Install dracut?

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 ~]$

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.

1 Like

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.

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

Good luck!

1 Like

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?

Scroll down to the section Converting to dracut from mkinitcpio:

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

3 Likes

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.

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.

2 Likes

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!

I did it before the manual was written.

1 Like

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.

1 Like

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!

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.

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

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.

But, I am sure you are experienced with Linux in general… at least, and you did your homework reading and studying. :+1:

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.

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’…

1 Like

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.

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