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Old 12-08-2010, 09:19 AM   #1
stevet2048
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Question Fresh install won't boot: request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c


I just received my Linux Slack 13.1 DVD and am attempting to load on a brand new 64 bit machine with inconsistent results. I bought this machine for this specific purpose, so the only OS I have ever had on the hard drive (intentionally) is Linux. I have successfully loaded Linux on at least one occasion, so it seems highly unlikely that this is a hardware issue.

First, I attempt to partition my table using fdisk ("fdisk /dev/sda"). I encounter a warning message stating that DOS compatible mode has been deprecated and that I should switch off the mode command and change the display units. This led me to wonder if the Asus setup disk fouled up my hard drive (somehow put a DOS partition in?); I don't know and I don't know how to find out. I continue to partition with approx 16G as a swap space and the remainder of the 1.5T as Linux. It was probably overkill, but I also used the mkswap/sync/swapon command sequence.

During the installation it says it's adding a line to fstab file, but in a separate console I "cat /etc/fstab" and I don't see that line.

Proceeded with the setup menu. Everything proceeds as expected. In most if not all cases, I accept the defaults. When complete, I remove the DVD and give it the ol' Microsoft three-finger-salute.

Everything appears ok until.... I see the lines
EXT3-fs (sda2): error: couldn't mount....
EXT2-fs (sda2): error: couldn't mount....
EXT4-fs (sda2): mounted filesystem with ordered data mode
VFS: Mounted root (ext4 filesystem) readonly on device 8:2.
devtmpfs: mounted
Freeing unused kernel memory: 636k freed
Write protecting the kernel text: 9564k
Write protecting the kernel read-only data: 2448k
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c

Now I'm stuck. No keyboard response. Nothing I can do to diagnose. Any ideas?
 
Old 12-08-2010, 01:49 PM   #2
business_kid
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Some of that you can ignore. The dos comparability thing is a common warning to ignore. To deal with the serious stuff
Quote:
EXT3-fs (sda2): error: couldn't mount....
It thinks your filesystem is ext-3, and on sda2, but it can't mount it. Check this stuff out.

Quote:
request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-464c
That's a module for running miscellaneous binaries. The first one is your problem, the second one a consequence
If you get stuck, try booting on the install cd, hold Ctrl & Alt and press F2 or F3 and look for a prompt. run fdisk -l /dev/sda and post the output
 
Old 12-08-2010, 05:25 PM   #3
stevet2048
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Hey,

Thanks for the help!

My filesystem is ext4-fs, which the output above seemed to confirm was working. /etc/fstab confirms it is ext4.

I actually tried modifying /etc/fstab to show /dev/sda2 as ext3 because I saw something on the web about that, but it didn't work.

The output of the fdisk is what I would've expected and as I set it up.
/dev/sda1 is my swap partition (Id is 82) of 136521 blocks (128G, I think)
/dev/sda2 is my Linux partition with Id of 83 and is bootable and is 1465002031+ blocks.

I don't know how to copy that output into this post (sorry...).

Was there something else from that output you could use?
 
Old 12-09-2010, 02:58 AM   #4
business_kid
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No, that's ok.
Things you can try are: booted in the cdrom

mount -t ext4 /dev/sda2 /mnt
that should succeed, and show you a list of directories like /bin, /sbin, usr, var, tmp etc.

Your grub line(s) in /boot/grub/menu.lst should have
kernel /some_kernel root=</dev/sda2, or a uuid number usually> ro
initrd /some_initrd
some distros are using supercomplicated scripts to figure out what is bootable every time. I won't offer advice there.

Both grub and the kernel need ext4 compatibility. In /boot, there is config-kernelversion and that's the kernel config for your kernel. Try
grep EXT4 /boot/config-kernelversion
Mine shows this, and it's not enough to boot on
/usr/src/linux-2.6.33.4/.config:CONFIG_EXT4_FS=m
/usr/src/linux-2.6.33.4/.config:CONFIG_EXT4_FS_XATTR=y
/usr/src/linux-2.6.33.4/.config:CONFIG_EXT4_FS_POSIX_ACL=y
/usr/src/linux-2.6.33.4/.config:CONFIG_EXT4_FS_SECURITY=y
/usr/src/linux-2.6.33.4/.config:# CONFIG_EXT4_DEBUG is not set

to boot on EXT4, you need CONFIG_EXT4_FS=y
 
Old 12-09-2010, 09:11 AM   #5
stevet2048
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Registered: Dec 2010
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You are a genius! (Turns out I'm not so dumb either...)

I had figured out how to get to /dev/sda2 already using the boot: prompt on the setup disk. Your reply pointed me in the direction of the boot loader. I'm using LILO, not grub, so I modified the config to load LILO in the MBR rather than the superblock and, voila!, issue resolved.

Many thanks!

Cheers,
st
 
Old 12-10-2010, 02:56 AM   #6
business_kid
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glad it's working. I knew you were on lilo because only lilo does the 99s thing. Glad you're sorted
 
  


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