Slack 9.1 won't boot after Swaret upgrade
 

I updated my system after not having done so if a very long time. According to swaret it updated the kernel. Now after selecting linux from lilo, it just stays on loading kernel and hangs. Did I forget to do something?

Hello,

mmh, could you describe that a bit more precisely?

cu

hp_tux

We need more info....like what if any errors messages are you getting??

don't let a tool update your kernel...it could forget to load for exemple module for jfs filesystem or not include it if you have jfs = hangs on boot.
It could forget or add modules you don't even need.
compile the kernel if you want to update it.

rescue your disk and after compile a new kernel or get the old one back or load the old one by default if you don't want to compile it

There is no error message, it says loading kernel and just sits there. No kernel panic as I can ctr alt delt to reboot.

Hello,

and now you can only start a rescue system and repair your installation!

Good Luck!

cu

hp_tux

OK, maybe I can help here a bit.

First of all, I pray that you have some form of Linux rescue CD or floppy (eww) available. I think the first Slack CD would suffice as well.

Once you've booted the CD, there should be a /tmp directory available. This dir is usually mapped into your RAM and is used as a temporary working space for files used in installation, for example.

One good thing about this dir is that it is the only writable dir on your temporary filesystem, therefore, you can use it to mount your "real" filesystems on your hard discs.

Assuming that you have a single / (root partition) using some part of your hard disc (in this case i'll assume it's /dev/hda1), you'd merely need to mount it.

So do these steps:

At this point you should check to see if the partition is mounted properly. Just take a look at the /tmp/slack directory, and traverse through some familiar dirs, such as your homedir for example.

If it is correct, then you should chroot to this dir:

Now, you should already be in your slack partition as if you actually booted into it.

I'd suggest you check your lilo.conf file and make sure the entries are correct. After that, just run /sbin/lilo and try rebooting.

If it's a problem due to a kernel upgrade, you should now (at least) be able to boot up.

Hopefully this solves your problem.

Azmeen
 

Sorry to butt in here, but you seem to have good advise.

what is the chroot command used for?

cheer's
chopp

chroot is short for change root directory.

eg. If you have a dir called /test, and you run chroot /test, you will then be put in /test, as if it was your root directory.

ie. the contents of / will be the contents of /test

chroot is useful if you can't boot your OS, but still have the necessary system files in place... for example, lilo problems.

It can also be used to "jail" users into a sandbox or safe area of your hard disk. So, let's say they do some serious damage to the system, it will only limit it to their particular "jail"... But this should be a discussion on an altogether different thread :)

Why couldn't he just boot from the CD. At the first prompt type in per the instruction to boot from your root partition. Then type lilo.

Running /sbin/lilo fixed it after booting from the slack cd. I've done that before but I haven't booted inot linux in over 3 months....it's all slowly coming back to me now. Thanks for the help.

I think your lilo.conf can't find boot image after you upgraded.go to KDE control center and lilo.conf in administrator mode probe the the image then accpet.it will work then

This is one of many reasons why I have about 6 different kernel options for my system. If the newest one doesn't work, I can just fall back to an older one and try again.