Installing Slackware CD 9.1 using custom kernel (sata)
 

OK, my problem is this (and I have searched up and down for an answer but found none...) Anyway, I just put my NEW computer together, and want to install Slack 9.1 to it. It is:
Asus p4p800 deluxe w/512mb
and more importantly: WD sata 80 gig drive

So, here is what I have done so far...

From reading I figured out I needed to make a custom kernel, (after trying to boot off CD - no avail) so I did this on my other machine (a p2 in other room). I made the kernel with sata support. Anyway, i then made a bootdisk out of bzImage: makebootdisk /usr/../bzImage.

That done, I tried to boot it a number of ways, nothjing working.
I read about install in the root disk subdir on cd, and figured out that I probably needed to make a root floopy install set. So I did. (install.1 and install.2
That done, I tried to boot again using :
mount root=/dev/fd0

Everything looked ok (it propmted for the floopy root/install disk), but then when it started loading that it paniced and said this wasn't a root FS.. Anyone have the answer???
Oh and also, I would of course like to remount the CD to install after I finally get a root FS somehow...

I'm stuck now.


Sincerely,
Brady

Try booting the disks without any parameters. When the first disk comes to the boot: prompt just press enter.

I will try again, but I think it didn't work. It wants to boot from hard drive if I don't add the root/fd0 command. I wimped out and loaded up a copy of Mandrake 10.0. I still want to run Slack, but I needed to run Linux (or at least some form of it *g*) till I can get slack working on this machine.

-B

after you compile a kernel, you need to put it in /boot and it
should be renamed to vmlinuz.

I don't know if I am missing something or you are, but I do not want that kernel booted on that machine..I simply used slack9.1_2.6.4 on that particuliar machine to make my boot (floppy) to use on this machine. (I wasn't intending to boot that kernel at all on the machine I compiled it on.) After all it is using reg EIDE drives and the kernel I compiled is compiled to use SATA (among other inclusive changes)...that was the whole point..to get a usable kernel to boot up my new box, and get a workable 9.12 install started. Now if you meant to point out something else, please clue me in?

-B

You need to run rdev on the floppy that has the kernel so that it will default to root device /dev/fd0. Don't mount the CD during install. setup will prompt you and find the CD and mount it. Don't choose to install the IDE-kernel package and at the end when it prompts you to install a kernel choose to install the kernel from the boot floppy.
Check your config file from the compiled kernel and make sure you have fs support for the floppy file system (ext2). Also, when compiling after running make menuconfig, you can edit the Makefile and change the default root device there before compiling.

Thanks!
That makes the most sense so far. I think someone finally understood what I was trying to do.
I will give this a shot.. (A shame since I now have mandrake working at 1280x1024(KDE) on my ati radeon 9200se but alas I guess i will have LOADS of fun getting it up and going in slackware. (And actually get to mess with some shell work again (yaaa!) :)
As a side note, I do have to give Mandrake a nod since for the most part it was a pretty slick install process and it actually got everything working (under sata control) the very first time (well except for some problem with my intergrated 3com-ethernet) I just like slack more. I like to know (and control) whats going on in the background, and I am sure given time I would figure out how to tweak and (screw up *g*) mandrake, but I have always used slack (since like '94) and that is where I want to stay! (It also keeps me coming back to post here... :)

Thanks again.. i will update when I see what happens.

-b

I thought it might work without using any boot parameters because the kernels on the cd ask for the install disks if you dont specify any parameters, just realised theyre different kernels from the normal ones. You could also try
ramdisk root=/dev/fd0