Filesystem fault on boot. - SOLVED

Duco Ergo Sum · Last edited by Duco Ergo Sum on Sat Dec 10, 2005 1:32 am; edited 1 time in total

The problem is that the kernel fails to mount or recognise the root partition.

I have build a system following the instructions in the installation guide to the point where it tells you to install grub and reboot.

With my first kernel make menuconfig build I get the error:

<0>Kernel panic not-syncing: Attempted to kill init!

Then with my next attempt at a kernel this time built with the command genkernel --menuconfig -all I get the error:

!!Block device /dev/sda4 is not a valid root device...
!!The root block device is unspecified or not detected...

The difference I believe is because the genkernel uses a ramfs for loading modules and things.

This led me to believe there that there might be something wrong with the filesystem. Worryingly I even get an odd report when I mount those filesystem from the livecd enviroment. If I use the command mount /dev/sda4 /mnt/gentoo then I get the following report. I'd like to point out here that each sda2 and sda4 are formatted ext3.

EXT2-fs warning (device sda4): ext2_fill_super: mounting ext3 filesystem as ext2

Inserting into the mount command -t ext3 does get rid of the above line but I don't think that is really solving anything.

As my system will be a dual boot system, I can still boot windows which is on the same disc drive, I don't think the problem is a hardware fault. I have found simmilar reports else where but none of which has led to a solution.

Please help me!

dgaffuri · Advocate Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 2078 Location: Italy

The warning when mounting with livecd is not a problem. You've to use -t ext3 in the command. What's your grub command line looks like? Are you sure you built ext3 fs support in kernel? And post /etc/fstab too, please.
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cyrillic · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:09 am Post subject:

My guess is that both of your kernels are missing the low-level driver for your SCSI controller (i.e. the controller that /dev/sda is plugged into).

Duco Ergo Sum · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:30 am Post subject: fstab & grub & kernel options.

The fstab is the same as the standard one supplied in a stage1 tar ball except with words BOOT & ROOT replace with sda2 and sda4 respectively and the filesystem types set to ext3.

Grub is a little trickier to describe.

Grub

Duco Ergo Sum · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 2:24 am Post subject: Shame faced...

Oh well.

I must learn to read this is wrong;

th0th696 · Apprentice Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 185

jmbsvicetto · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 3:01 am Post subject:

Duco Ergo Sum · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 3:06 am Post subject: Got it sorted!

It was the scsi support in the kernel as it turns out.

I enabled scsi disks and generic scsi and some scsi transport things all compiled into the kernel. I realised that SATA appears as a scsi device like sda but I didn't realise that this is also reflected inside the kernel.

Thank you all for your help and encoragement.