Problem with Gentoo on USB flash drive

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Hi I installed Gentoo on a USB flash drive using a liveCD after following all the steps given in installation documents. When I completed the install and tried to boot from the USB flash drive, after selecting gentoo on LILO, I got the following error:

VFS: Cannot open root device "823" or unknown-block (8,35)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions":
0800 31808 sda driver: sd
0801 31728 sda1 <something here.......>
Kernel panic- not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown block (8, 35)
Pid: 1, comm: swapper Not tainted 2.6.38-gentoo-r6 #1
<something after this....>

I have partitioned the device in the following way:

/dev/sdc1 boot ext2
/dev/sdc2 swap
/dev/sdc3 root ext3

Here is the lilo.conf I used:

boot=/dev/sdc
prompt
timeout=50
default=gentoo

image=/boot/bzImage.manual #name of my kernel image
label=gentoo
read-only
root=/dev/sdc3

Is the installation procedure for a flash drive different from that of a hard drive? Am I writing lilo.conf wrong?

Please help me with this..

DONAHUE · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:00 am Post subject:

boot=/dev/sdc
timeout=50
default=gentoo

image=/boot/bzImage.manual #name of my kernel image
label=gentoo
read-only
root=/dev/sdc3
append = rootdelay=10 usb drives need a delay, leave to you where to put this line (I do grub)
_________________
Defund the FCC.

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Hi the append="rootdelay=10" didn't work, still got the same root file system error. While browsing on forums I tried compiling kernel using 'genkernel' option, but didn't work either. I did emerge xz-utils but even then it gave me the following error:

lzma: (stdin): Cannot allocate memory
make[2]: *** [arch/x86/boot/compressed/vmlinux.bin.lzma] Error 1
make[1]: *** [arch/x86/boot/compressed/vmlinux] Error 2
make[1]: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
make: *** [bzImage] Error 2
* Gentoo Linux Genkernel; Version 3.4.16
* Running with options: all

*ERROR: Failed to compile the "bzImage" target...

* -- End log... --

Is there a way out?

Please help me...

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:17 pm Post subject:

rainbow82,

unknown-block (8,35) means /dev/sdc3 See /usr/src/linux/Documentation/devices.txt

The lines

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Thanks NeddySeagoon...

By the way, would there be a speed improvement if I use a compact flash card instead of a USB. And, would the install work if I just copy an 'install' from a USB to a compact flash?

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:36 pm Post subject:

rainbow82,

Its all FLASH memory. If you invest in fast FLASH memory, it does not matter what the format.
You can copy an install between different media of the same size with dd. However the copy may not boot.

Compact FLASH cards have different names to USD storage devices, so you would need to fix /etc/fstab and grub.conf to allow for that.
You would also need to find a way to boot from compact flash.

IF your flash devices are different sizes, use cp -a or tar or rsync to copy the filesystem space, then chroot into the copy and install grub to the MBR.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

DONAHUE · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:38 pm Post subject:

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Hi all, I finally got the system working!!

The 'rootdelay=10' actually worked, however I could not realize it initially. Actually, the system hung similar to when it hung first--I mentioned in my first post. This time, however, it showed me correct partitions but with some different names--b401, b402, b403--instead of /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, /dev/sda3. I changed "root=b403" (root file system partition) in the grub.conf (I am using grub this time), and it worked!!

Can anybody please tell me why the kernel does not recognize /dev/sd* ?

And, thanks for all the help..

By compact flash and USB I mean, if the interfaces are different, would there be a change in speed? (The compact flash module is integrated in the PC-104 board)

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject:

rainbow82,

Please put your kernel .config file on a pastebin. I suspect you are using the slow USB block driver rather than the SCSI layer.
Your lspci will help too.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Here is my grub.conf

DONAHUE · Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:34 pm Post subject:

boot to cli and internet connection, then run

rainbow82 · n00b Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 6

Here they are:

.config
http://paste.pocoo.org/show/444545/

lspci
http://paste.pocoo.org/show/444546/