My OS is Slackware 15.0, after `slackpkg upgrade-all`, new kernel 5.15.94 is installed though the the kernel version booted is still 5.15.19.

So I think the problem of Startx failing is about the Elilo configuration, so I run `eliloconfig` and it shows the following error:

But here is the /etc/fstab file

So I run `mount /boot/efi`

And the whole /boot/efi/EFI directory is missing.

What does :

give ?

and

You should have run that eliloconfig before reboot. Now you run 5.15.19 but don't have modules for it any longer. You would still need the vfat module to mount the efi partition. You could, for example, reinstall the original kernel-modules-5.15.19-x86_64-2.txz and try again after that.

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The most likely problem is the kernel in the Slackware directory on the efi partition is the old generic kernel and the modules required to mount a vfat filesystem for said kernel no longer exist in /lib/modules.

Is there another linux system and/or usb you can boot from so you can copy the new generic kernel to the efi partition and name it the same as in the elilo. conf

When I was using Elilo, after each kernel updates, I just :
I have huge+generic in my elilo.conf

and the freshly generated initrd
I never used eliloconfig in that case

But, don't worry, we will soon switch to grub by default and all of these "after-kernel-updates-boot-failures" will disappear

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Let's see the bright side: you are lucky that you do NOT used a HUGE kernel, because in this case you will have got a glorious kernel panic and you will have been fully locked away from your computer.

So, you boot the old kernel, BUT without modules, because they was removed when you "upgraded" the kernels like a boss. That's WHY you can't mount your ESP partition.

The solution for your problem is to put back manually the kernel modules matching your kernel version, then to repair you system. How with no modules you have certainly also no internet, I suggest you to create (for booting from) an USB dongle with LiveSlak in a working computer:

https://download.liveslak.org/

Then, you can find the needed old kernel modules package there:

https://slackware.uk/cumulative/

And for future, to avoid nasty situations like this, I will strongly recommend you to use a modern bootloader like is the GRUB2, instead of obsolete and ridiculous old technologies like is ELILO. Heck, it was abandoned 9 (NINE!) years ago by its creator, and yet you entrust your system boot to it.

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Elilo is a nice little program and simple in its structure, unlike GRUB! I've been using it for years without problems. What caused the problem here is that the kernel and its modules were upgraded, which naturally removed the older versions. This procedure puts you in a vulnerable position no matter what bootloader you use. For example, if the new kernel won't run properly on your system (and this did once happen to me because of a bug in the acpi firmware on my previous machine), you are stuck.

The safe way to update a kernel is to install the new versions of the two packages alongside the old ones. Then, if you can't boot the new kernel, you can boot the old one instead and fix your problem. I only remove the old kernel and modules when I know the new ones work.

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Yeah, also Slackware long time ago had a size of 100MB for a full install...

Today, it have a whooping 16GB (or more?) for a full install - and who cares?

Anyway, the biggest issue of ELILO is that it requires to copy around files (to the ESP partition). With all respect, I believe that's a ridiculous requirement for the year of 2023. And so many people has been bitten by those "copy around" plays.

Mrs. Hazel, as a wise Lady as you are, you know well that the humans are quite bad at the mechanical repetitive tasks and they DO mistakes. In the end, that's why we use computers instead of doing complex maths in mind.

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i have this non-profensional script
installed in my system and this entry in my /etc/rc.d/rc.6 with a small modification script can support eliloconfig also...
So when slackpkg upgrade-all upgrading kernel and user by mistake or other reason forgot to upgrade bootloader, before reboot or shutdown script will do it. For grub I know its working 100%...

edit: only requirement is that the first time user must run script manually ones after installation to create some "database".

Only may be considered a Real Slacker who has been unable to boot Slackware after a kernel upgrade at least once.

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I have a better idea:

how about Slackware to stop playing with things as alive like Tutankhamen, and to push to users a modern bootloader? How about to make a proper management of kernel packages and mark and make them capable only of install/remove but NEVER upgrade? How about to make proper kernel packages who calls update-grub on install and removal?

IF myself, a geologist who earn his money looking after rocks I am capable to do this (and yes, I have already made a design like this), permit me to have a full faith that our BDFL, who's a software engineer by education and entire life work, will solve those things in an evening.

Because it's a nuisance specific to Slackware - all other major Linux distributions solved the "proper upgrading" of kernels over 20 years ago.

Do you know what the people say about Slackware? That's Schrödinger's Linux, which may or may not boot, in the same time.

Or that: with Slackware you can do all what you can do with any other Linux distro, only that you should use one thousand times more complicated way.

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I think the problem is that http://docs.slackware.com/slackware:beginners_guide suggests slackpkg without warning about kernel upgrades.

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I don't think it has ever been the purpose of Slackware to push users into doing anything. Other distros do that; Slack gives you freedom. A GRUB package exists but you don't have to use it if you don't like GRUB. And if we are to be pushed into using a particular bootloader, why not a particular init system as well? That's certainly how other distros treat their users.

I don't know if it would even be possible to automatically convert upgrades of the kernel and kernel modules into parallel installations without greatly altering pkgtools and spoiling its beautiful simplicity. Certainly Debian distros always carry out a parallel installation for these packages, but then Debian has a very complex update manager.

Automatic GRUB updates though are easy to include. Just put a check for GRUB and a conditional GRUB update into the kernel installation script.

3 members found this post helpful.

I 100% agree

But upgrading a kernel and not been able to boot after a reboot, is and will always be a major issue.
In that case, it's difficult (in my opinion) to blame at 100% the user

What if, you upgrade GCC and can't compile anything ?

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