I just got back in the office from a 2 week conference + vacation (SFO,WAS,NY). Then I was finally back in shape to work and do the usual geek stuff again but suddenly my Neo laptop suddenly stopped working! (the one I mentioned here, but it’s now on Fedora)
It can’t even boot to BIOS, certainly a case worse than BSOD.
So after fiddling with the laptop and systematically ruling out other component failures (power cable,monitor,memory,HD), Yes it’s much like troubleshooting an Oracle database! … we decided to bring it to the service center.
But wait! it may take too long to repair the machine & my precious data (wiki,photos,research,downloads,VMs,scripts) is still on the 2.5 hard disk.. So I pulled the disk, then I bought first a sata enclosure at Park Square, now I can plug the disk to another machine (Linux box) so I can get my data. Apparently the only available at that time was my R&D server running on RHEL5.4 64bit.
But I had a problem… all of my data is on LVM (logical volume) with a VG (volume group) name “vgsystem” that has the same name as my VG on the R&D server. So a pvscan errors with a “WARNING: Duplicate VG name”
So I had to rename first the “vgsystem” VG on the R&D server to “vgsystem1″ before I can activate the VG on my 2.5HD.
BTW, I had the following LVs (Logical Volumes) on the R&D server so I need to unmount them all first to be able to rename to “vgsystem1″
[root@beast dev]# ls -l /dev/vgsystem total 0 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 28 Oct 7 14:21 lvhome -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvhome lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvtmp -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvtmp lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvu01 -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvu01 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvusr -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvusr lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvvar -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvvar
Here are the steps I did to rename the “vgsystem” to “vgsystem1″
1) Edit the /etc/fstab entries of the LVs, comment on them so they will not be detected on boot. Anyway my root is on a separate ext3 partition and I’ll be doing the rename on runlevel1 so it’s all good. But here’s the catch, since I will be unmounting the /usr filesystem the binaries used for the VG rename (/usr/sbin/vgchange, /usr/sbin/vgrename) is not available so I must use of the /sbin/lvm.static (part of LVM tools) for the rename operation
2) Reboot the server, enter runlevel1
3) Execute the commands
# /sbin/lvm.static help
# /sbin/lvm.static vgchange -an
4) Execute the command
# /sbin/lvm.static vgrename vgsystem vgsystem1
5) Execute the command
# /sbin/lvm.static vgchange -ay
6) Edit the /etc/fstab, uncomment the LVs then replace the entries of vgsystem to vgsystem1
7) Reboot, enter runlevel5
Now let’s mount the 2.5HD and get the data!
1) Scan all PVs (physical volume), notice the vgsystem (from my 2.5HD) and vgsystem1 (from my R&D server)
[root@beast ~]# pvscan PV /dev/sdf3 VG vgsystem lvm2 [146.80 GB / 0 free] PV /dev/sda5 VG vgsystem1 lvm2 [99.97 GB / 0 free] PV /dev/sda6 VG vgsystem1 lvm2 [99.97 GB / 0 free] PV /dev/sda10 VG vgsystem1 lvm2 [95.34 GB / 0 free] PV /dev/sda11 VG vgsystem1 lvm2 [95.34 GB / 0 free] PV /dev/sda12 VG vgsystem1 lvm2 [95.34 GB / 0 free] Total: 6 [632.77 GB] / in use: 6 [632.77 GB] / in no VG: 0 [0 ]
2) Activate the Logical Volume on the 2.5HD
[root@beast ~]# lvchange -ay vgsystem
3) Check on the PVs, notice that we both have PVs from vgsystem and vgsystem1
[root@beast ~]# pvdisplay --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sdf3 VG Name vgsystem PV Size 146.80 GB / not usable 3.31 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 4096 Total PE 37581 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 37581 PV UUID Ut6sSm-uCXd-h1Mi-402u-3QoU-IQQQ-wgOljt --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sda5 VG Name vgsystem1 PV Size 100.00 GB / not usable 30.66 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 32768 Total PE 3199 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 3199 PV UUID eMdH4e-POuO-0tDy-LWVs-8lnW-oF0N-ikPxGJ --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sda6 VG Name vgsystem1 PV Size 100.00 GB / not usable 30.66 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 32768 Total PE 3199 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 3199 PV UUID ia3nKZ-Ldyr-3zmz-OD2d-Es9P-lzDm-rfrhuz --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sda10 VG Name vgsystem1 PV Size 95.37 GB / not usable 28.74 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 32768 Total PE 3051 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 3051 PV UUID rgeD2t-TLEh-DRWn-hdiC-5Sio-pczW-st19Yg --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sda11 VG Name vgsystem1 PV Size 95.37 GB / not usable 28.74 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 32768 Total PE 3051 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 3051 PV UUID S2wtrJ-Bw60-VcCo-eE9X-QopS-bac2-3REU9c --- Physical volume --- PV Name /dev/sda12 VG Name vgsystem1 PV Size 95.37 GB / not usable 28.74 MB Allocatable yes (but full) PE Size (KByte) 32768 Total PE 3051 Free PE 0 Allocated PE 3051 PV UUID VeBQCq-06XK-02lI-3gP5-nuRw-D0n1-RSdNO4
4) Check on the VGs, notice that we both have VGs from vgsystem and vgsystem1
[root@beast ~]# vgdisplay --- Volume group --- VG Name vgsystem System ID Format lvm2 Metadata Areas 1 Metadata Sequence No 2 VG Access read/write VG Status resizable MAX LV 0 Cur LV 1 Open LV 0 Max PV 0 Cur PV 1 Act PV 1 VG Size 146.80 GB PE Size 4.00 MB Total PE 37581 Alloc PE / Size 37581 / 146.80 GB Free PE / Size 0 / 0 VG UUID v4ler4-aC9L-7ugQ-m9yQ-adYK-rrcM-sRLCqD --- Volume group --- VG Name vgsystem1 System ID Format lvm2 Metadata Areas 5 Metadata Sequence No 11 VG Access read/write VG Status resizable MAX LV 0 Cur LV 5 Open LV 5 Max PV 0 Cur PV 5 Act PV 5 VG Size 485.97 GB PE Size 32.00 MB Total PE 15551 Alloc PE / Size 15551 / 485.97 GB Free PE / Size 0 / 0 VG UUID kvUydX-Abxb-k3LO-q9wq-jF13-dGLz-vG9JUy
5) Check on the LVs, notice that we both have LVs from vgsystem and vgsystem1
[root@beast ~]# lvdisplay --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem/lvroot VG Name vgsystem LV UUID COUkrC-4ygb-fBQx-3VLr-3CdP-Hupd-InPAGW LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 0 LV Size 146.80 GB Current LE 37581 Segments 1 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:5 --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem1/lvusr VG Name vgsystem1 LV UUID UNyiOM-SvAZ-8KVl-fGbF-SvsB-h9FO-u3YLyq LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 1 LV Size 4.00 GB Current LE 128 Segments 1 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:0 --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem1/lvhome VG Name vgsystem1 LV UUID odNeAE-Krf6-90yn-fN6Q-BDyC-FeKk-U7QeOa LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 1 LV Size 9.75 GB Current LE 312 Segments 1 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:1 --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem1/lvtmp VG Name vgsystem1 LV UUID Uyvudz-OCTR-xJrQ-Iftz-CTa4-62XL-HOEN8o LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 1 LV Size 1.00 GB Current LE 32 Segments 1 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:2 --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem1/lvvar VG Name vgsystem1 LV UUID 7uWs2z-hAzj-b3Aj-6KI8-Qaec-pKqd-15UQgk LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 1 LV Size 1.00 GB Current LE 32 Segments 1 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:3 --- Logical volume --- LV Name /dev/vgsystem1/lvu01 VG Name vgsystem1 LV UUID mta43w-NEnF-QaAx-td4P-osHg-gOAt-B2KrC5 LV Write Access read/write LV Status available # open 1 LV Size 470.22 GB Current LE 15047 Segments 5 Allocation inherit Read ahead sectors auto - currently set to 256 Block device 253:4
6) Now the device /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvroot is ready to be mounted
[root@beast dev]# ls -l /dev/vgsystem total 0 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:28 lvroot -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvroot [root@beast dev]# [root@beast dev]# ls -l /dev/vgsystem1 total 0 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 28 Oct 7 14:21 lvhome -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem1-lvhome lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvtmp -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem1-lvtmp lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvu01 -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem1-lvu01 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvusr -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem1-lvusr lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Oct 7 14:21 lvvar -> /dev/mapper/vgsystem1-lvvar
7) Mount it baby!
[root@beast dev]# mount /dev/mapper/vgsystem-lvroot /mnt/usb/
8 ) Now I got my data 
[root@beast ~]# ls -l /mnt/usb/home/karao/Documents/ total 32 drwx------ 8 oracle oracle 4096 Oct 5 08:58 Desktop drwx------ 4 oracle oracle 4096 Sep 17 12:01 KnowledgeFiles drwxrwxr-x 2 oracle oracle 4096 Jan 10 2010 My Music drwxrwxr-x 7 oracle oracle 4096 Oct 5 09:03 My Pictures drwxrwxr-x 3 oracle oracle 4096 Jan 11 2010 My Shapes drwxrwxr-x 2 oracle oracle 4096 Jan 10 2010 My Videos drwx------ 11 oracle oracle 4096 Sep 9 19:34 Softwares drwxrwxrwt 9 oracle oracle 4096 Sep 28 23:29 VirtualMachines
Then I just plugged in my 1TB NTFS drive (I have NTFS-3G on the server) and copied all my files.
9) After copying it’s just a normal unmount operation but you also have to deactivate the Logical Volume
[root@beast ~]# umount /mnt/usb [root@beast ~]# lvchange -an vgsystem
If you missed copying some files you can just plug again the 2.5HD and reexecute the mounting/unmounting process.
BTW I’m using my old 17inch HP Pavilion laptop which is already 5+ years old but still on good condition.
Hope I’ve shared you some good stuff
