grub-install does not see block device while being in chroot user environment

This document (3141099) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

Situation

Running grub-install block device while being chrooted after booting into the rescue mode causes the error:

block device: Not found or not a block device.

While in chroot mode issuing lsscsi reports:

error: Unable to open /proc/mounts for reading Unable to locate sysfsroot. If kernel>= 2.6.0 Try something like 'mount -t sysfs none /sys'.

Resolution

Before changing environment to root the following commands needs to be issued:

mount --bind /proc /CurrentMountPointofRootPartition/proc
mount --bind /dev /CurrentMountPointofRootPartition/dev
mount --bind /sys /CurrentMountPointofRootPartition/sys

After that the command chroot /CurrentMountPointofRootPartition can be issued and the virtual proc, sys and dev filesystems will be available from within the chroot environment so that commands like grub-install can function.

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.