Help, grub on SuSE 9.1 does not boot any longer!
 

I wanted to install the grup bootloader of my SuSE 9.1 on a floppy disk (so far being installed on /dev/hda), and so I did a single modification in the "bootloader" section of yast: I changed the grub location to /dev/fd0 (meanwhile I had a floppy in the floppy drive).

I did not get any errors, so it seemed that the istallation of the bootloader on the floppy was OK.

However, my SuSE does not boot any longer!

Regardless of trying from floppy or hdd: it is stucked just at the beginning with a "grub:" prompt.

Now I replaced grub with lilo, and it actually starts to boot, but it is also stucked with an error:
"Kernel panic: VFS: cannot mount root partition on /dev/hda7"


Here is my present configuration, that does not work.
Could you help me, what is wrong with it?:

Kernel: 2.6.5-7.252-default
Root fs: reiser on /dev/hda7

Fdisk -l output:
[HTML]
Disk /dev/hda: 41.1 GB, 41174138880 bytes
16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 79780 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 1008 * 512 = 516096 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 26505 13358016 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda2 26505 79752 26836582+ f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 26505 53136 13422276 b Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda6 53137 54144 508000+ 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda7 54145 77030 11534512+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda8 77031 78250 614848+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda9 78251 79751 756472+ 83 Linux

lilo.conf:

timeout = 80
default = Linux
boot = /dev/hda
map=/boot/map
lba32
prompt
image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = Linux
optional
root = /dev/hda7
vga = 0x305
append = "splash=silent desktop resume=/dev/hda6 showopts"
[/HTML]

Since lilo doesn't work, I suggest reinstall grub in MBR (not floppy).

"I suggest reinstall grub in MBR"

Good advice.
The only problem is that I had been trying it for 5 hours before I gave it up and installed lilo, instead.

I would be rather happy if someone could help me troubleshoot my lilo.conf.

I don't see any obvious errors.

Have you tried system repair? http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:YaST_System_Repair

So the SuSE guys put the "system repair" under the "installation" menu in SuSE 9.0.
For what reason?

"System repair" was apparently nowhere on my SuSE 9.1 cd. Finally I decided that it must be under "installation" here, too.

Great mistake; as I went along the menus, I finally found SuSE formatting my valuable data for a brand new installation, and it was too late to stop it.

Tricky guys work for SuSE and it turned out that I am not shrewed enough to save my files from them.

OK, it is all over now, thanks.

Sorry for your loss, but don't blame it on SUSE if you format your partition. I am sure you have been asked to confirm changes!

The "System Repair" in 9.1 Personal Edition didn't appear in the menu due to a bug, but there's another entry in SDB to help finding it: http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Selection....1_Personal%29

"don't blame it on SUSE ... didn't appear in the menu due to a bug"

No comment.


"I am sure you have been asked to confirm changes"

SuSE asked: "I have all information for installation, shall I continue?"
This question does not exclude the possibility of subsequent windows where other options may be selected. Since every guys at every forums (not just here) where I asked this question claimed having a "system repair" under the "Installation" menu item, I finally continued (after searching for "system repair" for hours in vain).

Of course, I would not let SuSE to continue, if it had asked: "I am to format your partitions and begin with the installation. Shall I continue?". But this was not the case.

The bug is well documented (see link above). If you decided to go on with the installation anyway, without having a look on the installation parameters, this was your decision. Again, sorry for your loss!