Booting to kernel 2.6 error

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 5:50 pm Post subject: Booting to kernel 2.6 error

I have Gentoo running great on kernel 2.4.22

I tried to upgrade to the new kernel 2.6.

Used almost the same grub command as when 2.4 loads, but I'm getting a kernel panic vfs: Could not mount Root Filesystem. It's ext3 and I know I built that into the kernel. Is there something easy that I'm forgetting about?

Kerie · n00b Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 17

I suspect this might be because you did not include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support directly into the kernel. If either not compiled or compiled as a module your root filesystem on an IDE drive will not initialise.

This can be enabled during kernel configureation as follows:

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 5:59 pm Post subject:

I have that selected in the kernel. Also selected is Use Multi-Mode by Default, but not Auto-Geometery Resizing support.

Any other ideas?
Thanks.

Kerie · n00b Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 17

Does it give any other errors just before the line that reads kernel panic?
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zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:42 pm Post subject:

What it says is:

ACPI:(supports S0 S1 S4 S5)
VFS: Cannot open root device "hda3" or hda3
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on hda3

Kerie · n00b Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 17

Could you post your grub.conf, because it seems either there is a mistake in that, or there is some kernel functionality that you did not compile.
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The box said: 'install on Windows 95, NT 4.0 or better'. So I installed it on Linux.

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:33 pm Post subject:

default=2
timeout=30
splashimage=(hd0,1)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title=Gentoo 2.4.20
root (hd0,1)
kernel (hd0,1)/boot/bzImage root=/dev/hda3

title=Gentoo 2.4.22
root(hd0,1)
kernel (hd0,1)/boot/kernel2.4.22 root=/dev/hda3

title=Kernel2.6
root(hd0,1)
kernel (hd0,1)/boot/kernel2.6 root=/dev/hda3

title=Windows
root (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

Nothing fancy there, and doesn't look to be an issue with your grub.conf. It's almost certainly an issue with your kernel configuration (sorry). Make sure you have the drive controllers built in (not as modules) as well as the proper filesystem support (I know you said you did...) If it still doesn't work start enabling stuff in the kernel until you find out what you are missing.

If you want more help here you're probably going to have to post your actual hardware and kernel configurations (please skip any commented lines...) It would be helpful to see your working 2.4.22 configuration also.
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Kent

Planes are dangerous, get out of 'em quick

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks. I'll go back to my kernel config and try to figure out what I'm missing. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some 2.6 kernel config option before I started recompiling.

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

One more thing to try:

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 9:18 pm Post subject:

I didn't have that one selected. I'm recompiling right now. I'll try a reboot once I get home.

zendmaster · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject:

It worked. Thank you for your help.

secondshadow · Guru Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 362

I had actually posted about this the other day....I as well didn't have this set. I'll be trying it out RIGHT NOW!

second_exodous · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:39 pm Post subject:

I'm getting an error like that, but not exactly. The one stated about is:

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

Actually, second_exodous, your problem could be a bad grub.conf. It could be pointing at a non-existant partition as root--ie it says (hd0,4) when there is no (hd0,4). I'm assuming you already looked higher and made sure all the proper filesystem drivers were compiled directly into your kernel?

Also check this out.

If you still have problems please post your grub.conf and /etc/fstab.
_________________
Kent

Planes are dangerous, get out of 'em quick

second_exodous · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject:

I couldn't find anything in my bios about locking HD space for a restore, but here's my grub.conf:

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

Oh, I see. The problem probably isn't your grub.conf, though that is usually very simple to fix, and probably not your BIOS either if you could boot from another kernel. BTW, your grub.conf only shows one kernel, did you blow away your previous working kernel?

Anyway, the problem almost certianly is your kernel config. You said you used genkernel, did you upgrade to the latest (masked) version for your 2.6.1 kernel? Were you upgrading from a 2.4 kernel or a 2.6 kernel? A 2.4 config won't really work with a 2.6 kernel. When you ran genkernel did you remember to update your /usr/src/linux link beforehand? (and possibly your /usr/src/linux-beta link?) If so, the config in your /usr/src/linux folder should be a good place to start. Just cd there, run make menuconfig, make sure you have all the stuff enabled which you think you have enabled, and try again. To compile your 2.6 kernel manually just make clean all modules_install.

I'm also assuming you weren't really getting an error about mounting your "foot" filesystem!

_________________
Kent

Planes are dangerous, get out of 'em quick

second_exodous · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:16 pm Post subject:

Uh, yeah, I killed my old kernel

. Well, I was using a 2.6 before, the stable gentoo-dev-sources, but the stable changed to 2.6.1-r2 so I updated to that. The config file I was using with the 2.6.0 kernel wouldn't work on the 2.6.1, so I had to do everything manually.

I thought genkernel used the config file in the /usr/src/linux-x folder, when I emerge -u gentoo-dev-sources I thought it would replace the .config file there.

Genkernel did a pretty good job of selecting things, I went though it and used the .config as a guide and had to only change a few things here and there. If I want to use it do I need to update /usr/src/linux? If so how do I do it?

Thanx,
Stan

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

second_exodous · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:09 pm Post subject:

I didn't even have xfree installed, I'm mainly just playing around with my new notebook, so no big thing, I could just re-install if I needed to.

Yeah, I've made that mistake in the past of deleting my old kernel, back it up for a while, things go good, never need to but do anyway. Then the first time I trash it something goes wrong, never fails, you would think I'd learn by now.

I'll try just rm -rf everything in /usr/src, emerge gentoo-dev-sources again, and see if that helps. That would get rid of all the .config files wouldn't it? There're arn't any hiding anywhere else, right?

Thanx,
Stan

FreeFly42 · l33t Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 848 Location: Houston, TX

If you're going to rm-rf /usr/src/linux, also rm -rf /lib/modules/linux-whatever.

The config is only in /usr/src/linux/.config, unless you've copied it somewhere else, but any copies won't be used anyway.

Someone said in the forums (maybe it wasn't Gentoo, I've searched but can't find it):

second_exodous · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:45 pm Post subject:

Yes, but microsoft has ingrained reboot/reinstall into the copmuter world to the point that anything else seems more difficult.

I'll try rm some stuff and try it again before I reinstall.

Thanx,
Stan

sdriesner · n00b Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 12

Could someone please make this sticky. I've been waiting for someone to come up with a fix for this problem for 4-5 months now,
and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Thank you, thank you , thank you.

second_exodous · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:21 pm Post subject:

Oh good lord..... I've been trying other distros for the heck of it and decided to just to back to gentoo, and I had this same problem again.

Ok, I feel kinda stupid, I went into my kernel and noticed that reisterfs wasn't selected, I might have just seen Ext3 selected and just thought it was reiserfs.

I think this is what happened the first time but it might have been something else, maybe??

Yeah, I feel stupid, don't rub it in. Hopefully this might help someone else, and no, genkernel must not select reiserfs for you.

Thanx,
Stan

Epikuros · Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2004 2:24 pm Post subject:

I have this same problem too. I have tried almost everything it seems and if someone discovers a solution that will work for me I'm very grateful.
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Epikuros