unable to open an initial console (2.6.11)
 

Hi!

I built a new kernel but unfortunately i got this error while system is starting:
I`m using fedora core 3.

I`d be grateful for suggestions.
Regards,
wilu.

reinstall fedora

when you recompiled you kernel what steps did you do to do so? Did mkinitrd? Please give us some more details concerning the steps that you took to recompile.

I`ve got 2 kernels now, original kernel works fine;) .
About new kernel...
1. i downloaded 2.6.11 form www.kernel.org
2. unpacked it
3. configured
5. compiled:
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
6. copied some files:
cp /opt/kernel/linux/System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.11
cp /opt/kernel/linux/.config /boot/config-2.6.11
cp /opt/kernel/linux/arch/i386/bzImage /boot/bzImage-2.6.11
7. then i added this to grub.conf:
title Fedora Core (2.6.11)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.11 ro root=/dev/hda6
8. after rebooting system i got the error that we`re talking about.

I did not do initrd file because as far as i know it`s not necessary.

I can post additional information ... if needed.

EDIT:
I assume that divergence between file names in /boot, *-2.6.11, and /lib/modules 2.6.11.5 doesn't cause a problem...

I have had to same issue and for some reason Fedora needs to have that image. I would recommend running the mkinitrd command and attach it to grub accordinally and let me know how it goes.

So, i made initrd file:
/sbin/mkinitrd initrd-2.6.11.5.img 2.6.11.5
and attached it to grub:
title Fedora Core (2.6.11)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.11.5 ro root=/dev/hda6
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.11.5.img
but the problem remains...
I`m getting frustrated:confused: .

is there any output before it does this?

Can you use the old kernel?

can you download a gentoo liveCD and mount the disk, correct the problem?

How did you go about recompiling your kernel?

@mrGenixus
Couple lines befor system stops...
EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode
VFS: Mountes root (ext3 filesystem) readonly
Freeing unused kernel memory: 116k freed
Warning: unable to open an initial console.
... and system stops loading...

I`ve got 2 kernels now so when booting up from new kernel fails i use the second one;) ...

EDIT:
all seems to be OK before system hangs, there aren`t any warnings or errors.

Can you explain the steps you took to recompile your kernel.

I have the same problem when trying to compile a 2.6.11 kernel on CentOS 4 and Fedora core 3.

This seems to be a bug in 2.6.11, I would google this, before posting any additional questions.

reddazz: How did you recompile your kernel?

I didn`t recompile my kernel (if i understand the meaning of word recompilation - to compile again the kernel which i already have). I downloaded new kernel 2.6.11.5 (my original kernel is 2.6.9-1.667), configured it, compiled, copied files to /boot directory and added few lines in grub.conf.
I did the following steps:
1. i downloaded 2.6.11.5 form www.kernel.org
2. unpacked it
3. configured
5. compiled:
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
6. copied some files:
cp /opt/kernel/linux/System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.11.5
cp /opt/kernel/linux/.config /boot/config-2.6.11.5
cp /opt/kernel/linux/arch/i386/bzImage /boot/bzImage-2.6.11.5
7. /sbin/mkinitrd initrd-2.6.11.5.img 2.6.11.5
8. attached this to grub.conf
title Fedora Core (2.6.11)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.11.5 ro root=/dev/hda6
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.11.5.img

EDIT:
I can be wrong, but as far as i remember i got the same error with 2.6.10 kernel... So i assume it`s not bug in 2.6.11

I would stay away from .11 and drop back to .10, but more importantly, you may hav skipped the 'make' step which replaces the make bzImage that was used with 2.4.x beginning with 2.6.0

So, are you suggesting to do:
make
make modules_install
?
make bzImage does the same as make, creates bzImage.
I could have misunderstood you (my English is poor:( )...
I`m looking through kernel configuration... maybe i omitted something.

This appears to be beyond me my only advice is to carefully look over your config using 'make menuconfig' and see if you can find it.

You may have disable something it needs.