Version 2.86 booting Problems

Chriskaytonman · 06-18-2010, 04:43 PM

When I start my computer. It goes to a black screen, with
INIT: version 2.86 booting
INIT: No inittab file found

Enter runlevel:

I have tried to run all level but as soon as I run a level for instance, level 6 which used to reboot the system, I get

INIT: Entering runlevel: 6
INIT: No more processes left in this runlevel

What must I do to get everything running back to normal. I can not burn a rescue disk, plus I dont have one.
If you know any knowledge that would be useful, please help me figure this problem out.

irmin · 06-19-2010, 06:04 AM

It looks like your /etc/inittab file was deleted or the file system is not mounted. You can try to append "init=/bin/bash" to your boot prompt to set bash as the init process and then check, if /etc/inittab exists. If this does not work, post as much output as possible.

What distribution are you using? Are there any other errors?

RockDoctor · 06-20-2010, 08:45 AM

Here's the /etc/inittab file from my Mandriva installation :

Code:

#
# inittab       This file describes how the INIT process should set up
#               the system in a certain run-level.
#
# Author:       Miquel van Smoorenburg, <miquels@drinkel.nl.mugnet.org>
#               Modified for RHS Linux by Marc Ewing and Donnie Barnes
#

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by Mandriva Linux are:
#   0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#   1 - Single user mode
#   2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
#   3 - Full multiuser mode
#   4 - unused
#   5 - X11
#   6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 
id:5:initdefault:

# System initialization.
si::sysinit:/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

l0:0:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 0
l1:1:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 1
l2:2:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 2
l3:3:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 3
l4:4:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 4
l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5
l6:6:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 6

# Trap CTRL-ALT-DELETE
ca::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/shutdown -t3 -r now

# When our UPS tells us power has failed, assume we have a few minutes
# of power left.  Schedule a shutdown for 2 minutes from now.
# This does, of course, assume you have powerd installed and your
# UPS connected and working correctly.  
pf::powerfail:/sbin/shutdown -f -h +2 "Power Failure; System Shutting Down"

# If power was restored before the shutdown kicked in, cancel it.
pr:12345:powerokwait:/sbin/shutdown -c "Power Restored; Shutdown Cancelled"


# Run gettys in standard runlevels
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1
2:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty2
3:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty3
4:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty4
5:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty5
6:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty6

# Single user mode
~~:S:wait:/bin/sh

Chriskaytonman · 06-20-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irmin

It looks like your /etc/inittab file was deleted or the file system is not mounted. You can try to append "init=/bin/bash" to your boot prompt to set bash as the init process and then check, if /etc/inittab exists. If this does not work, post as much output as possible.

What distribution are you using? Are there any other errors?

What if the /etc/inittab file was deleted then, what would i have to do to fix this.
Because none of the init works for me.

Chriskaytonman · 06-20-2010, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriskaytonman

What if the /etc/inittab file was deleted then, what would i have to do to fix this.
Because none of the init works for me.

But i was running Mandriva Linux 2009.0
With Gnome 2.24 i think.
Some else installed it on my computer because my Windows XP was actin up seriously. Now Linux is.

Undermind · 06-21-2010, 11:09 AM

Is it a fresh install? If so, you might have a hardware error than causes data corruption. Try running a memcheck off a live CD

irmin · 06-21-2010, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriskaytonman

What if the /etc/inittab file was deleted then, what would i have to do to fix this.
Because none of the init works for me.

If the inittab really is deleted, then boot with "init=/bin/bash" or "init=/usr/bin/bash" or "init=/bin/sh" to boot into sh/bash and then use an editor to create it (based on the above example) or copy a fresh inittab from a usb stick or over network (although you will have to configure it manually). Anyway: If inittab got deleted, there will be some serious error on your system and it is better to check the hardware and eventually reinstall the system (there will be more errors/missing files for sure) as Undermind suggested.

A minimal inittab would be:

Code:

id:3:initdefault:
l3:3:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 3
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1

Chriskaytonman · 06-22-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irmin

If the inittab really is deleted, then boot with "init=/bin/bash" or "init=/usr/bin/bash" or "init=/bin/sh" to boot into sh/bash and then use an editor to create it (based on the above example) or copy a fresh inittab from a usb stick or over network (although you will have to configure it manually). Anyway: If inittab got deleted, there will be some serious error on your system and it is better to check the hardware and eventually reinstall the system (there will be more errors/missing files for sure) as Undermind suggested.

A minimal inittab would be:

Code:

id:3:initdefault:
l3:3:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 3
1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1

when it is asking
Enter runlevel:
what should i type in to check everything so i can proceed with the help you all are offering.

irmin · 06-23-2010, 04:00 AM

You should pass "init=/bin/bash" as a parameter to the kernel before booting linux. If you use grub, press 'e' (I guess) when you are prompted for the operating system and then append the argument to the command line. In this case /sbin/init is not even called.