MRK, so how din you finally manage to boot the 2.6.8.1 kernel ? I compiled it with the sata.i config file from slackware-current, but still get the error when booting :
--------------
VFS: Cannot open root device "sda3"or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)
--------------
Luckily i have vmlinuz.old boot option in lilo.conf, so I keep trying to get it right....

MRK,

Try this link. It explains how to get your kernel configured to boot up with ICH5R/ICH6R sata(raid). I explains how to set it up for kernel 2.4.22<. Even though it only tackles 2.4.22<, the concept should be the same for setting up a 2.6.X kernel.

Start reading from section 4 down, skip the first 3 since they talk about dual booting with windows (unless you want to do that).

Hope the site helps.

GL

//edit: added content

Tried to compile the kernel with ALL the modules in it, and it still pops up the same error. I get the feeling the only thing left to do is to wait until 2.6.9 comes out, maybe that will fix it...

Could someone with a successful compile w/ an Intel mobo and Sata drive please post thier config file for 2.6.8.1? Or any 2.6 kernel? Thanks!

-Matt

Hi,

I put my bootdisk as well as the .config for the full kernel, online at http://allserv.ugent.be/~badams/linux/index.html.
To obtain the bootdisk-.config: leave USB- and parallel-support out, besides fat- and ext2/3-support (I used ReiserFS and NTFS). Some other minor things should also be left out to obtain a bzImage of less than 1417kB. Then just use the makedisk-script (kernels-directory).

On the other hand, one could simply put the compiled kernel on the first Slackware CD-ROM ...

Since I compiled it any way I could but to no avail, could someone with an ABIT I875P mobo and a sata drive post their .config file for a 2.6.x kernel? Thanks a lot !

Hi,

I have similar problems with kernel 2.6.8.1 on Slackware 10. I've been searching the web and this and other forums and recomping the kernel for a two weeks or so without any success.
Here are the details:
First of all everything works just fine with the standart bare.i 2.4.26 kernel from slackware. When I boot using it I get the following messages:
So I have an ABIT IS7 with chipset Intel 82865PE (MCH) + 82801 EB (ICH5R) with Serial ATA with RAID function (0) via ICH5R South Bridge. The hard disk is Seagate.

I've tried whatever came into my mind in order to switch to 2.6.8.1:
I tried without SATA i.e. I said no to SCSI, SATA etc and yes to the IDE drivers. I also tried with CONFIG_SCSI_SATA and CONFIG_SCSI_ATA_PIIX. And finally I even compiled both in. I've been passing different root= and boot time like hda2, sda2, sdXY etc and I only get a kernel panic.
I don't care about the RAID function (which is disabled by BIOS anyway) I only want to switch to 2.6 because GNOME 2.8 needs it. I don't even care if its going to work through the IDE or the SCSI subsystem. I've really tried to many different setups that I cannot describe them all here.

So here are some questions:
(1) Do I need to patch the 2.6.8.1 kernel to get it to work
(2) If my 2.4.26 kernel sees my root dir as /dev/hda2 it is supposed to become /dev/sda2 with CONFIG_SCSI_ATA_PIIX, right?
(3) Why the hell everything works fine with 2.4 through the IDE subsystem and with 2.6 it doesn't

So if anyone could give me a clue I'll be extremely happy and thankful.

Let the source be with you

Well, i got tiered of things not working so i did it the hard way. I took bonecrushers sata.i boot disk config file and compiled the 2.6.8.1 kernel with it. It worked fine. It however compiled about 10000000 gillion things into the kernel. I then slowly and painstakeingly removed one thing at a time untill i had a good working kernel. I really dont know what made this work. That is what is so mysterious. I may redo a config file like i was doing before and then use a diff utility on the files to see what the differnce is. I'll post the config file up as soon as i get home.

Hahah. I was so desprate that i downloaded the freebsd disks and was just about to put bsd on the system when i got decided to do this.

-Matt

Hold on, which config file is that, is it this one : slack_v10-d1-sata.iso\kernels\sata.i\config ?

Are you running with some PI 100MHz, that it's going to make such a difference -knocking off a few KB from your kernel? Why not USE what works?
If the kernel is so STUPID, why bother with it?
If you want to study Pat V's minimal kernel, have a look at the config file for the lowmem kernel. Then comapre that to the bare.i config and look at the relevant sections and make the changes in your config starting from lowmem config (+-300k kernel size). You can exclude all the modules you don't need.

gnashley

First of all I also don't like calling the kernel stupid but that's the post's title. The whole thing isn't about the few KBs of kernel features that will never be used on one's machine. On my old PC with kernels 2.4, knowing my hardware I compiled and used only monolitic kernels i.e. no modules. Everything I needed was compiled in. This has advantages, you know, more or less. I don't compile linux kernels since last week. That's why being unable to switch to 2.6 with my ICH5R SATA drivers me crazy. Probably that's the way MDK felt when naming the thread.

Enjoy

Haha. I'm not calling the kernel stupid, as it is the heart of linux. And i love linux. But i was simply frustrated at how hard it was becoming to get things to work. The only other time i remember having that many problems getting linux to work was when i installed linux the first time 10 years ago. (that was an experience) Anyways, i'm just glad i got it to work. I want a small, fast, and efficient kernel. I dont want 20 things that i dont need compiled in. Thats a waste of space. (Even though i have 200 gigs of space) Anyways, i'm compiling my pureftpd on the server now. As soon as i get it up and working, i'll upload the .config file. (as i have no other way to get that file from there to here.)

-Matt

For everyone's viewign pleasure i present --- the kernel that took me 2 weeks to compile.

http://www.ocssaints.org/mattrk/conf...rking-compile9

Its got little to nothing in it, so.... You will need to go through and change some of the specific options. My setup is the Intel D685GBF Motherboard with a 3.2ghz Pentium 4. I also have my serial ata Western Digital 120gig running on enhanced mode on serial port 0. (not legacy mode) It shows up as /dev/sda.

-Matt

MRK

I felt exactly the same way. I've been using Linux since Red Hat's 6.2. Is it only 6 - 7 years now?... Anyway with the standart bare.i 2.4.26 (not the sata.i ot whatever) everything worked perfect that's why these problems with 2.6 made me feel like a complete idiot So I absolutely understand your emotions (and the recompile again hell we got into) when naming the thread.
Thanks for the .config file. I looked at it and I think I've tryed similar setups. Did you happen to understand where exactly your mistake was?

No, thats why its so frustrating. When i get some time, i'm going to try to compare the two config files. One from a kernel that didnt work and the other file being this one that did.

-Matt