2.4 And 2.217 Kernels
 

So I have MDK 8.0 running kernel 2.4.2, and I wanted to test a theory I had about my configuration.

I downloaded and configured a 2.2.17 kernel, and when I rebooted, it gave the infamous Linux Screen Of Death:
Kernel panic: Unable to mount root partition

Now I checked eeverything, but then I had a thought, and I need someone to verify it. The 2.2.17 series supported ReiserFS, but at a lower version number. As a result, since my root partition is formated as the newer Reiser FS, the older kernel cannot mount it. Does this sound right?

You would have thought that they would could have back compatability wouldn't you? But it does sound like that to me.

Don't take my word for it though.

Why 2.2.17 when 2.2.19 is the latest 2.2.x kernel? I think 2.2.20 might even be available. Did the kernel configuration have options for ReiserFS? I always use "make xconfig" to browse all my kernel options in a GUI.

reiserfs was supported natively in the kernel starting at 2.4.1pre10. Before that the kernel had to patched in order to have support.

BTW I would consider an upgrade to your 2.4.2 kernel. 2.4.3 and possibly some future releases had fixes in it that had to do directly with reiserfs