Question regarding 2.7 TC release

[sci_fi]

When I upgraded to2.7 my boot fails with this message:

alsactl: error while loading shared libraries: libasound.so.2 cannot open shared object file: no such file or directory

Did I miss something in the release announcement that explains how to avoid this?

Sorry for posting here but I could not figure out how to reply to the 2.7 announcement thread. It's early and I have not had adequate caffeine. Mods, please move as you see fit.

Best regards and please do keep up the good work.

sci_fi

[gerald_clark]

What did you upgrade from?
Did you try 'tce-update' ?

[sci_fi]

Hi Gerald,

I run a frugal version of TC. I simply replaced the boot directory from 2.6.1 with the same boot directory from 2.7. Same files, slightly different sizes.  The error then occurs on the next boot.

I went back and checked that my tce library contains the alsa library tcz. It does.

Also, per your question, I checked with query via tce-update. It says I am current. No updates required.

The 2.6.1 boot folder boots fine. It appears that the libasound.so.2 file may be one of the ones that was removed per Roberts change log. However, I cannot find that file listed explicitly in the repository list. Perhaps, it is there in a library package.

A quick search of the forum for libasound.so.2 has not helped me so far.

I changed nothing except going to the 2.7 boot directory.

Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,

sci_fi

[jur]

There is a libasound.tczl library in the repo. Install that and try again. Could be a missing dep somewhere.

[sci_fi]

Hi Jur,

Sorry I was not clear in my earlier response. The libasound.tcz extension is present in my tce directory. As far as I can tell it is current, per tce-update, query.

All this works with 2.6.1 but not with 2.7

Certainly does appear to be a missing dependency. I will try removing and re-installing the libasound.tcz extension and post the results.

Thanks and Best Regards,

sci_fi

[sci_fi]

Hi Jur,

I removed libasound.tczl via appsaudit, rebooted and re-installed libasound.tczl.

When attempting to boot (2.7) with the tce directory containing the re-installed libasound.tczl I get a different error and the boot fails.

The error references bootlocal.sh and is line 7 "alsactl not found". I have a call to alsactl at line 7 in bootlocal.sh. However, (I double checked) the alsa modules from the repository are present in my tce directory (as they have been throughout this).

So a different error,  but still a boot failure. The updated tce directory works with 2.6.1

It does appear that libasound.tczl moved somehow in the 2.7 release.

Any help appreciated.

Best Regards,

sci_fi

[bmarkus]

What happenes if you execute the script manually when system is up and not in bootlocal.sh?

[jpeters]

alsactl is an alsa file.  ( in /usr/local/sbin)

[bmarkus]

It was written:

I have a call to alsactl at line 7 in bootlocal.sh.

I had bad experience with bootlocal.sh and alsa initialization. When I put command to unmute and set volume to bootlocal.sh nothing happened. When e excuted manually it was working as expected. For me the solution was to move out initialization from bootlocal.sh to LXDE or Xfce4 startup.

So this is why I proposed to test it out of bootlocal.

[sci_fi]

Hi bmarkus,

It will take a little time.

What I have tried so far:

1. Eliminated the alsactl call from bootlocal.sh
2. Attempted to boot using 2.7

Result: Boot fails.  Obviously no message about alsactl. After a while, a shell prompt appears. When I attempt to run startx at this point,  then after a few seconds, I get the boot prompt again. No error messages at all.  Note I did not run startx as root. I forgot.

I will take out everything relating to libasound.tczl until I can get something to boot with 2.7 and then try the alsactl call manually.

More when I get it put back together.

Thanks for the help.

sci_fi

[thane]

A shot  in the dark:

Did you try booting with bootcodes base norestore, just to make sure you can boot at all?

I ask because I've also had problems (in an earlier version of TC) with missing dependencies in the tce, as well as timing problems in bootlocal.sh. However in both those situations I got to the default desktop (flwm) when booting, just with no extensions and/or the bootlocal.sh not having executed.

Your problem sounds like something more fundamental. Could anything have been corrupted when you replaced the boot directory?

edit: I'm running 2.7 off of CD and haven't had any problems so far.

[Jason W]

I am running TC 2.7 and starting alsa with bootlocal.sh, using a sleep command that is necessary for fast booting distros like TC and Arch, which I have heard also boots fast enough to see issues starting alsa on boot.

At this point is sounds like a good idea to start from a base boot and install some extensions along with alsa.tczl in a new tce directory and see if the issue persists.

[thane]

Yes, I also added a sleep 6 command to bootlocal.sh to get alsa to start.

However, even before I did that it would still boot to the desktop, just with no sound. Same with missing dependencies. Based on what sci_fi said he/she is not even getting that far, which makes me wonder if something's wrong further up the line.

Agree that starting from a base boot is a good idea.

[sci_fi]

Hurrah! I have figured it out. Sincere thanks to everyone for the suggestions and help. It is truly a pleasure to be part of such a supportive community.

Here is what happened:

The keys are the following two statements from the release notes for 2.7

The theme for v2.7 is make TC/MC easier to use by promoting a single extension installation method (mount) while still supporting copy into filesystem.

* Renamed tcz2ram.flg, tcz2ram.lst to copy2fs.flg and copy2fs.lst, use flag for all, or list to specify extensions to be copied into filesystem.

I have always without much thought had all extensions loaded to ram rather than mounted. When the name of the "load to ram" flag changed, my boots attempted to mount all extensions rather than load to memory. Unfortunately, the number of extensions exceeded the default mount limit. So the extensions did not mount and the boot failed with the various error messages I was seeing (depending upon exactly how many extensions were in the tce directory).

Either increasing the mount limit via boot cheatcode or using the copy2fs.flg work. So, back in business. Makes perfect sense after the fact as is usually the case but made for an interesting morning.

Again, thank you to everyone for the assistance.

Best regards,

sci_fi

[thane]

Glad to hear it.

I'm the opposite (everything mounted) but I've never hit the extensions limit. If/when I get a box with more RAM I might try loading everything. Have you ever run out of memory?