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#+TITLE: Detailed mkinitcpio Fixes Applied to ratio
#+DATE: 2026-01-22
* Overview
This documents the exact fixes applied to ratio's mkinitcpio configuration to make it bootable. These fixes worked - the system booted successfully after applying them. The install-archzfs script needs to be updated to apply these configurations during installation.
* Fix 1: /etc/mkinitcpio.conf HOOKS
** Problem
The HOOKS line was configured for a systemd-based initramfs without ZFS support.
** Before (broken)
#+begin_example
HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap sd-vconsole block filesystems fsck)
#+end_example
** After (working)
#+begin_example
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap consolefont block zfs filesystems)
#+end_example
** Changes Explained
| Removed | Added/Changed | Reason |
|----------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------|
| systemd | udev | ZFS hook is busybox-based, incompatible with systemd init |
| sd-vconsole | consolefont | sd-vconsole is systemd-specific; consolefont is busybox |
| fsck | (removed) | fsck is for ext4/xfs, not needed for ZFS |
| (missing) | zfs | Required to import ZFS pool and mount root at boot |
** Command Used
#+begin_src bash
sed -i "s/^HOOKS=.*/HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap consolefont block zfs filesystems)/" /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
#+end_src
* Fix 2: Remove /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf
** Problem
The archzfs live ISO uses a drop-in config file at =/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf=. This file was not removed during installation, and it *overrides* the HOOKS setting in mkinitcpio.conf.
** Contents of archiso.conf (should not exist on installed system)
#+begin_example
HOOKS=(base udev microcode modconf kms memdisk archiso archiso_loop_mnt archiso_pxe_common archiso_pxe_nbd archiso_pxe_http archiso_pxe_nfs block filesystems keyboard)
COMPRESSION="xz"
COMPRESSION_OPTIONS=(-9e)
#+end_example
** Why This Breaks Things
Even if mkinitcpio.conf has the correct HOOKS, this drop-in file overrides them with archiso-specific hooks (memdisk, archiso, archiso_loop_mnt, etc.) that are only for the live ISO environment. The =zfs= hook is notably absent.
** Fix Applied
#+begin_src bash
rm -f /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf
#+end_src
** Note for install-archzfs
The script should remove this file after arch-chroot setup:
#+begin_src bash
rm -f /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf
#+end_src
* Fix 3: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux-lts.preset
** Problem
The preset file was still configured for the archiso live environment, not a normal installed system.
** Before (broken)
#+begin_example
# mkinitcpio preset file for the 'linux-lts' package on archiso
PRESETS=('archiso')
ALL_kver='/boot/vmlinuz-linux-lts'
archiso_config='/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf'
archiso_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts.img"
#+end_example
** After (working)
#+begin_example
# mkinitcpio preset file for linux-lts
PRESETS=(default fallback)
ALL_kver="/boot/vmlinuz-linux-lts"
default_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts.img"
fallback_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts-fallback.img"
fallback_options="-S autodetect"
#+end_example
** Changes Explained
| Before | After | Reason |
|---------------------------------+------------------------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| PRESETS=('archiso') | PRESETS=(default fallback) | Normal system needs default + fallback images |
| archiso_config=... (drop-in) | (removed) | Don't use archiso drop-in config |
| archiso_image=... | default_image=... | Use standard naming |
| (missing) | fallback_image=... | Fallback image for recovery |
| (missing) | fallback_options="-S autodetect" | Fallback skips autodetect for broader hardware support |
** Command Used
#+begin_src bash
cat > /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux-lts.preset << 'EOF'
# mkinitcpio preset file for linux-lts
PRESETS=(default fallback)
ALL_kver="/boot/vmlinuz-linux-lts"
default_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts.img"
fallback_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts-fallback.img"
fallback_options="-S autodetect"
EOF
#+end_src
* Fix 4: Rebuild initramfs
After applying the above fixes, the initramfs must be rebuilt:
#+begin_src bash
mkinitcpio -P
#+end_src
This regenerates both default and fallback images with the correct hooks.
* Verification
** Verify HOOKS are correct
#+begin_src bash
grep "^HOOKS" /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
# Should show: HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap consolefont block zfs filesystems)
#+end_src
** Verify no archiso drop-in
#+begin_src bash
ls /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/
# Should be empty or not contain archiso.conf
#+end_src
** Verify preset is correct
#+begin_src bash
grep "PRESETS" /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux-lts.preset
# Should show: PRESETS=(default fallback)
#+end_src
** Verify ZFS hook is in initramfs
#+begin_src bash
lsinitcpio /boot/initramfs-linux-lts.img | grep -E "^hooks/zfs|zfs.ko"
# Should show:
# hooks/zfs
# usr/lib/modules/.../zfs.ko.zst
#+end_src
* Summary for install-archzfs Script
The script needs to add these steps after installing packages and before running final mkinitcpio:
#+begin_src bash
# 1. Set correct HOOKS for ZFS boot
sed -i "s/^HOOKS=.*/HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap consolefont block zfs filesystems)/" /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf
# 2. Remove archiso drop-in config
rm -f /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/archiso.conf
# 3. Create proper preset file (adjust kernel name if not linux-lts)
cat > /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux-lts.preset << 'EOF'
# mkinitcpio preset file for linux-lts
PRESETS=(default fallback)
ALL_kver="/boot/vmlinuz-linux-lts"
default_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts.img"
fallback_image="/boot/initramfs-linux-lts-fallback.img"
fallback_options="-S autodetect"
EOF
# 4. Rebuild initramfs with correct config
arch-chroot /mnt mkinitcpio -P
#+end_src
* Result
After applying these fixes and rebuilding initramfs from the live ISO, ratio booted successfully. The system froze on a subsequent =mkinitcpio -P= run, but that's a separate AMD GPU issue (see 2026-01-22-mkinitcpio-freeze-during-rebuild.org), not a configuration problem.
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