2.4.27 kernel panic after testing upgrades
 

I upgraded my Debian 3.0r2 to testing a while back, and after a few problems (say no more) it's working ok. I've decided to stay on testing since Sarge went stable. Just got 33 upgrades from the testing repo while booted into 2.6.11, including alsa 1.09 upgrades for the 2.4.27 kernel thats also on the installation. Great I thought realtime perhaps. Some of the other stuff upgraded was base-config, tasksel, some perl stuff, a new install (linux audio), but whats really annoying is having no log for the upgrades/dist-upgrades. You get a problem, and apart from writing down in pen and ink whats going to be downloaded you're stuffed. Thats the next stop. The Debian developers. We really need a log for stuff upgraded via apt. Meanwhile back to the plot.
I can boot into the 2.6.11 kernel ok after the upgrades.
I can boot into the original (off the CD's) 2.4.bf2 kernel.
I can't boot into the 2.4.27 kernel ( the one with the alsa upgrades)
The output from the boot details for the 2.4.27 kernel says.

initrd-tools: 0.1.81.1
Kernel requires old modprobe, but couldn't run modprobe.modutils: No such file or directory
mount: unknown filesystem type 'sysfs'
umount: sys: not mounted
pivot_root: No such file or directory
/sbin/init: 432: cannot open dev/console: No such file
Kernel panic: Attempted to kill init!

There were no upgrades to modutils, so I'm not sure whats going on here. Any pointers would be gratefully received. Nigel. aka farpoint.

Is it there, or not?
* Tricky question if you use intrd...

This may require (2.6-only ?) additional kernel modules/built-in options

Your disk can't seem to be mounted/found

Obviously, since pivot_root failed.

My guess is that you try to use a 2.6 initrd with a 2.4 kernel.

I would not have expected the bootfloppies kernel to work.

P.S.: Why use two kernels?

Hi Stefan. Thank you for the reply, and the hints. It was LiLo again. I'd only recently put the 2.6.11 on the machine, wrote the config script for it in lilo, ran lilo, but forgot to check the symolic links for the kernels in / . They had the 2.4.27 and the old 2.6.8 kernel linked to /boot , but running lilo had updated the links, putting the new 2.6.11 as the new one, and shifting the 2.6.8 kernel to the link that had been used for the 2.4.27. I've reconfigured lilo so that all kernel images, and initrd's use the path /boot. Those links in / are more of a nuisance than any help. It was only when trying the 2.4.27 kernel with the Alsa 1.09 updates that the earlier lilo error showed up.

The reason for two kernels, plus the original 2.4bf are that 2.4.27 had Alsa 1.08 kernel modules, 2.6.8 had a really old Alsa 1.04. 2.6.11 now has Alsa 1.08 built in. which means I can get rid of 2.6.8. 2.4.27 is still ahead as far as Alsa goes as the updates I've just done have updated all the Alsa stuff for the 2.4.27 kernel to Alsa 1.09.

I still can't get realtime working, but all the sound apps work ok. I believe the 2.6.12 kernel has realtime built in, so I'll wait for that to turn up in the testing repo. Thanks again for your help. Nigel. aka farpoint.