[stalks]

Hi Neil,

I appreciate your feedback on this issue and taking the time to reply.

Any issues I am having on my systems are now resolved.

By creating a small ext2 partition and modifying the initramfs scripts to mount it first and write logging to this partition I managed to debug my boot issue.

I was furthering this thread to try and ease problems I and others may have in the future.

[Neil]

Yes, I can rescue mode and look at logs. But issues with GRUB, INITRAMFS or startup problems prior to the start of syslog cannot be debugged with this method.

Does anyone know what it would cost to ask OVH for a simple "Why did my machine not boot? Can you tell me what it says on-screen?"

Edit: I think if OVH could offer short-term IPKVM's specifically for debugging installs then that would make situations like these much less painful. Single server customers need to pay £15 (pro use) + £150 (setup fee) + £20 (monthly fee) = £185 for what is probably going to be just a few minutes (<1hr) use.

An alternative would be to have a pool of single port IPKVM's available to be used on an hourly basis.

Looking at old posts this has been suggested before with resistance from OVH. I wonder why it is they wouldn't want to offer this type of service?

I can tell you what the technician noted if they did an intervention, but I have looked at your server and do not see any interventions. You need to let them complete and then we will have a log.

[stalks]

Yes, I can rescue mode and look at logs. But issues with GRUB, INITRAMFS or startup problems prior to the start of syslog cannot be debugged with this method.

Does anyone know what it would cost to ask OVH for a simple "Why did my machine not boot? Can you tell me what it says on-screen?"

Edit: I think if OVH could offer short-term IPKVM's specifically for debugging installs then that would make situations like these much less painful. Single server customers need to pay £15 (pro use) + £150 (setup fee) + £20 (monthly fee) = £185 for what is probably going to be just a few minutes (<1hr) use.

An alternative would be to have a pool of single port IPKVM's available to be used on an hourly basis.

Looking at old posts this has been suggested before with resistance from OVH. I wonder why it is they wouldn't want to offer this type of service?

[Myatu]

Its always a bit tricky trying to install via the vKVM (QEMU). Make sure the drivers for the hardware are available / loaded before you reboot, and of course that the network settings are correct.

You can Rescue Mode to obtain the last logs from when you tried to boot directly from the hardware (so if it fails to come up, change "netboot" to Rescue Mode, restart, wait for SSH info and mount the HD on which the logs reside).

[stalks]

Is my only option to troubleshoot a boot issue on OVH hardware via paid-intervention or KVM over IP?

I am not a commercial customer and just run a Linux box as a hobby. I'm trying some custom installs and whilst the server boots fine off QEMU-KVM, it doesn't boot direct on hardware.

I am capable of fixing the issue myself, I am sure, however the box is dieing before logs can be made, probably during initrd or shortly there-after.

I haven't got a lot of money, so IP-KVM requiring a substantial setup fee, monthly payment plan and "professional usage" being enabled all for what will probably only be an hours use is just excessive.

How much would I expect to pay for an intervention if all I want is a copy of the boot text?