Installing Kernel 2.6.8.1 - Kernel Panic error
 

I just installed the 2.6.8.1 kernel on my slackware system, everything went well until I rebooted, it made it to a kernel panic and halted this is the message that it showed:

VFS: Cannot open root device "2101" or unknown-block (33,1)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic: VFS: Unable to mount rootfs on unknown-block (33,1)

I don't know what setting in the .config file might be causing this, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Hi.

Try removing the root=xxx part from the kernel arguments in /boot/grub/grub.conf (or from lilo.conf, depending on whether you're using lilo or grub).

The kernel knows which partition should be '/' as long as the disks are in the same configuration as they were when the kernel was compiled.

Dave

Hey,
I just tried doing that, but i get the exact same error message, but it changes from VFS: Cannot open root device "2102" to VFS: Cannot open root device"<null>". Could it possibly be something I missed in the configuration? I was pretty thorough going through it.

Thanks,
Shaun

I recently had this happen compiling a new kernel.

Did you save your config file? Look inside and you'll probably find EXT3 or whatever your root filesystem is compiled as a module.

If you go back and recompile with it inside the kernel without *starting all over*, it won't take (in my expeirence), so your best bet is to save your config file to your desktop or somewhere, start over, and then pull the config file in again, and then go through it and check your filesystem settings.

Did you remove the whole of 'root=xx'?

E.g. my grub.conf reads:
That's all that should be needed if the kernel was compiled on the same system as it's running.

Dave

This is in my lilo.conf file:

image = /boot/vmlinuz
label = Linux-2.6.8.1
read-only

Am i missing anything there? I just removed the root= line, my other kernel lines are:

image = /boot/vmlinuz-ide-2.4.26
root = /dev/hde1
label = Linux-2.4.26
read-only

and it works fine to boot that kernel. I am going to try to recompile the kernel and see if it works, but I had ext2 and ext3 set as *'s not M, so i don't think that it would change any, are there any other settings that might cause it to halt like this?

Sorry, I'm not realy familiar with lilo. I'd disregard my previous advice.

Did you re-run lilo after changing lilo.conf?

Dave

yes, i re-ran lilo and it looked like it updated fine.

Is vmlinuz the name of the file in /boot with a .img ending for that kernel? your compiled kernel is called vmlinuz.img? Usually you call it something else so you know it is a custom job.

I would put the root thing back in and re-run lilo.

i have the same problem
 

hi everybody

now i have the same problem with slack 10 and kernel 2.6.8.1 i did read everything but i didnt understand is there any solution of this problem if there is a solution could sombedy tel me how thanks

VFS: Cannot open root device "2101" or unknown-block (33,1)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic: VFS: Unable to mount rootfs on unknown-block (33,1)



:Pengy:

issue resolved by replacing the RAM.