Getting an existing Linux installation from one computer to boot on another
 

I have an existing Dell Precision 690 workstation setup to dual boot Windows XP and CentOS 5.5. These operating systems are installed on two separate drives. I have a grub menu on the Linux drive with it set as drive 1 and points to the windows boot info on drive 2.

I tried taking the linux drive and installing it in a new HP Z800 workstation to see if I could be lucky enough to get it to boot, but it didn't. Immediately after it starts to boot I get a few errors.

Here is what the system shows:

Right after this message "Red Hat nash version 5.1.19.6 starting" I get the following lines:

"Unable to access resume device (LABEL=SWAP-sda2)
mount: could not find filesystem '/dev/root'
setuproot: moving /dev failed: No such file or directory
setuproot: error mounting /proc: No such file or directory
setuproot: error mounting /sys: No such file or directory
switchroot: mount failed: No such file or directory
Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!

Is there something I can tweak to get this to possibly boot? I'd really like to not have to reload CentOS 5.5 and the specialized software on this machine.

I do have a grub menu setup on this drive, could this by chance be my problem? The drives in the old machine are setup with Linux as drive 1, and Windows as Drive 2, and the Linux drive hosts the grub menu allowing me to boot to Linux or Windows. Could this some how be the problem?

I do know of a way around this with Windows: install a secondary HDD controller card in the machine, install the drivers, hooked up drive to controller in old machine and make sure it boots, move the drive and controller to the new machine and boot off it, load the motherboard drivers (specifically the hdd controller drivers) and then you can take out the controller card, connect the hdd directly to the motherboard and you're set. This same thing is probably accomplish able in Linux, but I'm not sure. This might be a last ditch effort to try if nothing else works.

Thanks in advance.

Boot from a liveCD and go to

http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/

Follow the instructions and post the RESULTS.txt file with your reply.

Try booting from the Live cd and reinstalling GRUB, it does say a resume device? Perhabs it was suspending when you removed it?

With the hard disk attached boot a Live CD like KNOPPIX (or your Centos installer disk in rescue mode), determine partition use with 'fdisk -l' (and labels with 'tune2fs' if necessary), mount the "/" partition and substitute disk labels for /dev/* partition names in /etc/fstab and /boot/grub/grub.conf. If that doesn't work you can always fall back to re-installing GRUB etc, etc.

This is kind of the problem that exists. You can't ever be sure the original installer was able to configure it to then boot in some other computer.

A backup of data and then install OS on new system and then return data is the proper way.

andrewthomas, The directions say to do this with a machine that is connected to the Internet, I don't have an Internet connection on the machine.

cmas1148, I do have an odd grub setup from what my limited experience tells me. The grub configuration does have the word swap in it, I'll see about posting the actual configuration.

unSpawn, I'll look at what you said when I am in front of the computer again.

jefro, yes installing fresh is ideal for stability, but if I can get this to work without too much trouble and still be stable it would really be a relief. I don't have an internet connection so installing libraries and their dependencies is a real pain in the butt.

And this is not gosh darn Windows! You don't reinstall at every problem this is Linux where the user tackles problems like a lion on a lamb, orrr like a Penguin on a fish.

Ha but seriously, before a complete reinstall, just do try a GRUB reinstall, what do you have to loose?

It is just a shell script. You don't have to be connected to the internet to use it. You just should run it from a LiveCD.

I will attach it here if you want to use it.

I had to change the file extension to .txt for the file to attach, but it is the same boot_info_script055.sh from http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net.

Before I do anything does this give you any other ideas, my grub setup:

title Winddows XP
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
chainloader +1

I am seriously thinking of trying to move the two drives setup on a RAID0 on ports 1 and 2 to ports 2 and 3 or 3 and 4 and putting the linux drive on port 1. My previous setup had the linux drive set as drive one and this is probably my whole problem.

I can post my actual configuration tomorrow maybe..

Ugh!! Ok, so I thought I had tested the ghosted drive, but it seems I didn't. I went ahead and tested the ghosted drive in the old machine and sure enough I am having the same problem so it seems the ghost failed. I am reghosting it now and will test it ont he same machine before moving it to the new machine. I'll send an update when this is done and I may end up starting a new thread depending on what issues I run into from there. Sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused.