boot lock-up under gentoo

gravesb · 10-22-2005, 12:05 AM

I receive the following error message when attempting to boot using GRUB and GENTOO 2005.1:
VFS: Cannot open root device "sda" or unknown-block(0,0)
Please Append a correct "root=" boot option
kernel panic-not syncing:VFS:unable to mount root on fs or unknown-block(0,0)

I have an ADM64, a SATA harddrive, and I am doing a stage one build. I even
started again so that my partition table matched the guide. I have gone to the grub command line and hd(0,0) is the only root that allows browsing to my kernel. I have tried /dev/sda3 (the one my root should be on) and /dev/sda on the kernel line, I have flashed my bios and added idle-poll to my boot options to try and get it to boot to the kernel, as per the AMD64 guide on gentoo.org. I printed out the GRUB HOWTO wiki and followed the instructions, but no luck. Anyone got any ideas?

dalek · 10-22-2005, 01:41 AM

I have a rig that has SCSI drives and it's grub conf looks like this:

Code:

# For booting GNU/Hurd
title  Gentoo Linux
kernel (hd0,0)/bzImage3 root=/dev/sda6

Also note that you can hit the "e" key and edit the boot line to change it if you need to. That way you don't have to boot the CD and chroot and all that other stuff. That is at the grub boot screen of course.

That help any?

Pete M · 10-22-2005, 01:49 AM

gravesb

How did you build your kernel

To use SATA you need SCSI support built into your kernel (not module)

Also check that you have support for your chosen file system built in

This may not help but the first time I used SATA drives I forgot the SCSI support and had similar problems

Pete

hypexr · 10-22-2005, 03:22 AM

Also check your /etc/fstab and make sure that the lines with /dev are correct and just not labled with BOOT, ROOT, etc.

gravesb · 10-22-2005, 01:46 PM

What is the exact SCSI option that must be compiled in? The legacy? Or something else?

dalek · 10-22-2005, 01:59 PM

Try this path through the make menuconfig: Main >> Device Drivers >> SCSI device support >> SCSI low-level drivers >> Serial ATA (SATA) support. That last one will open a new selection underneath, you then need to find out what chip controls your SATA drives. Make SURE it is compiled in by hitting "Y" and not as a module with a "M".

If you don't know what chip your mobo has, you can boot the Gentoo CD and and do a lspci or if that doesn't make much sense then you can do a lsmod and see what the CD loaded to see your drives. I used the lsmod for the one I have. It is a bit cryptic but I did manage to find it. It may take a little diggin though.

That help any?

gravesb · 10-23-2005, 12:01 AM

I updated my kernel, and now I don't get a kernel panic, which is good. Instead, it hangs during boot with no error message.

ata1: dev 0 ATA, max UDMA/133, 240121728 sectors:

is the last line that displays. I am not sure what is causing this, as I restarted multiple times, and have edited my grub statements to try and get a different reaction. Any ideas?

gravesb · 10-23-2005, 04:48 PM

I am installing Gentoo 2005.1 on an AMD64 bit computer with a nForce4 motherboard and a SATA harddrive. I had some initial issues with kernel panic, but I re-configured my Kernel, and now it locks up upon boot. I am unsure if it is a software or hardware issue. This hardware set-up worked fine with SUSE 9.3. The last three lines displayed upon boot are as follows:

ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0x9F0 ctl 0xBF2 bmdma 0xF600 irq 11
ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 cmd 0x970 ctl 0xB72 bdma 0xF608 irq 11
ata1: dev 0 ATA, max UDMA/133, 240121728 sectors:

I don't know enough about the boot process to understand what went wrong, or if this is even sufficient information. Any ideas?

jtshaw · 10-23-2005, 05:02 PM

do you see any messages at all when it locks up? if so, what are the last few?

MasterC · 10-23-2005, 05:12 PM

When you re-configured your kernel, did you "m" or "y" support for your sata drives? How about for the ata drive(s)?

I'd personally "y" those in, I am never in a situation where I'd want to unload the support for my hard drives. How about the DMA option in the kernel, what were your options for those?

I think this is a kernel issue (or possibly an fstab problem?), especially if you have had this configuration working on another distro. Check your kernel config and try tweaking options. You can also boot up with the Gentoo CD and then chroot back into your root partition and read your logs to see if they offer any valuable information.

Cool

gravesb · 10-23-2005, 05:13 PM

No, those are the last three lines on the screen, and then it stops booting. That is where it was locking up before I had SATA properlly installed, and there was a kernel panic instead of these lines. I have tried editing my grub commands, but no luck.

jtshaw · 10-23-2005, 06:54 PM

I'm sorry.. I must have missread your post the first time. Did you change any other kernel options when you added the SATA stuff?

gravesb · 10-23-2005, 10:18 PM

where is libata under menuconfig? I can't seem to find it.

gravesb · 10-23-2005, 10:19 PM

I am tweaking my kernel now, and I want to check to see if libata is included, as it is when I boot from the CD. Where is it located? I can't seem to find it.

jtshaw · 10-23-2005, 10:29 PM

I merged your two threads since they are discussion of the same problem.