View source for Setting up disks manually

System Disk Mode is the traditional or classic harddisk installation of Alpine Linux. This installation mode is suitable for most use cases including generic [[:Category:Desktop|desktop]], development machines etc. 

If an entire hard disk(s) is available for Alpine Linux, [[Installation#setup-alpine_based_System_Disk_Install|setup-alpine based install]] is the recommended way to install Alpine Linux. For all other use cases, follow the [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-disk|<code>setup-disk</code>]] based Installation given below.

== setup-disk based Installation ==

To perform a traditional hard-disk installation of Alpine Linux with basic to complex partitioning needs, complete the [[Installation#Base_configuration|base configuration]] first. Then [[#Creating_partitions|partition]], [[#Formatting_partitions|format]] and mount your partitions on a MOUNTPOINT {{Path|'''/mnt'''}}. Finally, run the command {{Codeline|'''<Code>setup-disk -m sys /mnt</Code>'''}} to install Alpine Linux with {{Path|'''/mnt'''}} as root. 

# Follow the [[Installation#General_course_of_action|Installation guide]] to complete the [[Installation#Base_configuration|base configuration]], if not already done. 
# If necessary formatted partition(s) are unavailable, manually [[#Creating_partitions|create]] them first and [[#Formatting_partitions|format]] them with appropriate [[Filesystems|filesystem]] tools.
# Mount the '''/ (root)'''  partition on a mount point i.e say {{Path|/mnt}} as follows: {{Cmd|# mount /dev/sdXY /mnt}}
# If you're using EFI, make sure you create a mount point <code>/mnt/boot</code>.  {{Cmd|# mkdir -p /mnt/boot}}
# Find the correct partition name for <code>esp</code> partition and mount it on the above mount point: {{Cmd|# mount /dev/sdXY /mnt/boot}}
# If [[Filesystems#Swap_Partition|swap]] partition is available, you can also enable it now: {{Cmd|# swapon /dev/sdXY }}
# Install Alpine Linux using the following command: {{Cmd|# setup-disk -m sys /mnt}}
# <code>setup-disk</code> will perform a traditional hard disk install of your running system, detects your file system layout and generates {{Path|/etc/fstab}} and installs a [[Bootloaders|bootloader]] based on the <Code>BOOTLOADER</Code> [[Alpine_setup_scripts#Environment_Variables|environment variable]].
# At the end of Installation, you can [[Installation#Reboot|reboot]] to boot into the newly installed Alpine Linux and [[Installation#Post-Installation|configure]] further.

== Manual partitioning ==

=== Partitioning tools ===

The installation image enviroment may have only the very basic busybox built-in <code>fdisk</code> command available. Busybox `fdisk` is rather limited for edit operations.  Instead, alpine allows you to install more complete partitioning tool packages like <code>sfdisk</code> (scriptable fdisk), <code>gptfdisk</code>, <code>parted</code> (CLI), <code>cfdisk</code> (text menus), or even <code>gparted</code> (after [[Installation#Post-Installation|setting up a graphical environment]]).
These tools can be installed even during [[Installation]] immediately after setting up [[Installation#Base_configuration|base configuration]].

=== Creating partitions ===
{{Warning|Make sure to choose the correct disk device in the below section. If you choose the wrong device, you will lose your data. Make a backup first and do not proceed, if you are unsure.}}
<code>cfdisk</code> will be used in all examples here as it is based on text menu without any dependencies. However, installing the package {{Pkg|<code>cfdisk</code>}} requires network to be available if using Standard ISO boot image. Alternately, {{Pkg|<code>sfdisk</code>}} is available and can be installed without network.

The following step installs the package {{Pkg|<code>cfdisk</code>}}: 
{{cmd|# apk add cfdisk }}

<code>cfdisk</code> will be used to create partitions. Before using <code>cfdisk</code>, the disk name must be identified by using <code>blkid</code>:

{{cmd|# blkid}}
<pre>
/dev/sdX1: LABEL="some" UUID="..." TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sdX2: LABEL="other" UUID="..." TYPE="ext4"
</pre>

When <code>cfdisk</code> is run as follows, it looks for existing partitions on the disk {{Path|/dev/sdX}} :
{{cmd|# cfdisk /dev/sdX}}

For Alpine Linux, only the '''(/)'''root partition is mandatory to. Even  a '''/boot''' partition and  '''swap''' are optional.

=== Resizing an existing partition ===
{{Warning|Make sure to choose the correct disk device in the below section. If you choose the wrong device, you will lose your data. Make a backup first and do not proceed, if you are unsure.}}

<code>cfdisk</code> and <code>resize2fs</code> can be used to resize existing partitions of ext2/3/4 filsystem on the disk. For other filsystems, the necessary [[Filesystems#Filesystem_Tools|filesystem tools]] must be installed. This can be done while booted. 

[[File:Cfdisk screenshot alpine 2024-03-04 143916.png|thumb|cfdisk screenshot ]]

To resize disk, launch the <code>cfdisk</code>: 
{{cmd|# cfdisk {{path|/dev/sda}}}}

# Select the target partition, here as per image {{path|/dev/sda3}}
# Select ''Resize'' from the bottom menu.
# Enter the new ''Size'' at the prompt.
# Select ''Write'', then ''Quit''

If a filesystem is resized with -f (online mode), then the system must be rebooted immediately after the change is made.

{{cmd|# resize2fs -f {{path|/dev/sda3}}
&num; reboot}}

=== Formatting partitions ===

Whenever a partition is [[#Creating_partitions|created]], the partition must be formatted first before using it.  Depending on the filesystem to be used, the necessary [[Filesystems#Filesystem_Tools|formatting tool]] for the filesystem must be installed first. Commonly used formatting tools like <code> mkfs.ext4</code>, <code>mkfs.vfat</code>, <code>mkfs.btrfs</code> are part of file system tools {{pkg|dosfstools|repo=main}}, {{pkg|e2fsprogs|repo=main}}, {{pkg|btrfs-progs|repo=main}} respectively. Install the [[Filesystems#Filesystem_Tools|filesystem tools]] first, if not done already.

{{Warning|The {{Path|/dev/sdXY}} is only an example. Make sure you choose the right partition to format!  If you choose the wrong partition, your will lose your data. Make a backup first and do not proceed, if you are unsure.}}
The following examples show how to use the formatting tools for different filesystems:

* e2fsprogs for ext4,ext3 and ext2. ext4 is the default filesystem in Alpine Linux. 
{{Cmd|# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdaXY}}
* btrfs-progs for [[btrfs]] filesystem
{{Cmd|# mkfs.btrfs /dev/sdaXY}}
*dosfstools for fat12/fat16/fat32 filesystem
{{Cmd|# mkfs.vfat /dev/sdaXY}}
* f2fs-tools for [[F2FS]] filesystem
{{Cmd|# mkfs.f2fs /dev/sdaXY}}

== Disk layouts ==

{{Draft|This entire section including RAID, Encryption and LVM needs to be updated.}}

It is possible to have one or more of RAID, encrypted, and/or Logical Volume on your {{Path|/}} (root) volume. However, the Alpine init script only knows how to handle them when they're layered in that order, and your initram and extlinux.conf files in the {{Path|/boot}} partition are configured properly.

Your {{Path|/boot}} directory cannot reside on an encrypted or LVM volume, at least not with Alpine's default bootloader (extlinux). (Grub2 can deal with {{Path|/boot}} being on an LVM volume.) The usual practice is to create a small partition for {{Path|/boot}}, then devote the rest of your disk to a separate partition on which you layer one or more of RAID, encryption, and/or Logical Volumes.

Sometimes {{Path|/boot}} is also set up as a mirrored (RAID1) volume. However, this is just for post-init access. That way, when you write a new kernel or bootloader config file to {{Path|/boot}}, it gets written to multiple physical partitions. During the pre-init, bootloader phase, only one of those partitions will be read from.

A typical setup might look like this:

<pre>
One-disk system
---------------
  +------------------------------------------------+
  |  small partition (32--100M), holding           |
  |  only /boot, filesystem needn't be journaled   |
  +------------------------------------------------+
  |  rest of disk in second partition              |
  |  +------------------------------------------+  |
  |  | cryptsetup volume                        |  |
  |  |  +-------------------------------------+ |  |
  |  |  |  LVM PV, containing single VG,      | |  |
  |  |  |  containing multiple LVs, holding   | |  |
  |  |  |  /, /home, swap, etc                | |  |
  |  |  +-------------------------------------+ |  |
  |  +------------------------------------------+  |
  +------------------------------------------------+


Two-disk system
---------------
  +------------------------------------------------+  +------------------------------------------------+
  |  small partition (32--100M), holding           |  |  small partition (32--100M), holding           | These 2 partitions might
  |  only /boot, filesystem needn't be journaled   |  |  only /boot, filesystem needn't be journaled   | form a mirrored (RAID1)
  +------------------------------------------------+  +------------------------------------------------+ volume
  |  rest of disk in second partition              |  |  rest of disk in second partition              |
  | T================================================================================================T | These 2 partitions form
  | T +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ T | a second mirrored
  | T | cryptsetup volume                                                                          | T | (RAID1) volume
  | T |  +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | T |
  | T |  | LVM PV, containing single VG,                                                         | | T |
  | T |  | containing multiple LVs, holding                                                      | | T |
  | T |  | /, /home, swap, etc                                                                   | | T |
  | T |  +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | T |
  | T +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ T |
  | T================================================================================================T |
  |                                                |  |                                                |
  +------------------------------------------------+  +------------------------------------------------+

</pre>

In a three-disk system, the {{Path|/boot}} would still be RAID1, but the larger partition might, in that case, be RAID5.

=== RAID ===

<code>setup-disk</code> will automatically build a RAID array if you supply the '''-r''' switch, or if you specify more than one device.

If you want to build your RAID array manually, see [[Setting up a software RAID array]]. Then you can add additional layers of encryption and/or Logical Volumes, or just assemble the RAID array, and supply the {{Path|/dev/md<i>i</i>}} device directly to [[setup-disk]]. When you're finished, be sure to disassemble the RAID array before rebooting.

If <code>setup-disk</code> sees that you're using RAID, either because you gave it the <code>-r</code> switch, or multiple devices, or a {{Path|/dev/md<i>i</i>}} device, then it will set up your initramfs and extlinux.conf file properly. However, in other cases, such as when you're also using encryption, or you invoke <code>setup-disk</code> with a mounted directory argument, these might not be properly set up for RAID. In that case, you may need to manually edit/rebuild them. The following assumes that <code>$MNT</code> holds the root directory you're installing into:

{{Cmd|1=echo "/sbin/mdadm" > $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/files.d/raid
echo "/etc/mdadm.conf" >> $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/files.d/raid
&#35; edit $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf to make sure features="..."
&#35; includes raid (this field is space-separated and quoted)
mkinitfs -c $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf -b $MNT
&#35; edit $MNT/etc/update-extlinux.conf to make sure modules=... contains
&#35; raid1 or raid456 (whichever your / is on; this field is comma-separated)
&#35; also check the root= setting
extlinux --raid --install $MNT/boot --update
}}

{{Todo|Does adding the <code>--update</code> option to <code>extlinux ...</code> suffice to make {{Path|/boot/extlinux.conf}} be regenerated? Or do we need to manually tweak that file, or run <code>update-extlinux</code>, as well?}}

You might also need to manually tweak {{Path|$MNT/etc/fstab}}. And you might need to copy {{Path|/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin}} to your disk's MBR.

=== Encryption ===

See [[Setting up encrypted volumes with LUKS]]. You can add an additional Logical Volume layer, or just unlock the volume you've created (using <code>cryptsetup luksOpen ...</code>), and supply the {{Path|/dev/mapper/<i>something</i>}} device directly to [[setup-disk]]. When you're finished, be sure to relock the volume (using <code>cryptsetup luksClose ...</code>) before rebooting.

If you install your {{Path|/}} (root) on an encrypted volume, you'll need to manually edit/rebuild your initram and your extlinux.conf file. The following assumes that <code>$MNT</code> holds the root directory you're installing into, that you've created the cryptvolume on the device {{Path|/dev/md2}}, and that you want to unlock the encrypted volume into a virtual volume named "crypt":

{{Cmd|1=&#35; edit $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf to make sure features="..."
&#35; includes cryptsetup (this field is space-separated and quoted)
mkinitfs -c $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf -b $MNT
&#35; edit $MNT/etc/update-extlinux.conf to make sure default_kernel_opts="..."
&#35; contains cryptroot=/dev/md1 and cryptdm=crypt (this field is also space-separated and quoted)
&#35; also check the root= setting
extlinux --install $MNT/boot --update
}}

{{Todo|Does adding the <code>--update</code> option to <code>extlinux ...</code> suffice to make {{Path|/boot/extlinux.conf}} be regenerated? Or do we need to manually tweak that file, or run <code>update-extlinux</code>, as well?}}

You might also need to manually tweak {{Path|$MNT/etc/fstab}}.

=== LVM ===

<code>setup-disk</code> will automatically build and use volumes in a LVM group if you supply the '''-L''' switch.

If you instead want to build your LVM system manually, see [[Setting up Logical Volumes with LVM]]. Then <code>vgchange -ay</code>, format and mount your volumes, and supply the root mountpoint to [[setup-disk]]. When you're finished, be sure to
{{Cmd|umount ...
vgchange -an}}
before rebooting.


If <code>setup-disk</code> sees that you're using LVM, perhaps because you gave it the <code>-L</code> switch, then it will set up your initram and extlinux.conf file properly. However, in other cases, these might not be properly set up. In that case, you may need to manually edit/rebuild them. The following assumes that <code>$MNT</code> holds the root directory you're installing into:

{{Cmd|1=&#35; edit $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf to make sure features="..."
&#35; includes lvm (this field is space-separated and quoted)
mkinitfs -c $MNT/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf -b $MNT
&#35; edit $MNT/etc/update-extlinux.conf to make sure root= is set correctly
extlinux --install $MNT/boot --update
}}

{{Todo|Does adding the <code>--update</code> option to <code>extlinux ...</code> suffice to make {{Path|/boot/extlinux.conf}} be regenerated? Or do we need to manually tweak that file, or run <code>update-extlinux</code>, as well?}}

You might also need to manually tweak {{Path|$MNT/etc/fstab}}.

== Troubleshooting ==

=== Mounting on /dev/sdXY sysroot failed ===

The error message appears as follows with variations in <code>/dev/sdXY</code> depending on the partition number and SSD/HDD etc:

<Pre>
mounting /dev/sdXY on /sysroot failed: No such file or directory
mounting root: failed
initramfs emergency recovery shell launched. Type 'exit' to continue boot
sh: can't access tty: job control turned off
</Pre>

The above error message can be caused by various reasons. Follow the below steps in the emergency shell to identify one possible cause.

# Verify that the partition name in which Alpine Linux was installed matches the above [[#Mounting on /dev/sdXY sysroot failed|error]] by issuing the command and also note down the filesystem type of that partition (say TYPE="ext4") : {{Cmd| blkid}}
# Ensure that sysroot exists by issuing the command. {{Cmd|ls -ld /sysroot}}
# Check if the above error message apears when issuing the command. {{Cmd|mount /dev/sda8 /sysroot}}
# If the error message matched in step 4, check whether filesystem modules are loaded by issuing the command. {{Cmd|<nowiki>lsmod |grep ext4 </nowiki>}}
# If there is no output, then it confirms that the above [[#Mounting on /dev/sdXY sysroot failed|issue]] is caused by [[#Missing filesystem modules in the kernel cmdline|missing filesystem module]].

==== Missing filesystem modules in the kernel cmdline ====

[[BusyBox]] mount command does not autoload modules, so need to add filesystem modules to the kernel cmdline. Even though alpine installer does this automatically, this has to be taken care of in case of manual disk install, particularly for [[Dualbooting|dualboot]] installations.

# To resolve, issue the command to load the appropriate filesystem module(say TYPE="ext4").{{Cmd|modprobe ext4}}
# To verify if the issue is resolved, reissue the command.{{Cmd|mount /dev/sda8 /sysroot}} 
# If mount succeeded, issue the following command to boot into Alpine Linux. {{Cmd|exit}}

Choose the appropriate solution based on your use case for a permanent fix:

*If you are using [[Bootloaders#GRUB|grub]], then ensure that {{Codeline|GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX}} line in the file {{Path|/etc/default/grub}} has the appropriate filesystem module <code>ext4</code> and <code>rootfstype=ext4</code> as follows: {{Cat|/etc/default/grub|<nowiki>...
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="console=ttyS0,19200n8 net.ifnames=0 modules=sd-mod,usb-storage,ext4 quiet rootfstype=ext4"
...</nowiki>}}

*If you are using [[Bootloaders#Syslinux|Syslinux]], then ensure that {{Codeline|APPEND root}} line in the file {{Path|/boot/extlinux.conf}} has the appropriate filesystem module <code>ext4</code> as follows: {{Cat|/boot/extlinux.conf|<nowiki>...
APPEND root=/dev/sdXY modules=sd-load,usb-storage,ext4 quiet
...</nowiki>}}

{{Note|For both above cases, you may need to issue {{Codeline|update-grub}} or {{Codeline|update-extlinux}} after making above changes.}}
 
*For a solution independent of [[Bootloaders|bootloaders]], ensure that the file {{Path|/etc/mkinitfs/mkinitfs.conf}} has the necessary filesystem module in it. Refer [[Initramfs init|Initramfs]] page for more information and recreate initramfs image.

== see also ==
* [[Installing Alpine on HDD dualbooting|Install to HDD with dual-boot]]
* [[Installing Alpine Linux in a chroot|Installing Alpine Linux in a chroot]]
* [[Replacing non-Alpine Linux with Alpine remotely]]
* [https://github.com/itoffshore/alpine-linux-scripts setup-partitions]
[[Category:Installation]]
[[Category:Storage]]