Getting redirected to busybox

[Niladri Dandapat]

Hi, I have got the following partition
sda1 - 500 mb Garuda is using this this is an efi partition
sda2 - 500 mb empty
sda3 - swap partition - 15 GB
sda4 - 154.6 gb - used by garuda
sda5 - 106gb - empty
other partitions not included in the installation
I have Gardua installed and want to install Peppermint in addition to it. 1 Arch 1 Debian - chilled life.
Garuda is already installed and is working fine
I am plugging the usb for peppermint and restarting - the system starts I start the installer select the language and all - then select manual partition.

I select sda2 and mark is a /boot/efi
i delete sda3 and then create a new partition as swap
i delete sda5 and then create a new partition format it as btrfs and encrypt it and then choose it for root "/" i also select the appropriate flags for all of the above.

Now I install it everything is smooth and then when I restart it -- I enter the password for the encrypted luks drive - I select the Peppermint OS - I get the peppermint OS initial boot screen with the animation but then it goes into busy box

BusyBox v* built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
(initramfs)
I have gone through the google forums and most indicate that fsck should solve it I tried my luck with the command but then its not working. I dont think the issue is with fsck - I assumed that the drive may have been corrupted and hence tried installing a different OS - endeavor OS -- its working fine and logging in as well. I dont want Endeavor I want Pepperming - where am I going wrong - is it one of the following -
1. btrfs instead of ext4
2. setting up the encryption
3. trying to set up the swap
4. setting up boot efi

[Anonymous]

Hi Niladri,

Unfortunately the "Encryption" module of the Calamares installer has failed. It is under review, as or when we are in a position to declare it functional is unknown.

Please be aware, if encrypting a SSD, the trim function does not work. There is no solution, as this is a known LUKS issue, I've been aware of since 2014, when migrating to SSD's and encountered this problem. LUKS is above my pay-grade.

Your partition scheme, personal experience has taught me, an Arch install has to be first distro of a multiple booting installation. Other minor details, I did note you had a secondary /boot/efi and deleted it prior to the failed Peppermint install.

Because with other installs, you only require a root partition of the new target distro, as they utilise your existing /boot/efi and swap partition. Then you need to boot into the first install and run the update-grub command that informs the grub of your new partitioning scheme. Ditto from the second, third installs and so on.

Suggest a new scheme of 800MB /boot/efi at sda1 and your swap at sda2 that any future additional installs can be added and co-operate with your initial Garuda (Arch) install scheme.

If you do not have a SSD and have a spinning hard drive in your computer, and really require an encrypted system for security reasons, may I suggest the Debian Netinstall and skin it as a Peppermint install, with our themes, icon sets, wallpapers, even the boot splash.

[Niladri Dandapat]

Hi @cavy - thank you so much for your prompt response - can you help me with a couple of more queries please.
1. I was wondering what the issue may be and tried installing Nitrux OS following the same steps and it led to the exact same issue - so can I deduce that Calamares installer + debian + encryption is not a good combination ?
2. Garuda I installed with the same btrfs encryption and it is working so calamares installers dot have the same problem with arch ? Endeavour os is also working fine - btrfs encrypted partition
3. I want to secure my hard drive with an encryption and install Peppermint in the encrypted partition is there any way I can do this - is there a tutorial or a link I can follow to do this ?

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

The optimum partition scheme being sda1 boot/efi sda2 swap sda3 / of your chosen OS. For security purposes, this should be the only OS for FDE (full disk encryption).

The only solution available to you is the PeppermintOS Mini, which is our version of the Debian Netinstaller: https://sourceforge.net/projects/peppermintos/files/isos/Mini/ and use the "Expert Mode" for finite control, doing a manual install of the / partition for Peppermint.

If you still want to create a multiple booting system with different OS'es on the same disk. Then create sda4 / for PepperminOS. The web searches for encryption guides list "FDE" only.

FDE guide: https://jumpcloud.com/blog/how-to-enable-full-disk-encryption-on-debian-11 it gives the basic FDE only, with a video.

I must stress again, the TRIM function does not work with encryption, which is essential for the continued good health of a SSD or it will malfunction and shorten its life expectancy.

See screenshot example using the inxi -D andinxi -P terminal codes, I use a swap file and used sudo swapon -show to display my swapfile details.