From 98cd329323d35ab54efd976e095ae9cbf18ad338 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Richard W.M. Jones" Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:59:34 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] FAQ: Attempt to explain "execl: /init: Permission denied" error. --- examples/guestfs-faq.pod | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+) diff --git a/examples/guestfs-faq.pod b/examples/guestfs-faq.pod index dbea2cba2..0589cfdc0 100644 --- a/examples/guestfs-faq.pod +++ b/examples/guestfs-faq.pod @@ -163,6 +163,40 @@ command as root: update-guestfs-appliance +=head2 execl: /init: Permission denied + +B If this error happens when you are using a distro package of +libguestfs (eg. from Fedora, Debian, etc) then file a bug against the +distro. This is not an error which normal users should ever see if +the distro package has been prepared correctly. + +This error happens during the supermin boot phase of starting the +appliance: + + supermin: mounting new root on /root + supermin: chroot + execl: /init: Permission denied + supermin: debug: listing directory / + [...followed by a lot of debug output...] + +This is a complicated bug related to L appliances. The +appliance is constructed by copying files like C and many +libraries from the host. The file C lists the files that +should be copied from the host into the appliance. If some files +don't exist on the host then they are missed out, but if these files +are needed in order to (eg) run C then you'll see the above +error. + +Diagnosing the problem involves studying the libraries needed by +C, ie: + + ldd /bin/bash + +comparing that with C, with the files actually available in +the host filesystem, and with the debug output printed in the error +message. Once you've worked out which file is missing, install that +file using your package manager and try again. + =head2 Non-ASCII characters don't appear on VFAT filesystems. Typical symptoms of this problem: