Install dracut?

limotux · December 27, 2022, 7:45am

I was amazed reading about Cassini here Cassini, packed with new features, is here
Amazing as usual.

I read about dracut. As far as I understand it makes booting the system simpler and much faster.
Unfortunately I installed from an earlier ISO (Artemis if I remember correctly or the one before).

I think you would agree with me that I better install and use dracut.
But as this is one of the critical things in the system I won’t ever try do it on my own, better consult with the experts.
How can I install dracut, uninstall anything no longer needed?

One final question/comment, I like that systemd-boot is now the default. But I remember when I had it before (BTRFS here), booted, I could not restore old snapshots.
I hope there is a way now to either restore snapshots after booting with systemd-boot or “hopefully” make systemd-boot able to boot from snapshots as Grub.
Here is my system:

limo@asus ~]$ inxi -Fxxx
System:
  Host: asus Kernel: 5.15.85-1-lts arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc
    v: 12.2.0 Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.26.4 tk: Qt v: 5.15.7 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 1
    dm: SDDM Distro: EndeavourOS base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: VivoBook_ASUSLaptop X415FAC_X415FA
    v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X415FAC v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends v: X415FAC.202 date: 07/08/2021
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 35.9 Wh (100.0%) condition: 35.9/37.1 Wh (96.7%)
    volts: 7.8 min: 7.8 model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: N/A
    status: not charging cycles: 4
CPU:
  Info: dual core model: Intel Core i3-10110U bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    smt: enabled arch: Comet/Whiskey Lake note: check rev: C cache: L1: 128 KiB
    L2: 512 KiB L3: 4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 3863 high: 3944 min/max: 400/4100 cores: 1: 3828 2: 3944
    3: 3889 4: 3791 bogomips: 20799
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CometLake-U GT2 [UHD Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0
    chip-ID: 8086:9b41 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: IMC Networks USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam type: USB driver: uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 1-5:3 chip-ID: 13d3:56e6 class-ID: 0e02 serial: 0000
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.6 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: intel unloaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: i965
    gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.21x7.99")
    s-diag: 414mm (16.31")
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 mapped: eDP1 model: ChiMei InnoLux 0x14d6 res: 1366x768
    hz: 60 dpi: 112 size: 310x170mm (12.2x6.69") diag: 354mm (13.9")
    modes: 1366x768
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 22.3.1 renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (CML GT2)
    direct render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP cAVS vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:02c8 class-ID: 0403
  Sound API: ALSA v: k5.15.85-1-lts running: yes
  Sound Server-1: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: no
  Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.63 running: yes
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:02f0 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: 7c:70:db:e2:29:ee
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak (JfP) type: USB
    driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-10:4 chip-ID: 8087:0aaa class-ID: e001
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: down bt-service: disabled
    rfk-block: hardware: no software: no address: see --recommends
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 87.73 GiB (36.8%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN530
    SDBPNPZ-256G-1002 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD
    serial: 2127HE443513 rev: 21106000 temp: 28.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 238.17 GiB used: 87.73 GiB (36.8%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-2: /boot/efi size: 299.4 MiB used: 908 KiB (0.3%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
  ID-3: /home size: 238.17 GiB used: 87.73 GiB (36.8%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-4: /var/log size: 238.17 GiB used: 87.73 GiB (36.8%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 81.0 C pch: 46.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Info:
  Processes: 221 Uptime: 1h 7m wakeups: 1 Memory: 19.38 GiB
  used: 2.92 GiB (15.1%) Init: systemd v: 252 default: graphical Compilers:
  gcc: 12.2.0 Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1126 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.16
  running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.24
[limo@asus ~]$

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 7:54am

I did it simply by installing dracut $ sudo pacman -Syu dracut. After installing dracut, I used dracut to generate a kernel image first to test whether my computer can boot with the new kernel image. Once I was certain that my computer could boot with the kernel image generated using dracut, I uninstalled mkinitcpio-openswap before uninstalling mkinitcpio.

The next step depends on whether you want to stick to using grub or you want to switch to systemd-boot.

If you want to stick with Grub, you need to install the necessary pacman hooks for dracut. This can be done via sudo pacman -Syu dracut-hook.

If you want to switch to systemd-boot, you don’t have to install dracut-hook. Switch to systemd-boot by following the guide written by Dalto, and then install kernel-install-for-dracut, which contains all the hooks required for automation.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 8:05am

Thanks @anthony93 for prompt reply.
so I should
yay -S dracut

Then:

yay -Rc mkinitcpio-openswap
yay -Rc mkinitcpio

If sticking with Grub
yay -S dracut-hook

but how to use it to generate kernel image… test… etc? (sorry non techie here)

I am a bit hesitant though I loved systemd-boot but BTRFS/Snapshots … I like the idea and believe this is the way forward though EXT4 is a good filesystem.

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 8:20am

The dracut manual has detailed instructions on how to do this. https://man.archlinux.org/man/dracut.8.en

Good luck!

limotux · December 27, 2022, 8:37am

So, just to double check and be sure I will be safe.
yay -S dracut dracut
Reboot
(how to check it rebooted with dracut?)

yay -Rc mkinitcpio-openswap
yay -Rc mkinitcpio
yay -S dracut-hook

Reboot!
This is OK?

Stagger_Lee · December 27, 2022, 8:44am

Scroll down to the section Converting to dracut from mkinitcpio:

https://discovery.endeavouros.com/installation/dracut/2022/12/

limotux · December 27, 2022, 8:52am

Thanks @Stagger_Lee
I see, in addition to the commands in my previous post, I should

grub(or any other bootloader)

sudo pacman -S eos-dracut dracut

sudo pacman -Rc mkinitcpio

sudo dracut-rebuild

Just to be sure and safe. Any specific order to execute the commands in my previous posts as @anthony93 mentioned, or ONLY those commands at

I just want to be sure I am safe.

Stagger_Lee · December 27, 2022, 8:55am

The Discovery article is specifically written for EndeavourOS. Do you think that they write things that are unsafe for your EndeavourOS system?

You can do whatever you want. I just pointed you to a resource written by EndeavourOS devs for EndeavourOS users.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 9:04am

Sure not! I never trusted anybody with anything as I trusted the developers here. I just want to be sure that the non techie me is not missing anything. So, my suspicion is about me not about the developers.

The reason I asked was that @anthony93 -who appers he did it actually- did something different. Again I am not that techie especially when it comes to things related to the system.

So all what I should do is:

sudo pacman -S eos-dracut dracut

sudo pacman -Rc mkinitcpio

sudo dracut-rebuild

Only those three commands and reboot.
Again, I just want to be sure I am safe, I won’t feel safe without experts assuring me.
So, only the three commands are enough?

(sorry for asking a lot, but I hope you understand)

P.S. Downloading Cassini ISO now and will install it to USB FlashDisk, Just in case!

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 9:07am

I did it before the manual was written.

Stagger_Lee · December 27, 2022, 9:09am

The Discovery article lists 3 commands, that is all.

It was written by Dalto. He seems to know what he’s talking about.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, why do it? mkinitcpio works just fine.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 9:11am

I see, now it is clear.
You are more knowledgable than me!
And it is me who is really hesitant and very cautious especiall with things related to system, system boot, … and such “critical” stuff that can end up with an unbootable system. I hate doing fresh installs and installing configuring everything allover.
This is why I am on EndeavourOS, plus the community here for sure!

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 9:12am

Bear in mind, though. If you intend to switch to systemd-boot, you should run the first two command, not the other three. The other three is for when you want to continue using grub.

This:

You only run the bottom three commands if you want to stick with grub. If you run pacman -Si eos-dracut, you will see that the package conflicts with kernel-install-for-dracut, which is needed in order to use dracut with systemd-boot.

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 9:15am

Nah, man. I’m just a novice too. I started using EOS this September.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 9:15am

So I will just do it.

That’s more than enough for me to feel safe. @dalto is more than enough.

Well, it is not about feeling comfortable, I want to do it. I just want to be sure I will be safe. dracut seems to be a good improvement, better be updated not outdated.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 9:17am

But, I am sure you are experienced with Linux in general… at least, and you did your homework reading and studying.

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 9:18am

Again, this depends on whether you have already switched to systemd-boot. If you have already switched to systemd-boot, you need to run these two:

If you are still using grub, you can run the latter three.

Stagger_Lee · December 27, 2022, 9:19am

Well, just to point out - the dracut package hasn’t been updated since last February, and has been flagged out-of-date since July.

Just sayin’…

anthony93 · December 27, 2022, 9:19am

Not really. I started using Linux around June this year. Started with Ubuntu. Used it for 2 days before switching to Manjaro. Used Manjaro for about 2 months or so before switching to Endeavour.

limotux · December 27, 2022, 9:25am

Well… not a big issue for me as long as it works and gives me “better” boot, and faster boot.