EOS Solutions and Problems after hopping from MX Linux

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 1:37pm

It is almost a month since i moved from MX Linux to EOS. The main motivation for the change was I wanted to to install some packages which were not yet available in MX repos. Some are …

Nyxt browser
Super mario game

I will post the problems this change solved. Also i have small issues, which i hope to solve with the help of vibrant community here.

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 1:48pm

to begin with, i noticed following missing firmware warnings when updating system

[2022-01-06T14:00:29+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'default'
[2022-01-06T14:00:29+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
[2022-01-06T14:00:29+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Starting build: 5.15.12-arch1-1
[2022-01-06T14:00:29+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [base]
[2022-01-06T14:00:29+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [udev]
[2022-01-06T14:00:30+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
[2022-01-06T14:00:30+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [modconf]
[2022-01-06T14:00:30+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [block]
[2022-01-06T14:00:31+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: xhci_pci
[2022-01-06T14:00:32+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
[2022-01-06T14:00:32+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [keymap]
[2022-01-06T14:00:32+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] loadkeys: Unable to open file: in: No such file or directory
[2022-01-06T14:00:32+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [fsck]
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] 
Decompress:  1/19 files. Current: ...el/cdrom.ko.zst : 0 B...    ==> Generating module dependencies
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: /boot/initramfs-linux.img
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Image generation successful
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'fallback'
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img -S autodetect
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Starting build: 5.15.12-arch1-1
[2022-01-06T14:00:33+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [base]
[2022-01-06T14:00:34+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [udev]
[2022-01-06T14:00:34+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [modconf]
[2022-01-06T14:00:34+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [block]
[2022-01-06T14:00:35+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: wd719x
[2022-01-06T14:00:36+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: aic94xx
[2022-01-06T14:00:37+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: xhci_pci
[2022-01-06T14:00:39+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
[2022-01-06T14:00:40+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [keymap]
[2022-01-06T14:00:40+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] loadkeys: Unable to open file: in: No such file or directory
[2022-01-06T14:00:40+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
[2022-01-06T14:00:41+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET]   -> Running build hook: [fsck]
[2022-01-06T14:00:42+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] 
Decompress:  1/629 files. Current: ...ph-dr-of.ko.zst : 0 B...    
Decompress: 289/629 files. Current: ...rnel/bfa.ko.zst : 1.38 MiB...    
Decompress: 582/629 files. Current: ...rnel/mtd.ko.zst : 0 B...    ==> Generating module dependencies
[2022-01-06T14:00:42+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
[2022-01-06T14:00:44+0530] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] ==> Image generation successful

How to make this warnings disappear in future.

dalto · January 6, 2022, 1:53pm

Those are normal. They are just messages letting you know that you don’t have those firmware files.

Since those are firmware for obscure devices which you almost definitely don’t have, you should ignore them. You could install the missing firmware to make the warnings go away but that would be pointless and counter-productive.

This one isn’t an error I normally see though. Have you modified /etc/mknitcpio.conf at all?

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 1:57pm

hi dalto,
many thanks for your as usual swift reply. no, i did not modify the mknitcpio.conf

dalto · January 6, 2022, 1:57pm

What do you have in /etc/vconsole.conf

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 1:58pm

KEYMAP=in

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:01pm

I am not familiar with that keymap but is that I supposed to be uppercase and do you have that keymap installed?

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:03pm

i did not consciously install it, except during installation i selected something in calamaris that is specific in my country.
EDIT: can i change it to US, which i think is acceptable for most applications.

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:06pm

If that keymap works for you, that should work. It should be lowercase I think us

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:08pm

done.

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:09pm

Now run sudo mkinitcpio -P and see if that message is gone.

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:10pm

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux

==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'default'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Starting build: 5.15.12-arch1-1
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: xhci_pci
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
Decompress:  1/19 files. Current: ...el/cdrom.ko.zst : 0 B...    ==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'fallback'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img -S autodetect
==> Starting build: 5.15.12-arch1-1
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: wd719x
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: aic94xx
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: xhci_pci
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
Decompress:  1/629 files. Current: ...ph-dr-of.ko.zst : 0 B... Decompress: 289/629 files. Current: ...rnel/bfa.ko.zst : 0 B...Decompress: 576/629 files. Current: .../qla2xxx.ko.zst : 128 KiB...    ==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
==> Image generation successful

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:11pm

Looks good, all fixed.

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:13pm

corroborated with this link
i think the mkinitcpio switch is small p

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:14pm

An uppercase P means rebuild for all presets. A lowercase p means you want to rebuild a specific preset which you must specify.

In your case you would have to do:

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux

When you don’t know which kernels someone may have installed it is easier to just recommend mkinitcpio -P instead of explaining how to pass in a specific preset.

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:16pm

Instead of a random github post from 2018, I think this link would be more appropriate: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Mkinitcpio#Possibly_missing_firmware_for_module_XXXX

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:22pm

problem 2
i have been developing some web apps for some years now with fatfree php
with MX Linux, i spawn some vhosts locally to mirror the real ones on the vultr box.
with EOS, i did not have the ensite convenient script and have to do little more conf changes to get it working.
the main problem was i got the latest php 8 as the default php which is not compatible with the latest fatfree php at this time.
this opened up a can of worms and had to fight lot of bugs in the existing project. in the end i have to downgrade to php7. the problem with this is i have substitute php7 with php in many places of conf.
also had to make a soft link php7 as /usr/bin/php.
this is a maintenance night mare now, going forward in future.
also if i try to install composer the defacto package manager of PHP, it pulls PHP8. seems i may need a little more effort to make both php8 and 7 co-exists.
php8 for composer dependency and php7 for actual day to day work.

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:23pm

luckily i did that based on the link. sorry for trying to be oversmart and correct you.

dalto · January 6, 2022, 2:25pm

Running old versions of software like php on Arch-based distros is a nightmare.

I would spin up some kind of container(docker/podman/etc) and run your php stack in there. It will be a lot easier in the long run. There probably are already docker containers made for that purpose that you can just install.

pannet1 · January 6, 2022, 2:27pm

good idea. i have never explored docker till now. this can be great reason to start.