both ways with the same results.

Am i running into a bug? The redhat link seemed to indicate that it was a problem with some version of the kernel. Does that apply to me? I added "broadcom.ko" and "tg3.ko" to "/etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/modules". I even tried removing the other modules as well. The result is still the same. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

[pigdog]

Hi,

Older equipment needs to be able to support network PXE booting. 

This is a BIOS setting.

If your BIOS doesn't support PXE booting then you can use the lspci command running from Kubuntu LiveCD or whatever to determine your hardware id info.

You can build a boot disk using ROM-O-Matic ( http://rom-o-matic.net/etherboot/etherboot-5.4.4/contrib/rom-o-matic ) to get started.

Look around the wikis and do a topic search for rom-o-matic.

Cheers

[B34N]

Older equipment needs to be able to support network PXE booting. 

The Zino is a new piece of equipment, supports and is configured for PXE booting. That's the unit I'm focusing on. The other machines serve little purpose running LMCE and were just to confirm that I didn't have something wrong on my core.

If your BIOS doesn't support PXE booting then you can use the lspci command running from Kubuntu LiveCD or whatever to determine your hardware id info.

According to lspci is has a Broadcom Netlink BCM57780

You can build a boot disk using ROM-O-Matic ( http://rom-o-matic.net/etherboot/etherboot-5.4.4/contrib/rom-o-matic ) to get started.

Do you still recommend this if the problem is just a module problem? I think that's where I stand and either I'm doing something wrong/incomplete or there is a problem with the distro supporting the Broadcom Netlink BCM57780

[wierdbeard65]

I am certain that there is something amiss with the pxe boot image.

A quick search of the forums for "/tmp/net-eth0.conf" results in 21 threads (including this one) where there is a kernel paning becase it can't open this file.

For my own part, I know PXE on the MD is ok as it downloads the boot image etc. It is when it tries to initialize that I get the kernel panic. I have booted the box from a live CD and it is fine. It uses the e100 driver and can see the network etc etc, so I know it isn't hardware or linux support. That just leaves the boot image. I've searched the wiki and tried adding the module to /etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/modules and regenerating initrd but without success.

Can anyone point me as to where to go now? It's very frustrating as this MD (my first as I'm still in proof-of-concept with SWMBO) is going to house my capture card etc. (Dedicated core, not hybrid).

[blahbla]

I encountered this problem with an asus p5k board. it has two nic cards.
I just had to put the cable in the other network card then the problem went away for me.

(Might save someone some time)