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Old 09-21-2008, 08:20 AM   #16
keefaz
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May I ask you Bruce, what advantage do you take in using an initrd in your case ?
(as opposed to add features as built-in in the kernel)
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:23 AM   #17
T3slider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keefaz
May I ask you Bruce, what advantage do you take in using an initrd in your case ?
(as opposed to add features as built-in in the kernel)
I'm not Bruce, but if you use LUKS I believe you require an initrd. There's no getting around it. The encrypted partition has to be decrypted somehow, and that's something you can't compile into the kernel. It may be required with RAID and/or LVM as well...but I'm not sure.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:27 AM   #18
BobNutfield
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T3slider View Post
That would be the problem there. Your correct mkinitrd command should be
Code:
# mkinitrd -c -k 2.6.27-rc6-smp -m ext3
(change any mkinitrd options in that line -- for example, remove the -c option and possibly add the -s and -o options).

mkinitrd should take the directory under /lib/modules, NOT just the kernel version.
Thanks, T3slider, but the command results in the same thing:

Quote:
No kernel modules found for 2.6.27-rc6-smp
I began trying to just forget it and recomplile the kernel with ext3 support built in, but I cannot find the option. Under filesystem support I only saw support for ELF. Now I remember why I stopped trying out new kernels.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:27 AM   #19
keefaz
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Thanks T3slider, I was not aware of this issue

BobNutfield> maybe post the output with
ls /lib/modules
ls /boot

Last edited by keefaz; 09-21-2008 at 08:31 AM.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:36 AM   #20
BobNutfield
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keefaz View Post
Thanks T3slider, I was not aware of this issue

BobNutfield> maybe post the output with
ls /lib/modules
ls /boot
lib/moduels

Quote:
2.6.24.5/ 2.6.24.5-smp/ 2.6.27-rc6-smp/ fglrx/
ls /boot

Quote:
README.initrd@ diag1.img
System.map@ generic-initrd.gz
System.map-2.6.27-rc6 initrd-tree/
System.map-generic-2.6.24.5 initrd.gz
System.map-generic-smp-2.6.24.5-smp mkinitrd_command_generator.sh
System.map-huge-2.6.24.5 slack.bmp
System.map-huge-smp-2.6.24.5-smp vmlinuz@
boot_message.txt vmlinuz-2.6.27-rc6
config@ vmlinuz-generic-2.6.24.5
config-2.6.27-rc6 vmlinuz-generic-smp-2.6.24.5-smp
config-generic-2.6.24.5 vmlinuz-huge-2.6.24.5
config-generic-smp-2.6.24.5-smp vmlinuz-huge-smp-2.6.24.5-smp
config-huge-2.6.24.5

Last edited by BobNutfield; 09-21-2008 at 08:37 AM.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:39 AM   #21
BobNutfield
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Sorry, it truncated and won't let me post the whole listing. What is not shown is simply the list of kernels (vmlinuz)
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:41 AM   #22
keefaz
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Could you post the output with: grep -i ext3 /boot/config-2.6.27-rc6
And also if there is any output with:
find /lib/modules/2.6.27-rc6-smp -name ext3.ko

Last edited by keefaz; 09-21-2008 at 08:43 AM.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:45 AM   #23
BobNutfield
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Here it is:

Quote:
CONFIG_EXT3_FS=m
CONFIG_EXT3_FS_XATTR=y
CONFIG_EXT3_FS_POSIX_ACL=y
CONFIG_EXT3_FS_SECURITY=y
I had already posted that in post number 11. Thanks for your help.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:47 AM   #24
Bruce Hill
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keefaz View Post
May I ask you Bruce, what advantage do you take in using an initrd in your case ?
(as opposed to add features as built-in in the kernel)
He's basically correct. If your / filesystem is encrypted, you have
to decrypt it before you can open it. The -C option enables cryptsetup
for the underlying device of an encrypted root partition. It also
requires the '-r' parameter; -L for LVM, and -R for the RAID. When you
encrypt your root filesystem, you have to have a separate unencrypted
partition to contain your kernel modules and initrd image. That's my
/boot partition. Here's my setup on my workstation:
Code:
RAID1 - /dev/md0 - swap
RAID1 - /dev/md1 - /boot
RAID0 - /dev/md2 - LVM encrypted with LUKS containing / and ~/
Code:
mingdao@silas:~$ mount
/dev/mapper/cryptvg-root on / type jfs (rw)
/dev/mapper/cryptvg-home on /home type jfs (rw)
/dev/md/1 on /boot type jfs (rw)
Code:
root@silas:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x681acfcf

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1         122      979933+  fd  Linux raid autodetect
/dev/sda2             123         134       96390   fd  Linux raid autodetect
/dev/sda3             135       12292    97659135   fd  Linux raid autodetect

Disk /dev/sdb: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x18142ccc

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1         122      979933+  fd  Linux raid autodetect
/dev/sdb2             123         134       96390   fd  Linux raid autodetect
/dev/sdb3             135       12292    97659135   fd  Linux raid autodetect

Disk /dev/md0: 1003 MB, 1003356160 bytes
2 heads, 4 sectors/track, 244960 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8 * 512 = 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/md0 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/md1: 98 MB, 98631680 bytes
2 heads, 4 sectors/track, 24080 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8 * 512 = 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/md1 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/md2: 200.0 GB, 200005648384 bytes
2 heads, 4 sectors/track, 48829504 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8 * 512 = 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x08040000

Disk /dev/md2 doesn't contain a valid partition table
I could leave jfs out of my mkinitrd, as it's built in.

BobNutfield,

There is nothing wrong with trying out new kernels,
IMO; however, trying out rc kernels is asking for a
bit more trouble. Unless, of course, you are a kernel
developer and/or really know your stuff.

The rc kernels are for testers and developers. Similar
to Slackware-current. If you don't need some new support,
and/or are not testing a driver for specific hardware,
why build an rc kernel?
 
Old 09-21-2008, 08:51 AM   #25
BobNutfield
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Hi Bruce,

Quote:
There is nothing wrong with trying out new kernels,
IMO; however, trying out rc kernels is asking for a
bit more trouble. Unless, of course, you are a kernel
developer and/or really know your stuff.

The rc kernels are for testers and developers. Similar
to Slackware-current. If you don't need some new support,
and/or are not testing a driver for specific hardware,
why build an rc kernel?
That is exactly the reason I want the 2.6.27 kernel. It has support (native) for my RTL8187B wireless chipset. This is the first kernel with this support. The kernel complies fine and does start to boot. It's just this darn initial module loading that is holding me back.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 09:11 AM   #26
Bruce Hill
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Okay -- though I don't read it in the ChangeLog. In which kernel
version did it first appear?

Go back to the mkinitrd command and the kernel .config that you
used for your working 2.6.24.5 kernel.

Follow my Kernel Rebuild Guide to build the custom kernel. Boot
into that 2.6.24.5 kernel and use it's .config file by running the
"zcat /proc/config.gz > .config" command in the directory of your
new 2.6.27-rc6 kernel source. (Try not to change anything in the
new configuration that was in the old one. Just add RTL8187B.

Then issue the same mkinitrd command you issued for your 2.6.24.5
kernel that worked, only substituting the kernel version of your
new 2.6.27-rc6 kernel in place of the 2.6.24.5 one. For me, that
would be:
Code:
mkinitrd -k 2.6.27-rc6-smp -f jfs -r /dev/cryptvg/root -C /dev/md/2 -L -R -o /boot/initrd.gz
in place of:
Code:
mkinitrd -k 2.6.26.5-smp -f jfs -r /dev/cryptvg/root -C /dev/md/2 -L -R -o /boot/initrd.gz
You should have no trouble getting it to boot following those steps.
Just don't use the "-c" parameter in your mkinitrd command this time.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 09:20 AM   #27
Bruce Hill
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Another note which may or may not apply to you.

I built a custom kernel a while back to use the new
ATH5K module for the Atheros wireless chipset. It was
okay at first, or so I thought, because it connected.

However, I started testing it. I used "rsync -va" to
transfer a big file, and it locked up my system. The
only way I could get it back was the SysReq keys, and
at that, it took them all (RSEIUB). So please don't be
too disappointed, since rc is a release candidate, and
as such is just for testing atm. Your module might be
a lot farther along than the Atheros one was, but I
don't want you to be more disappointed after all the
work you put into building the kernel.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 09:37 AM   #28
BobNutfield
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Thanks Bruce. I am just recompiling with ext3 support so I don't have to bother with an initrd. But one question please if you know. I have found the RTL8187B support in the config menu (it's in wireless lan), but when I opt to include it it says that it depends on another item which is loaded as a module and would therefore be built as a module. How in the world can I determine what it depends on? I have searched the LAN and Networking section.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 10:47 AM   #29
Bruce Hill
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I've not built that kernel, so can't check. However, have you
selected from your "make xconfig" window the Options menu,
Show All Options? If you can't find it, I would not worry too
much about it. Once you get the kernel compiled, booted, and
it's running, it should be easier to find information.

After your kernel is installed, there will be more files to read,
such as under ./linux-2.6.27-rc6/Documentation/networking/
-- let's hope you find a file such as rtl8187b or some such.
 
Old 09-21-2008, 11:28 AM   #30
Bruce Hill
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I just built a 2.6.27-rc6, and did not get that same message.

I only checked:
Code:
Generic IEEE 802.11 Networking Stack (mac80211) (MAC80211)
Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11) (WLAN_80211)
Realtek 8187 and 8187B USB support (RTL8187)
all built-in, not as modules.
 
  


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