ext4 install errors

[DGeeez]

Can someone explain why this install is not working, and why these conflicts exist? I am trying to install from a live CD. I have learned that Fedora 11 is ext4, so I tried using the partition window on the CD to reformat my partition. I select the partition, press the edit button, and there are two options besides the Encrypt box. I set the mount point to / , check "Format as:" and select ext4. In my past experiences this would have moved me on to the next step, the only difference is that I was using ext3. So I really don't know why I get this error "Bootable partitions cannot be on an ext4 filesystem". It's a real catch-22, because the mount point, when installing from a live cd is supposed to be the root., but I don't see any other applicable options in the fedora installer.

What of this issue with booting in ext4 - I'm not complaining that fedora chose ext4, truth is I can't wait to try it, but here I am stuck where I've never before been stuck when doing ext3 installs. I just can't believe how hard it is to find the answer for WHY it's so different than the ext3 installs, and HOW do you work around it?

Please help if you can.

[HROAdmin26]

Google "fedora Bootable partitions cannot be on an ext4 filesystem" => Many hits, including *your own* previous thread.

...but I believe you need to format / to ext4, and /boot to ext3

Ext4 HowTo

For people who are running Fedora

Recent Fedora is generally very up to date with respect to ext4 code in kernelspace and userspace.

Fedora 11 uses the ext4 filesystem as the default root filesystem, and as such should generally contain the most uptodate code, features, and fixes. It will initially be based on the 2.6.29.x kernel series.

Fedora 10 currently has a kernel based on 2.6.27 that has working ext4 support. It is missing some of the latest fixes and performance optimizations. A 2.6.29 kernel update should be available soon, with more up-to-date ext4 code.

Fedora 10 and later has all of the basic infrastructure needed to be able to run ext4, including updated udev, blkid, and other bits needed for ext4 to be a transparently recognized filesystem.

Fedora 9 has only rudimentary ext4 support, and no significant ext4 updates are planned in that release.

No version of Fedora at this time (including F11) has support in grub for booting from ext4, so /boot must be ext3 or some other supported filesystem. The anaconda installer enforces this restriction.

Booting from an ext4 filesystem

Right now there's not a stable version of grub that supports booting a kernel from a ext4 partition. It's recommended that you keep /boot in a ext3 partition.

Preliminary ext4 support seems to have been added to the 1.97 version of the GRUB2 development branch.

There's also a Google Summer of Code project (from opensuse) which seem to have developed ext4 grub support. Both projects -GRUB2 and the GSoC projects- seem (sadly) to be different efforts.

The grub package in Ubuntu 9.04 and later includes a patch to support booting from ext4 filesystems

[DGeeez]

Google "fedora Bootable partitions cannot be on an ext4 filesystem" => Many hits, including *your own* previous thread.



Ext4 HowTo

Thanks, but I tried that same search string before posting. and I don't see any liveCD install tutorials. I never had trouble finding my way around a partition editor, but I really need an explained procedure (which I still have not seen) for dealing with this ext4/ext3 grub conflict (why isn't this on the sticky).

There's mention that a live CD exists, and that's it where the procedure for using it goes - is it different from the full-DVD set? If I download the full DVD set, does it have a better installer?

[HROAdmin26]

Can someone explain why this install is not working, and why these conflicts exist? I am trying to install from a live CD. I have learned that Fedora 11 is ext4, so I tried using the partition window on the CD to reformat my partition. I select the partition, press the edit button, and there are two options besides the Encrypt box. I set the mount point to / , check "Format as:" and select ext4. In my past experiences this would have moved me on to the next step, the only difference is that I was using ext3. So I really don't know why I get this error "Bootable partitions cannot be on an ext4 filesystem".

Answered multiple times in multiple places. If you have another question, please make a concise, complete thought/statement.

I really need this explained, and so far there are none which deal with the procedure for setting up an ext4 install, booted ext3 (and I still don't understand how this isn't an oxymoron, especially in light of the installer options)

You can find more information about what is stored in /boot and how it's used via Google. If the Fedora 11 Installation Guide - Partitioning isn't enough, then I would recommend more reading/understanding of partitioning in general.

From the Fedora Install Guide:

Unless you have a reason for doing otherwise, we recommend that you create the following partitions for x86, AMD64, and Intel® 64 systems:

*
A swap partition
*
A /boot partition
*
A / partition

A /boot/ partition (100 MB)
The partition mounted on /boot/ contains the operating system kernel (which allows your system to boot Fedora), along with files used during the bootstrap process. Due to limitations, creating a native ext3 partition to hold these files is required. For most users, a 100 MB boot partition is sufficient.

ext4 and Btrfs
The GRUB bootloader does not support the ext4 or Btrfs file systems. You cannot use an ext4 or Btrfs partition for /boot/.

[DGeeez]

Answered multiple times in multiple places. If you have another question, please make a concise, complete thought/statement.

You can find more information about what is stored in /boot and how it's used via Google. If the Fedora 11 Installation Guide - Partitioning isn't enough, then I would recommend more reading/understanding of partitioning in general.

 Unless you have a reason for doing otherwise, we recommend that you create the following partitions for x86, AMD64, and Intel® 64 systems:

    *
      A swap partition
    *
      A /boot partition
    *
      A / partition

A /boot/ partition (100 MB)
The partition mounted on /boot/ contains the operating system kernel (which allows your system to boot Fedora), along with files used during the bootstrap process. Due to limitations, creating a native ext3 partition to hold these files is required. For most users, a 100 MB boot partition is sufficient.

ext4 and Btrfs
The GRUB bootloader does not support the ext4 or Btrfs file systems. You cannot use an ext4 or Btrfs partition for /boot/.

No, it has NOT been answered! Please, look directly above this line, just one line higher! THAT is the closest that I've Googled up for an answer (please don't treat me as if I don't even try to find it before posting). It says what I can't do, but doesn't say what I CAN do about it. You just said that I cannot boot in ext4, and and I did observe a similar line to that, which doesn't help one bit! If my system must be in an ext3 partition, then what is supposed to be done about that when THE INSTALLER WILL ONLY INSTALL TO an EXT4 partition? If you can answer that, I will thank you, but otherwise please don't bust MY chops on being concise!

[HROAdmin26]

The Fedora docs indicate that...

The Live CD/DVD installer sets up /boot as a separate partition formatted as Ext3. If this behaviour is not what you want, you can use the regular CD/DVD or network boot images.

And...

Does Fedora still offer the choice of Ext3?

Yes. The regular CD/DVD install or network boot images still lets you choose either Ext4, Ext3 or XFS. The Live CD/DVD images however use Ext4 (except for /boot formatted as Ext3) and essentially transfer the entire image into the hard disk as part of the installation process and does not offer the ability to format the hard disk with any other filesystem. If you must choose a different filesystem, the regular DVD install or network boot images are the recommended alternatives.

Can I install onto ext3 from the LiveCD?

No. If you install from the live image, you have to have an ext4 root filesystem because the installer just copies over the (ext4) filesystem image from the live image. To install onto ext3, you need to run the full installer.

[DGeeez]

The Fedora docs indicate that...



And...

You think I'm one of those inconsiderate gobs who doesn't bother to google it first before posting, but this answer, and the one you posted above are the same two which I DID see for myself, and they caused only greater confusion, and still no procedure for dealing with the setup program.

One of them lists three partitions. It states that one of them must handle the boot process, and it may have implied that the rest of the system business must be handled in another - that makes two. I already have a swap file for another distro, don't know if the new install will have the sense to look for it, and if it won't, I don't know how to tell it to, but this wouldn't be a critical issue anyway. What is critical is that I can't satisfy the setup program to proceed forward.

The Live CD/DVD installer sets up /boot as a separate partition formatted as Ext3. If this behaviour is not what you want, you can use the regular CD/DVD or network boot images.]

If that's what it's supposed to do, then something has to be wrong. What I've done:
1. Highlight my desired system partition
2. Press the edit button
3. Select / for the mount point
4. Select ext4 as the format - because I have no other choice from the liveCD, and I'd like to try it anyway.

There are no other options in that dialag box, other than the "Encrypt" checkbox.

If the /boot partition is handled by the install program, and I already have a swap partition, and no other apparently applicable partitions, then this is where I would proceed to the next screen - and this is where I got that bootable- partitions-cannot-be-ext4 error. This is where I said what am I supposed to do about that?

I don't understand why the installer presumes that I want to boot from the root, as opposed to the MBR (I'm not pretending to know anything about that, but it's listed as an option, which I would go with every time I did an install, and it's usually a screen or two past the partitioning screen). What options do I have on the liveCD for telling the installer that I want my ext4 system partition mounted at /, but to go boot somewhere else? I don't know why I seem to be the only one who has this problem, but if a liveCD which addresses this was posted as one of the stickys, you wouldn't have to tell me to go read it.

Maybe I'm just the only one who didn't want to play with the multi-CD package right away - does it have a different installer?

[HROAdmin26]

Unless you have a reason for doing otherwise, we recommend that you create the following partitions for x86, AMD64, and Intel® 64 systems:

*
A swap partition
*
A /boot partition
*
A / partition

Install from LiveCD works fine - screenshots attached.

I can again only recommend further reading about disk partitioning. If you don't specify/create a partition for /boot, then that "folder" will be created under /. If / happens to be EXT4, the system will not boot and is the reason that the Fedora installer stops you from proceeding. I cannot state this same information any more ways, so I will quit here.

I don't understand why the installer presumes that I want to boot from the root, as opposed to the MBR

The linux kernel image and boot files are always stored under /boot. You never "boot" from the MBR. The MBR only has a bootloader and/or a pointer to the disk location that should be loaded next. On Linux, GRUB is the common bootloader, and the menu selection in GRUB typically points to /boot/kernel-image.