no init found
 

Hi all,

I am having problems booting Mandrake 9.1. Here is the message I got when booting:

mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs flags notail
well, retrying without the option flags

mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs
well, retrying without the option any flag

mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs

pivotroot: pivot_root(/sysroot, /sysroot/initrd) failed: 2

kernel panic: No init found. Try passing init = option to kernel.

Then I used the rescue command from the boot cd.

I did an lsparts and got the output of:

hdc1: 20002 Mbytes, type <0x7> (ntfs (or hpfs))
hdc5: 17625 Mbytes, type <0x183> (Reiser FS)
hdc6: 533 Mbytes, type <0x82> (Linus swap)

Then I did a fdisk –l /dev/hdc5
I got an output of:

Disk /dev/hdc5: 18.4 GB, 18482139648 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2246 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 822520 bytes

Disk /dev/hdc5 doesn’t contain a valid partion table

Hdc6 gave me the same results with different numbers.

Then I tried to do a fsck command … but that command was not found.

I am out of ideas can one of you please help.

Thanks


Pete

Seems like you don't have a builtin driver for reiserfs in your kernel. Did you recompile your kernel? Or did this just start to happen out of nowhere?

If as he posted it "happened out of nowhere", then it's likely that the /etc/fstab file is either corrupt or it's pointing to the wrong device/partition as root.

The following only applies if you _have_ compiled a new kernel _with_ reiserfs :

If it works if you boot an old kernel it probably has to do with the changes in reiserfs. I had had the same problem in 9.1 when I went from
the default 2.2 kernel to a 2.4. It turned out I had to convert the fs from reiser 3.5 to 3.6.

There's a "conv" option to mount that does the conversion, but you can't go back once it's done.

In this case you should try getting a linux floppy, like RIP fom http://www.tux.org/pub/people/kent-r...ooplinux/rip/, boot with that
and see if you can mount your fs.

- Peder

Hi all,

I have more questions for you. I am under the impression that the fsck command will check and repair a linux file system by clobbering the system files and leaving every thing else as is (i.e. it will not erase all my files). Is it true? Also this did happen out of nowhere ... and it is the first time it happened to me.

Pete