Dear Maintainer,
I am experiencing an issue with the Debian
installer’s partitioning tool (partman) when
attempting to install on an MMC storage
device (mmcblk0, MMC DG4064 63.6GB). The tool
fails to detect or utilize the available free
space for partition creation, even though the
free space is correctly recognized by other
tools (e.g., Ubuntu installer, fdisk).
Hardware: MediaTek Genio 1200-EVK
Device: MMC #1 (mmcblk0) - MMC DG4064: 63.6 GB
Symptoms:
Guided partitioning fails with:
Unable to satisfy all constraints on the partition.
Manual partitioning shows the free space, but attempts to create a new
partition (of any size, at beginning or end) fail with the same error.
Details:
The disk contains several small partitions (bootloaders,
firmware, ESP, etc.), followed by a large free space (~63.4 GB).
The installer correctly lists the free space, but cannot
create a new partition in it.
This issue does not occur on Ubuntu’s installer, which can
partition the free space without issue.
Steps to reproduce:
Boot Debian installer on a system with an MMC device with a similar
partition layout.
Attempt guided or manual partitioning using partman.
Observe that partition creation in the free space fails.
Relevant Screenshots/Logs:
A. Guided partition creation on free space
A.1
x Guided - use the largest continuous free space
x
A.2
x Selected for partitioning:
x
x
x
x MMC/SD card #1 (mmcblk0) - MMC DG4064: 63.4 GB (63.6 GB)
x
A.3
x All files in one partition (recommended for new users)
x
A.4
lqqqqqqqqqlqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu [!!] Partition disks
tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqkqqqqqqqqqk
x x x
x
x x ERROR!!! x
x
x x Unable to satisfy all constraints on the partition. x
x
x Computinx x
x
x x <Go Back> <Continue> x
x
mqqqqqqqqqx x
qqqqqqqqj
mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
B. Manual partition creation on free space
B.1
x Manual .
x
B.2
x MMC/SD card #1 (mmcblk0) - 63.6 GB MMC DG4064
- x
x > #1 4.2 MB bootloaders
a x
x > #2 4.2 MB bootloaders_
a x
x > #3 33.6 MB fat16 firmware
0 x
x > #4 33.6 MB fat16 firmware_b
a x
x > #5 524.3 kB dramk
a x
x > #6 1.0 MB misc
a x
x > #7 33.6 MB fat16 bootassets
a x
x > #8 104.9 MB K ESP BOOT
. x
x > 63.4 GB FREE SPACE
a x
B.3
x Create a new partition x
B.4
x The maximum size for this partition is 63.4 GB.
x
B.5
x New partition size:
x
x
x
x 63.4
GB______________________________________________________________ x
B.6
x New partition size:
x
x
x
x 50
GB________________________________________________________________ x
B.7
x Location for the new partition:
x
x
x
x Beginning
x
x End
x
C. Log found in installer
Jan 1 00:23:34 partman: No matching physical volumes found
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288184] GPT:Primary header thinks
Alt. header is not at the end of the disk.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288199] GPT:420935 != 124190719
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288204] GPT:Alternate GPT header not
at the end of the disk.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288207] GPT:420935 != 124190719
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288210] GPT: Use GNU Parted to
correct GPT errors.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.288232] mmcblk0: p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6
p7 p8
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385261] GPT:Primary header thinks
Alt. header is not at the end of the disk.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385270] GPT:420935 != 124190719
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385275] GPT:Alternate GPT header not
at the end of the disk.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385277] GPT:420935 != 124190719
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385279] GPT: Use GNU Parted to
correct GPT errors.
Jan 1 00:23:35 kernel: [ 129.385295] mmcblk0: p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6
p7 p8
Expected behavior:
* partman should allow creation of a new partition in the available
free space.
Reference and expected result: fdisk on Ubuntu liveCD
root@ubuntu-server:/# fdisk /dev/mmcblk0
Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.40.2).
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
Be careful before using the write command.
GPT PMBR size mismatch (420935 != 124190719) will be corrected by
write.
The backup GPT table is not on the end of the device. This problem
will be corrected by write.
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 59.22 GiB, 63585648640 bytes, 124190720 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 480266F3-BD5E-420A-9EA3-6AC1252808FB
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/mmcblk0p1 34 8225 8192 4M Linux filesystem
/dev/mmcblk0p2 8226 16417 8192 4M Linux filesystem
/dev/mmcblk0p3 16418 81953 65536 32M unknown
/dev/mmcblk0p4 81954 147489 65536 32M unknown
/dev/mmcblk0p5 147490 148513 1024 512K Linux filesystem
/dev/mmcblk0p6 148514 150561 2048 1M Linux filesystem
/dev/mmcblk0p7 150562 216097 65536 32M Linux filesystem
/dev/mmcblk0p8 216098 420897 204800 100M EFI System
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (9-128, default 9):
First sector (420898-124190686, default 421888):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (421888-124190686,
default 124188671):
Created a new partition 9 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 59
GiB.
Actual behavior:
partman fails with a constraint error, regardless of partition size or
location.
Thanks for your help
Macpaul Lin