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Unable to boot CentOS from Slackware lilo

Hi all,
I'm using lilo to multiboot Ubuntu and Centos along with Slackware. Ubuntu boots fine but Centos does not. I get kernel panic message.

The following is my fdisk -l information:

Code:

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Disk identifier: 0x00000080



  Device Boot      Start        End      Blocks  Id  System

/dev/sda1              1        1958    15727603+  83  Linux

/dev/sda2  *        1959        3916    15727635  83  Linux

/dev/sda3            3917      17623  110101477+  5  Extended

/dev/sda4          17624      19457    14731605  83  Linux

/dev/sda5            3917        3941      200781  83  Linux

/dev/sda6            3942        4202    2096451  82  Linux swap

/dev/sda7            4203      15951    94373811  83  Linux

/dev/sda8          15952      17623    13430308+  83  Linux

where,
a) /dev/sda1 is Slackware
b) /dev/sda2 is Ubuntu
c) /dev/sda5 is seperate /boot for Centos (I had previously installed F11-Preview so had made seperate /boot with ext3.)
d) /dev/sda8 is Centos

Here is my lilo.conf:

Code:

boot = /dev/sda



bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp

bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0

bmp-table = 60,6,1,16

bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255

append=" vt.default_utf8=0"

prompt

timeout = 50

vga = 773



image = /boot/vmlinuz

  root = /dev/sda1

  label = Slackware

  read-only



image = /mnt/ubu/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-15-generic

  root = /dev/sda2

  label = Ubuntu

  initrd = /mnt/ubu/boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-15-generic

  read-only



image = /mnt/cent/vmlinuz-2.6.18-128.7.1.el5

  root = /dev/sda8

  label = CentOS

  initrd = /mnt/cent/initrd-2.6.18-128.7.1.el5.img

  read-only

When I try to boot Centos I get:

Code:

Trying to resume from /dev/sda6

No suspend signature on swap, not resuming

Creating root device

...

Setting up new root fs

setuproot: moving /dev failed: No such file or directory

no fstab.sys mounting internal defualts..

..switchroot: mount failed: No such file or directory

Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!

I tried to change root to /dev/sda5 which is my Centos /boot but even then I cant boot.

What should I try?

Just a guess here, but seeing as no one else as responded - what can it hurt?

Looks like you are getting a missing /dev error....

you could try an append option in your CentOS section...maybe something like this(again, just a shot in the dark here)

append = "resume=/dev/sda6 devfs=mount"

initrd = /mnt/cent/initrd-2.6.18-128.7.1.el5.img

Here's another guess (since the LILO config looks correct from what I can tell).

Please double-check that there are no typos in the name of the initrd file there, on the CentOS section of the lilo.conf.

The boot error tells me that there is no support for the filesystem used on /dev/sda8 (or some similar error), which in turn, hints to me that the initrd is not being loaded.

Sasha

And another guess ... where did you tell centos and ubuntu
respectively where to put "their" boot-loaders? I'll hazard
the guess that for ubuntu it was it's root?

Cheers,
Tink

@adamben, will try what you suggested.

@Sasha, the typo is correct I checked several times.

@Tink,
Ubuntu was my main os till now and I don't remember if I meddle with bootloader during installation. Which means it must have gone into MBR. Whereas for Cent, I had selected to install bootloader on...err what? I don't remember now. :-(

Hmm...as much as I can remember, I had to create a seperate /boot with ext3 thanks to F11-Preview. Then I decided to try CentOS and during Cent install I selected swap, seperate /boot on /dev/sda5 and / on /dev/sda8. I did not install grub on MBR, thats for sure. But I can't remember whether I choose to install on root partition or chose not to install grub. How to find out?

Btw, is there an option of "configfile ...", like it is in grub?

To update:
@adamben, I tried your suggestion. It does not help.

Fed up and not sure if this is a lilo problem (grub used to boot Centos fine), I installed grub. But when I do grub-install it complains about not being able to read stage1 properly. Don't know what to do. Am thinking of reinstalling Ubuntu's grub on MBR.

P.S: Strangely, on my desktop, Debian is not able to boot Slackware 13(it used to boot Slack 12.1 though). :-(

I haven't tried this myself, but perhaps it could be useful to you ( If anyone has tried it and would recommend against it - please - pipe up :) ).

http://www.supergrubdisk.org/

hmm, I have put Ubuntu's grub on MBR again. All distros are booting fine now. ;-)

@adamben, will check that link. Have seen many others recommend super-grub before. Thanks.