Adaptec 2000s, i2o kernel 2.6.8. doesn't boot

[TheIntersector]

Hi guys,

I planned on updating my kernel to version 2.6.8-r3 (gentoo-dev-sources), I've been running on a 2.6.6.-rc1 Vanilla Sources kernel which by the way did fine, but there were some performance increasing changes in the 2.6.8 kernel, so I'd like to have that one.

My configuration is a Dual AMD Athlon MP 2400+ with 1GB DDR 266 on a Tyan Thunder K7x (760MPX chipset), and 5 SCSI disks configured in RAID 5 on an Adaptec 2000s ZCR.

This all worked fine on the vanilla kernel with the i2o driver, however, I compiled the 2.6.8 kernel with same .config, but it refuses to boot. Grub passes the root=/dev/sda3 option allong just like with the 2.6.6. kernel, it does boot, but till the NET thing, then you are suposed to get VFAT which is mounting your fs, but this ain't happening, it just does nothing, it doesn't hang up (num lock still responds), it doesn't show any sign of activity, the last thing he did was the NET thing.

So i thought let's change the root= option in grub, I tried serveral things like /dev/i2o/..... (which i found on internet). Then i get in all the cases Kernel Panic can't mount balblabla invalid root= devined. Anyways my point is it just doesn't boot, it hangs with other root= paths, so i supose /dev/sda3 just should do it. Fact is it doesn't.

Anyone any idea what might be going on here? I can't post the kernel output since it doesn't boot, I'll post my .config if that's necessary, but maybe you just say omg what a noob he did that wrong.

Thanks in advance for all the sugestions
_________________
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

[tuxman]

Any Luck.. I think I have the same problem..

I had RH9 with 2.4 kernel.. installed fine... went to 2.6.8 and it died... so
after a few days of cursing.. I said enough and put gentoo on it... off of
livecd.. live cd is ok.. but trying to boot it says cant' find boot=/dev/sda3.. VFS kernel panic etc etc..

sound similar ? .. I compiled the dpt_i2o driver into the kernel aswell..


I'm lost.. suggestions ?

[tuxman]

The solution to my similar issue was even more than compiling in the driver. After I compiled the dpt_i2o into the kernel it still gave me the same error (didn't used to on old kernels).

What it basicaly came down to whas it would load the driver and then
the drives would appear much later... the fix was to add

noapic

to the end of the kernel line in grub. so you'd have

kernel /kernel-2.6.8-r10 root=/dev/sda3 noapic

or similar.

That did the trick for me and since then it's been solid.