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Old 06-24-2010, 06:16 PM   #1
mitchellray
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Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block


Hello,
I have been running Slackware 12.2 for quite a while.
I have been booting using lilo, but there is a Grub installed in the first partition.
I also run a version of Puppy linux which is set up to boot through lilo.

I recently reloaded a fresh version of Puppy linux to the same partition as Slackware (as it had been working before).

Now, I can still boot the Puppy linux, but when I try to boot Slackware from the same Slackware screen, I get
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bloc ().
I have an ATA drive, but lists as
sda1 primary linux
sda2 swap
sda3 primary linux bootable flagged (contains Slackware and Puppy)
sda5 logical linux (contains Zenwalk, never booted due inability to access and rerun /sbin/lilo because I can't get into slacware any longer).

Interestingly, the Puppy boots regardless of the bootable flagged or not.
Also, I tried creating a lilo.conf in sda5 with Zenwalk and then toggling sda5 bootable flag, but the machine still hands off to the Slackware boot screen.
Is this lilo.conf problem or something else and how can I resolve?

Here is the lilo.conf for Slackware 12.2
# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
# Append any additional kernel parameters:
append=" vt.default_utf8=0 acpi=force"
boot = /dev/hde

# Boot BMP Image.
# Bitmap in BMP format: 640x480x8
bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp
# Menu colors (foreground, background, shadow, highlighted
# foreground, highlighted background, highlighted shadow):
bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0
# Location of the option table: location x, location y, number of
# columns, lines per column (max 15), "spill" (this is how many
# entries must be in the first column before the next begins to
# be used. We don't specify it here, as there's just one column.
bmp-table = 60,6,1,16
# Timer location x, timer location y, foreground color,
# background color, shadow color.
bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255

# Standard menu.
# Or, you can comment out the bitmap menu above and
# use a boot message with the standard menu:
#message = /boot/boot_message.txt

# Wait until the timeout to boot (if commented out, boot the
# first entry immediately):
prompt
# Timeout before the first entry boots.
# This is given in tenths of a second, so 600 for every minute:
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# Normal VGA console
vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/root
label = Linux
read-only
image = /boot/puppy/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hde3
label = PuppyLinux
initrd = /boot/puppy/initrd.gz
read-only
image = /boot/zenwalk/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hde5
label = Zenwalk
initrd = /boot/zenwalk/initrd.gz
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Mitchellray
 
Old 06-24-2010, 06:28 PM   #2
pingu
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Distribution: Debian preferably
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First of all, with grub installed in mbr it doesn't matter what partition is marked active!
I believe this to be the cause of your trouble, you configure lilo but grub does the booting.

You say: ".. there is a Grub installed in the first partition." Now the question is how grub was installed, what is grub's root? To me it sounds as you upgraded Puppy and puppy installed grub - that would explain why only PuppyLinux can be booted. But then, that's just a guess at the moment.

Please tell us more about your setup, exactly what you did & details about the grub-installation.
This should be eaqsy to fix, just need more details!
(And remember, with grub - if it's not grub2 - you can edit boot options when grub-meny is displayed.)
 
Old 06-24-2010, 06:37 PM   #3
mitchellray
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Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 44

Original Poster
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Cont'd

Hello pingu,
I'm fairly certain that I am not booting with Grub because the Slackware screen has two choices:
Linux Puppylinux
and here is Grub menu.lst
# GRUB configuration file '/boot/grub/menu.lst'.
# generated by 'grubconfig'. Sun Feb 28 19:55:30 2010
#
# Start GRUB global section
#timeout 30
color light-gray/blue black/light-gray
# End GRUB global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda3)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
# Linux bootable partition config ends
title Install GRUB to floppy disk (on /dev/fd0)
pause Insert a formatted floppy disk and press enter.
root (hd0,0)
setup (fd0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title Install GRUB to Linux partition (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0,0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title - For help press 'c', then type: 'help'
root (hd0)
title - For usage examples, type: 'cat /boot/grub/usage.txt'
root (hd0)

which does not contain reference to Puppylinux.
Mitchellray
 
Old 06-24-2010, 06:44 PM   #4
syg00
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Go to sf.net, get the bootinfoscript and run that. It'll produce a RESULTS.txt with all your boot info. Post that.
 
Old 06-24-2010, 07:15 PM   #5
mitchellray
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Posts: 44

Original Poster
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Kernel panic not syncing cont'd

Hello syg00,
I have followed the instructions on sf.net re. the bootinfoscript.
Is there anything in that results file that might compromise security on my system if I post it here?
Thank you.
Mitchellray
 
Old 06-24-2010, 07:42 PM   #6
syg00
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It's just a text file, satisfy yourself.
But no, it merely allows us to see what the machine is (actually) attempting to do - which code (grub, lilo, NTFS) is in the MBR (for all disks), with the applicable config files.
Also lists fstab, UUID mappings and the like.

I see no exposure in posting it, but the decision is surely yours.
 
Old 06-24-2010, 07:55 PM   #7
mitchellray
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Kernel panic cont'd

Hello syg00,
Thanks for the reply.

Here is the results file:

Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

=> Lilo is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda

sda1: _________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext2
Boot sector type: Grub
Boot sector info: Grub 0.97 is installed in the boot sector of sda1 and
looks at sector 81051 of the same hard drive for the
stage2 file. A stage2 file is at this location on
/dev/sda. Stage2 looks on partition #1 for
/boot/grub/menu.lst.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst

sda2: _________________________________________________________________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sda3: _________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Slackware 12.2.0
Boot files/dirs: /etc/fstab /etc/lilo.conf /boot/map

sda4: _________________________________________________________________________

File system: Extended Partition
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sda5: _________________________________________________________________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: LILO
Boot sector info: LILO is installed in boot sector of /dev/sda5 and
looks at sector 72951835 of /dev/sda for the "map"
file, but the "map" file was not found at this
location.
Operating System: Zenwalk 6.4
Boot files/dirs: /etc/fstab /etc/lilo.conf /boot/map

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda ___________________ _____________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders, total 156301488 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes


Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 1,012,094 1,012,032 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 1,012,095 3,951,989 2,939,895 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3 3,951,990 72,292,499 68,340,510 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 72,292,500 156,296,384 84,003,885 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 72,292,563 156,296,384 84,003,822 83 Linux


blkid -c /dev/null: ____________________________________________________________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/loop1 8574c4fb-44d0-4674-b84f-5bc961e09071 ext2
/dev/sda1 3c281fa6-7414-4a8a-9698-89613459000f ext2 /boot
/dev/sda2 6867338a-2c33-4ed8-89c9-ba55f9bb74b6 swap
/dev/sda3 0cd4589b-e413-41f6-ac11-552f287cd186 ext3
/dev/sda5 d1829036-f10f-4ce3-b57c-929d350fb7a6 ext3

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

rootfs / rootfs (rw,relatime)
unionfs / aufs (rw,relatime,si=612d05fe)
/dev/sda3 /initrd/mnt/dev_save ext3 (rw,noatime,errors=continue,data=writeback)
/dev/loop1 /initrd/pup_rw ext2 (rw,noatime,errors=continue)
/dev/loop0 /initrd/pup_ro2 squashfs (ro,noatime)


=========================== sda1/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

# GRUB configuration file '/boot/grub/menu.lst'.
# generated by 'grubconfig'. Sun Feb 28 19:55:30 2010
#
# Start GRUB global section
#timeout 30
color light-gray/blue black/light-gray
# End GRUB global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
title Linux (on /dev/sda3)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro vga=normal
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
# Linux bootable partition config ends
title Install GRUB to floppy disk (on /dev/fd0)
pause Insert a formatted floppy disk and press enter.
root (hd0,0)
setup (fd0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title Install GRUB to Linux partition (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0,0)
pause Press enter to continue.
title - For help press 'c', then type: 'help'
root (hd0)
title - For usage examples, type: 'cat /boot/grub/usage.txt'
root (hd0)

=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


.0GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
.0GB: boot/grub/stage2

=============================== sda3/etc/fstab: ===============================

/dev/hde2 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/hde3 / ext3 defaults 1 1
/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,user,rw 0 0
/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,user 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs rw 0 0


============================= sda3/etc/lilo.conf: =============================

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
# Append any additional kernel parameters:
append=" vt.default_utf8=0 acpi=force"
boot = /dev/hde

# Boot BMP Image.
# Bitmap in BMP format: 640x480x8
bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp
# Menu colors (foreground, background, shadow, highlighted
# foreground, highlighted background, highlighted shadow):
bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0
# Location of the option table: location x, location y, number of
# columns, lines per column (max 15), "spill" (this is how many
# entries must be in the first column before the next begins to
# be used. We don't specify it here, as there's just one column.
bmp-table = 60,6,1,16
# Timer location x, timer location y, foreground color,
# background color, shadow color.
bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255

# Standard menu.
# Or, you can comment out the bitmap menu above and
# use a boot message with the standard menu:
#message = /boot/boot_message.txt

# Wait until the timeout to boot (if commented out, boot the
# first entry immediately):
prompt
# Timeout before the first entry boots.
# This is given in tenths of a second, so 600 for every minute:
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# Normal VGA console
vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/root
label = Linux
read-only
image = /boot/puppy/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hde3
label = PuppyLinux
initrd = /boot/puppy/initrd.gz
read-only
image = /boot/zenwalk/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hde5
label = Zenwalk
initrd = /boot/zenwalk/initrd.gz
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

=================== sda3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


26.0GB: boot/vmlinuz
26.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-generic-2.6.27.7
26.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-generic-smp-2.6.27.7-smp
26.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-huge-2.6.27.7
26.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-huge-smp-2.6.27.7-smp

=============================== sda5/etc/fstab: ===============================

/dev/sda2 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/sda5 / ext3 defaults,noatime 1 1
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0

============================= sda5/etc/lilo.conf: =============================

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
append="resume=/dev/sda2 splash=silent "
boot = /dev/sda5
bitmap=/boot/splash.bmp
bmp-table=234p,348p,1,4
bmp-colors=220,0,,255,220,
bmp-timer=539p,396p,220,0,
prompt
timeout = 50
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sda5
label = Zenwalk
initrd = /boot/initrd.splash
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

=================== sda5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


37.3GB: boot/initrd.splash
37.3GB: boot/vmlinuz
37.3GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.33.4
=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

hda hdb hdc hdd sdc sdd sde sdf sdg sdh sdi
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

hexdump: stdin: Illegal seek
 
Old 06-24-2010, 09:56 PM   #8
syg00
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Presumably that was a frugal install for puppy. I don't know what that does to the host system (Slack in your case).
Maybe you need an initrd for Slack - it (the system) is obvious booting o.k., for Puppy to start.

Sorry I'm at a loss as I'm not a user of any of that, although I will look at a Slack install I have later on.
 
Old 06-25-2010, 04:24 AM   #9
pingu
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One thing here: In lilo.conf you have
"root = /dev/root"
Maybe this can be right, though I've never seen that before. It should be /dev/sda3 - is /dev/root a symlink?
Now you use lilo for booting, makes it more difficult to boot into Slackware, which you need to do to fix lilo. AFAIK you can't edit boot options with lilo at bootup, right?
You could possibly get a liveCD that uses grub and edit boot options to boot up Slackware.
Or maybe chroot from Puppy?
 
Old 06-25-2010, 10:44 PM   #10
syg00
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O.K., I just downloaded puppy and did a frugal install on Slackware running as a VirtualBox guest. All seemed to go well, no effect on Slack whatsoever.
As I said, I can't help.
(the /dev/root is fine).
 
  


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