Sun Message ID: SUNOS-8000-AK

SUNOS-8000-AK

Boot upgrade problem

Type

Error

Severity

Critical

Description

Solaris OS could not automatically adjust /boot/grub/menu.lst to the new boot architecture

Automated Response

No automated response.

Impact

Future reboots could fail until this problem is corrected.

Suggested Action for System Administrator

Examine /boot/grub/menu.lst and revise as described in Details.

Details

The multiboot program that previously implemented the kernel side of the Multiboot Specification is no longer used. The kernel can now now be directly booted from the GRUB bootloader.

The kernel to boot is specified in /boot/grub/menu.lst. The entries in this file are automatically converted by install and upgrade tools using bootadm(1M) to entries compatible with direct boot semantics. However, the message ID SUNOS-8000-AK indicates that menu.lst could not be automatically converted and you must edit this file as specified below. See boot(1M) and bootadm(1M) for more information on GRUB's menu.lst file and the direct boot service.

menu.lst changes if you are running Solaris on hardware

The default entries in the menu.lst file for a multiboot environment typically look like this:

#---------- ADDED BY BOOTADM - DO NOT EDIT ----------
title Solaris Nevada snv_53 X86
kernel /platform/i86pc/multiboot [*]
module /platform/i86pc/boot_archive
#---------------------END BOOTADM--------------------

#---------- ADDED BY BOOTADM - DO NOT EDIT ----------
title Solaris failsafe
kernel /boot/multiboot kernel/unix [-B *] -s [*]
module /boot/x86.miniroot-safe
#---------------------END BOOTADM--------------------

The first entry specifies the default kernel to boot via the multiboot service. The second entry specifies the failsafe miniroot.

The default boot entry above must be changed to work in the direct boot environment. The lines that begin with the kernel and module keywords must be modified as follows. Note that the [*] flag must be preserved if present in the original menu.lst file and the kernel and module keywords must each have a $ appended.

#---------- ADDED BY BOOTADM - DO NOT EDIT ----------
title Solaris Nevada snv_53 X86
kernel$ /platform/i86pc/kernel/$ISADIR/unix [*]
module$ /platform/i86pc/$ISADIR/boot_archive
#---------------------END BOOTADM--------------------

This will boot 64-bit Solaris on 64-bit capable machines, and 32-bit Solaris on all other machines. To boot 32-bit Solaris, you must remove $ISADIR in two places in the first entry: before unix in the kernel line, and before boot_archive in the module line:

#---------- ADDED BY BOOTADM - DO NOT EDIT ----------
title Solaris Nevada snv_53 X86
kernel$ /platform/i86pc/kernel/unix [*]
module$ /platform/i86pc/boot_archive
#---------------------END BOOTADM--------------------

The failsafe entry must also be changed. The line that begins with the keyword kernel must be changed as follows. Note that the [-B *] and [*] flags must be preserved if present in the original menu.lst file. The failsafe entry should always have a -s flag.

#---------- ADDED BY BOOTADM - DO NOT EDIT ----------
title Solaris failsafe
kernel /boot/platform/i86pc/kernel/unix [-B *] -s [*]
module /boot/x86.miniroot-safe
#---------------------END BOOTADM--------------------

In addition, if you have added any entries beyond the default, you will need to manually make equivalent changes.

For more information, contact Sun Support.