VFS: Cannot open root device "LABEL=/" or 00:00)

IActually after "playing" for a month trying to install a Speedtouch USB modem on linux I went back to the beginning, re-installing Redhat 9. I made sure this time that I install the package for my sound card ( a very rare one, SB Live! (!!!!)). The sound card does not work but it does not matter for now, I did it before, so there is a way but not the "Redhat" way.

So, after re-installing the whole package I tried to rebuild the kernel after making only one change (specifying my CPU as P4 instead of the defaut PIII). 1st "make install" did not work (/lib/modules/2.4.20-8custom is not a directory). Lousy Makefile! Ok, I will create it for you. The "make install" worked after that.

Same problem, cannot boot from the custom kernel. (VFS: Cannot open root device "LABEL=/" or 00:00)

I have over 10 years experience as a Unix administrator (HP-UX). I am new to Linux and guess what?

I am thinking about Bill Gates when I see that a corporation who is endorsing Linux put stuff like that on the market.

I feel a bit better now, hopping that I am writing to someone who is not going to reply with a link or tell me "did you read the HOWTO?".

;o)

Daniel

P.S.: How about Mandrake ? :0)

i find that mandrake and redhat are basically the same in a sense....and i think mandrake is more so closer to being like windows than redhat....which is just imo...
anyways try this you might be missing a step..:
a guide i wrote for kernel compile

I too find that Mandrake is a nicer distro for a Windoze-style environment. It has an mplayer application that plays most mpeg videos nicely, while Redhat 9 will install mplayer but do nothing with it. Redhat, IMHO, is more geared toward a work environment or an actual server. i.e., if you want to work, use Redhat, if you want to play, use Mandrake.

Thanks DrOzz. I followed your guide but it still does not boot. What I did before is basically what you are describing in your guide except that the grub-install was missing (I think...). The other difference is that the new kernel does not replace the old one, it is added as a "custom" kernel. I can still boot from the original one but not from the custom one.

There is also another error before the VFS: Cannot open root device "LABEL=/" or 00:00

NET4: Unix domain sockets 1.0/SMP for linux NET4.0
ds: no socket drivers loaded!

I managed to get multiple (working!) kernel boot on my previous installation. Those were created through Redhat upgrades not by me. It seems that I can not reboot from a rebuilt Kernel even if I did not change anything from the original one. The custom kernel I created SHOULD be a copy of the original one from Redhat.

I have the same boot problem. So far I have found that the mrproper resets everything, so you probably need to change things in the x-config, like removing SMP. I think the problem is from compiling scsi support into the kernel, and not actually having a scsi drive to boot from. I am going to change scsi support to a module and see if it helps.

The other problem I had was not compiling EXT3 file system into kernel, that gave me a few other problems, but I am down to the error of "VFS: unable to mount root fs on 00:00"

Keep me posted! I tried "make oldconfig" thinking that the kernel would be the same as the initial installation. Still the same problem.

I am a bit confused about the initrd file. I noticed that the custom one is about half the size of the original one. I also did a make mrproper with no good result. Is there a way to get the original config file that was used for the initial installation?

You need to compile Ram Disk into the Kernel. The rd of initrd must stand for ram disk, and the kernel boot process must be setting up a ram disk so it can decompile from the initrd image file on boot up.

After I made this change, the kernel has been booting for me.