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openSuse 10.3: new install won't boot

i just installed 10.3 on an old box from a dvd from the linux format magazine. It has kde4.
I tried installing to hdb4 and hda2 and when it boots, it waits for /dev/hda2 or /dev/hdb4 to appear. It times out, and gives me this prompt. Hardly any commands work at this prompt. It never booted successfully. I installed, rebooted and this happens.

Code:

$

There are two hard drives, and two other OSs on each.

Any help?

Prior to this prompt, there would be an error message which will tell you precisely what is wrong. Put it here.

Most probably this would be a result of some of the partitions having errors on them. You can circumvent this situation by modifying the etc/fstab file to prevent checking of non boot partitions at boot time. I usually delete entries in the fstab relating to non essential partitions.

Code:

ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for P10 modes; override with idebus=xx

resume device not found (ignoring)

Waiting for device /dev/hda2 to appear..............................Could not

find /dev/hda2

Want me to fall back to /dev/hda2? (Y/n)



Waiting for device /dev/hda2 to appear..............................not found

--exiting to /bin/sh

sh: no job control in this shell

$

Here it is. hda2 is the root partition.

In OpenSuse 10.3, the drive and partition numbering should not be /dev/hdaX or /dev/hdbX. With the kernel in 10.3, your drives should now be /dev/sda and /dev/sdb (this applies to IDE, SATA, and SCSI drives).

Edit /etc/fstab, and change all references to hda or hdb to sda and sdb respectively.

Then check /boot/grub/menu.lst. In the kernel line, make sure that root=/dev/sda2 is there, and not root=/dev/hda2.

If you are booting into command-line mode, su to root and run 'fdisk -l' to see the disks and partitions. sda2 should be flagged with an * in the Boot column. There should not be entries for hda or hdb.

Can you boot from the DVD in repair mode? Please post your /etc/fstab.

<edit> Ups, coming a little late to answer, already good posts here. @bigrigdriver On my box /etc/fstab uses partition-ids (twenty-plus letters long unwieldy things), but I never noticed sdx notation in menu.lst, will check it...

I just checked my own, and had my memory refreshed for me. When I installed 10.3, I found the /dev/disk/by-id thing too cumbersome for my taste, so I commented out that line, and entered a new one with the /dev/sdXY that I'm more confortable with. I did the same in my /etc/fstab.

But, the point is that if Raccoon1400 is using /dev/hda or /dev/hdb designations in fstab or menu.lst, it won't work. They must be converted to sda and sdb.

This is and ide computer. Isn't sda for sata?

Opensuse uses sda, sdb, etc. whether or not it is ide,scsi,sata. Just installed it a few months ago and noticed this. My computer also is only 2 ide drives and partitions are all labelled 'sda' or 'sdb'.

I'll see if I have time to try that tomorrow. I have been extremely busy lately.

Ok . Here goes.
I tried booting from uuid and /dev/sda2. Neither worked.

SuSE's fstab:

Code:

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-MAXTOR_6L040J2_662219027643-part2 /                    ext3      acl,user_xattr        1 1

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-MAXTOR_6L040J2_662219027643-part5 swap                swap      defaults              0 0

proc                /proc                proc      defaults              0 0

sysfs                /sys                sysfs      noauto                0 0

debugfs              /sys/kernel/debug    debugfs    noauto                0 0

devpts              /dev/pts            devpts    mode=0620,gid=5      0 0

And the grub entry I try to boot with:

Code:

title                openSUSE 10.3 (i586) (on /dev/sda2)

root                (hd0,1)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.13-0.3-default root=UUID=77fe97a0-8ca3-4b11-b344-4d0c8ec239aa ro quiet

initrd                /boot/initrd-2.6.22.13-0.3-default

boot

Who created the grub menu? It doesn't seem to be the creation of Opensuse, during installation.
The error message refers to hda2 - something that doesn't appear in the fstab or grub menu. Can you post the entire fstab and grub menu files?

I am assuming that the grub was created by another distro, and you tried to include the Opensuse installation in that menu. The difference in hard disk nomenclature between distros is to blame here. I suggest replacing the "root(hd0,1)" entry in the grub menu to " root /dev/disk/by-id/ata-MAXTOR_6L040J2_662219027643-part2" as shown in fstab.

Quote:

Originally Posted by htnakirs (Post 3167774)

Who created the grub menu? It doesn't seem to be the creation of Opensuse, during installation....

If, what htnakirs assumes here is right, your easiest course would be to pop in the install CD/DVD and boot it in repair mode. It then offers to repair the boot sequence and that should be it...

The grub entry was generated by ubuntu.I modified it a bit. The original SuSE grub didn't work either. How could we change fstab not to do disk by id? I never succesfully booted this install.

Original grub entry:
title openSUSE

Code:

    root (hd0,1)

    kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.13-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-MAXTOR_6L040J2_662219027643-part2 resume=/dev/hda5 splash=silent showopts

    initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.22.13-0.3-default

With this entry, it waits for /dev/disk/by_id/.... to appear, fails and falls back to /dev/hda2, and fails again.

That was the entire fstab.
Here is the entire menu.lst

Code:

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)

#            grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),

#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub

#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.



## default num

# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and

# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.

#

# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry

# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.

# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your

# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.

default                0



## timeout sec

# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry

# (normally the first entry defined).

#timeout                10



## hiddenmenu

# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)

#hiddenmenu



# Pretty colours

#color cyan/blue white/blue



## password ['--md5'] passwd

# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing

# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the

# command 'lock'

# e.g. password topsecret

#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/

# password topsecret



#

# examples

#

# title                Windows 95/98/NT/2000

# root                (hd0,0)

# makeactive

# chainloader        +1

#

# title                Linux

# root                (hd0,1)

# kernel        /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro

#



#

# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST



### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified

## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below



## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs



## ## Start Default Options ##

## default kernel options

## default kernel options for automagic boot options

## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z

## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.

## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro

##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro

##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro

# kopt=root=UUID=140b6ac9-c5ce-4526-9e43-77d5db988170 ro



## Setup crashdump menu entries

## e.g. crashdump=1

# crashdump=0



## default grub root device

## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)

# groot=(hd0,0)



## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. alternative=true

##      alternative=false

# alternative=true



## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options

## e.g. lockalternative=true

##      lockalternative=false

# lockalternative=false



## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the

## alternatives

## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5

# defoptions=quiet splash



## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options

## e.g. lockold=false

##      lockold=true

# lockold=false



## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenhopt=



## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option

# xenkopt=console=tty0



## altoption boot targets option

## multiple altoptions lines are allowed

## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options

##      altoptions=(recovery) single

# altoptions=(recovery mode) single



## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst

## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the

## alternative kernel options

## e.g. howmany=all

##      howmany=7

# howmany=all



## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option

## e.g. memtest86=true

##      memtest86=false

# memtest86=true



## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system

## can be true or false

# updatedefaultentry=false



## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options

## can be true or false

# savedefault=false



## ## End Default Options ##



title                Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic

root                (hd0,0)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=140b6ac9-c5ce-4526-9e43-77d5db988170 ro quiet splash

initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic

quiet



title                Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)

root                (hd0,0)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=140b6ac9-c5ce-4526-9e43-77d5db988170 ro single

initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic



#title                Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+

#root                (hd0,0)

#kernel                /boot/memtest86+.bin

#quiet



### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST



# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian

# ones.

title                Other operating systems:

root





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hda6.

title                Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (on /dev/hda6)

root                (hd0,5)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=8efa6146-2ddf-47a4-9dfc-8e59faddf84f ro quiet splash 

initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hda6.

title                Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode) (on /dev/hda6)

root                (hd0,5)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=8efa6146-2ddf-47a4-9dfc-8e59faddf84f ro single 

initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hdb1.

title                Yoper Linux - 2.6.21_yos-47 (on /dev/hdb1)

root                (hd1,0)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21_yos-47 ro root=/dev/hda1 rhgb quiet nofscheck 

initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21_yos-47

boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hdb1.

#title                Yoper Linux - 2.6.21_yos-47 - Failsafe (on /dev/hdb1)

#root                (hd1,0)

#kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21_yos-47 ro root=/dev/hda1 ramdisk=16384 noacpi noapm showopts ide=nodma nofscheck failsafe 

#initrd                /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21_yos-47

#boot



title openSUSE

    root (hd0,1)

    kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.13-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-MAXTOR_6L040J2_662219027643-part2 resume=/dev/hda5 splash=silent showopts

    initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.22.13-0.3-default



# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hdb4.

title                openSUSE 10.3 (i586) (on /dev/sda2)

root                (hd0,1)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.13-0.3-default root=UUID=77fe97a0-8ca3-4b11-b344-4d0c8ec239aa ro quiet

initrd                /boot/initrd-2.6.22.13-0.3-default

boot



title                openSUSE 10.3 (i586) (on /dev/hdb4)

root                (hd1,3)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb4 

initrd                /boot/initrd

boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hdb4.

#title                openSUSE 10.3 (i586) (on /dev/hdb4)

#root                (hd1,3)

#kernel                /boot/vmlinux-2.6.22.13-0.3-default.gz root=/dev/hdb4 

#boot





# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for an existing

# linux installation on /dev/hdb5.

title                Slackware Linux (on /dev/hdb5)

root                (hd1,4)

kernel                /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb5 ro vga = 773 

boot

Where is your /boot? Extra partition or directory? GRUB expects a stanza telling it where /boot is. In case you are using Ubuntu's GRUB with SuSE's menu.lst you are nuked right here...

See:
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...le-name-syntax

/ and /boot are on the same partition