Boot USB HD without initrd
 

Is there any way to boot a USB Hard Drive without using an initrd?

Regards,

Yes, you need to boot with a kernel that has the modules compiled in that would otherwise be on the initrd.

I've already done that. I compiled uhci-hcd, ehci-hcd, ohci-hcd and usb-storage into the kernel and get a unknown block device error.

The partitions are ext3.

Did you also include ext3 and jbd?

I included ext3 but not jbd.

What option do I need to choose to add jbd?

I'm not sure but in the .config file it's "CONFIG_JBD=y". It's in the "File Systems" section next to ext2 and ext3.

root@gbnet:/home/gbowden/msn# cat /boot/config-generic-smp-2.6.18.2 | grep JBD
CONFIG_JBD=y
# CONFIG_JBD_DEBUG is not set

Looks like it's set.