Option to use /dev values instead of UUID values

[Lou Katz]

On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 02:16:48PM +0000, Liam Proven wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 15, 2010 at 8:23 PM, Karl Larsen <klarsen1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On 03/15/2010 01:03 PM, Dotan Cohen wrote:
> >> On 15 March 2010 20:14, Amedee Van Gasse (ub)<amedee-ubuntu at amedee.be> ?wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Mon, March 15, 2010 18:23, Dotan Cohen wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>> It would be helpful if you gave your reasons for wanting this feature.
> >>>>>

I have run into a problem with UUID - no matter what I do, I cannot seem to assign
either a UUID or a LABEL to one particular partition. As a result, mounting it is a real problem.

uname -a: Linux puce.metron.com 2.6.31-20-generic #57-Ubuntu SMP Mon Feb 8 09:05:19 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux
cat /etc/issue: Ubuntu 9.10 \n \l

fdisk /dev/sda:

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 14593.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x47394738

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1         250     2008093+  83  Linux
/dev/sda2             251        1247     8008402+   7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3            1248        2244     8008402+   7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4            2245       14593    99193342+   5  Extended
/dev/sda5            2245        2743     4008186   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6            2744        3242     4008186   83  Linux
/dev/sda7            3243        4737    12008556   83  Linux
/dev/sda8            4738        7726    24009111   83  Linux
/dev/sda9            7727        8723     8008371   83  Linux
/dev/sda10           8724        9720     8008371   83  Linux
/dev/sda11           9721       14593    39142341   83  Linux


/dev/sda1 is to be mounted as /boot. It does not have a UUID, and no command that I have
tried seems to be able to install one. Unless I refer to it as /dev/sda1, I cannot mount it.


Anyone have a clue as to why this partition refuses to be UUID'd or LABEL'd?
All the other partitions on this drive have UUIDs.



> >>>>>
> >>>> I often have several bootable partitions, and if I have to edit fstab
> >>>> by hand it is easier if the /dev values are used.
> >>>>
> >>> What is your definition of "easier"?
> >>> * that you don't need an external program to lookup the relation between
> >>> UUID and device?
> >>> * that a UUID is longer and harder to remember?
> >>>
> >> Yes, those two. A UUID is not hard to remember. It is impossible.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> * something else?
> >>>
> >>>
> >> If I have to write them down (sometimes I do) I can do that easily
> >> with /dev notation. Not so with UUID.
> >>
> >>
> > ? ? ? ? Yes! Whoever invented the UUID should be ashamed! I realize
> > that the UUID is supposed to correct when you remove a partition but who
> > does this ever or at all? As for using the simple /dev/sda3 like, I do
> > that for all the things I put in fstab.
> 
> You are, as ever, being an idiot, Karl.
> 
> For starters, I, like many power users, professionals and so on, add
> and remove partitions on machines all the time.
> 
> But using partition IDs, be they UUIDs or GUIDs or whatever, is a
> majorly beneficial move. It enables the OS to correctly find its
> volumes and boot even when:
> - the motherboard died and the disks were moved onto a new one;
> - the system drive is moved into an external case;
> - the partitions are copied onto new physical media if the old media
> was failing;
> - the partitions were moved onto a new larger drive as part of an upgrade.
> 
> It is harder work for those who manually edit fstab, yes, but the
> payback is immense. As someone who fixes computers for a living, I
> would be very unhappy if someone who was too lazy to copy & paste
> UUIDs chose not to use them and as a result I was unable to rely on
> Ubuntu still working if its partitions were rearranged.
> 
> -- 
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-- 

-=[L]=-

He is vile, but differently, not like you.