Append "root=" ????

[BadFishBrewer]

I created a rescue and a root floppy, but i cant get it to read the root floppy. I also tried typing "floppy=thinkpad" at the "boot:" prompt after booting off the rescue disk.
when i type "floppy=thinkpad" i get this error
"could not find kernel image: floppy=t.hin"
then returns to the boot

"end_request: I/O error, dev 02:00 (floppy), sector 0
apm: BIOS version 1.1 Flags 0x03 (Driver version 1.13)
apm: disabled on user request.
VFS: Insert root floppy and press enter

i hit enter again and this time i got this with the above error

VFS: Cannot open root device "fd0" or 02:00
please append a correct "root=" boot option
kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 02:00 "

:confused: :eek: :mad: :(

[sharth]

assuming that you are using lilo, you need a value in /etc/lilo.conf that has root=something.

root should equal wherever your root partition is.

so in my case it would be hdb3 because i have my linux root on an ide drive (hd), on the primary slave (b) and on the 3rd primary partition.

hd is for ide

a = primary master
b = primary slave
c = secondary master
d = secondary slave
e = tri(something) master
f = tri(something) slave

then 1-4 is for primary partitions
and 5-? is for extended partitions.

Hope that helps

[BadFishBrewer]

Ok, so i booted from the rescue disk for the 1000th time and this time i typed "rescue root=/dev/hda1" :D

This time i got the following:
"loading linux.bin":)

so it ran through a bunch of stuff everything looked ok till the end at which time i got the following error:

"cramfs: wrong magic
FAT: bogus logical sector size 63222
read_super_block: can't find a reiserfs filesystem on (dev 03:01, block 64, size 1024)
read_super_block: can't find a reiserfs filesystem on (dev 03:01, block 8, size 1024)
kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:01"


:confused: :mad: :eek: :confused:

[BadFishBrewer]

All right, so i fdisked the hard drive and formated it, then i booted again from the rescue disk. same thing up till the error message:

"cramfs: wrong magic
request_module[nls_cp437]: root fs not mounted
unable to load NLS charset cp437
request_module[nls_cp437]: root fs not mounted
unable to load NLS charset cp437
request_module[nls_cp437]: root fs not mounted
unable to load NLS charset cp437
request_module[nls_cp437]: root fs not mounted
unable to load NLS charset cp437
VFS: Mounted root (vfat filesystem) readonly.
freeing unused kernel memory:280k freed
warning: unable to open an initial console.
kernel panic: no init found. try passing init= option to kernel"


:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
So whats the option for Kernel?

[sharth]

uhmm you kinda killed your linux partition :)

by fdisking and formating, you killed your linux partition so you need to reinstall too :)

the cant find init= is often a good sign that there is no root fs on said partition.

If you did reinstall and then still get it, then I dunno.

-edit (new idea)-

Another idea is to just use your boot disc (and hopefully its a cd and not floppy, floppys are soooo slow) and just type rescue for loading

then mount the root filesystem (hda1)[mkdir /mnt/hda1; mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/hda1] and see if there is anything there. If nothing is there then you killed your linux partition. But then again, if you fdisked hda1 that should have killed it anyways :)

Youre probably looking at reinstalling

[BadFishBrewer]

The model think pad i have does not have a CDrom. and there is no OS, i am just starting the install. so i don't think there was a Linux paratition. But let me ask you this.

The hard drive i have in the laptop is partitioned in 2 partitions

the c: is 5 mb
the d: is 750 mb

thanks

[Odin]

I don't know what distro you're installing, but it sounds similar to Slackware install. Here's what I've been getting (very similar):

Slack Install Probs (http://www.linuxnewbie.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61727)

I hope this helps.

Additionally, at boot: I had to type this to get it to find my root and lose the 03:01 stuff:

boot: mount root=/dev/hda2

After this I got another kernal panic about passing the init (detailed in the link). I tried this to pass the init:

boot: init=/sbin/init

This seemed to get rid of that problem. I then typed "setup" at the boot prompt and went on from there. I've still got problems, but I'm working them out slowly. From what it sounds like, it's looking for your floppy on /dev/fd0. When you first put in your boot disk, check the logs scrolling by and look for anything like "fdX" where X=some number. If it shows say "fd1", then you need to mount your floppy on fd1 so it can read your root disk. At boot prompt go like this:

boot: mount floppy=/dev/fd1

This should work. If not, you might have to create the fd1 partition in order to mount the floppy there. Keep in mind I'm just using fd1 as an example, it could be any number including 0. If it is 0, check to make sure that fd0 is a valid mount point (that it exists).

If you are on a ThinkPad, then

boot: ramdisk floppy=thinkpad

Should do the trick before/after the floppy drive has been mounted. I would check to make sure that the drive has been mounted first, then try it. It seems that the floppy=thinkpad thing kind of screwed things up earlier for you. Additionally, if you're not on a ThinkPad, but the system thinks you are, try

boot: floppy=0,thinkpad

This should fix that problem. Other than that, I can't give you much more information. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Good luck!

EDIT: Corrected code.

[sharth]

I'm confused...

From what you said, there is no linux installed, but you are trying to do a rescue boot from lilo.

The rescue boot with lilo is used for when your normal kernel has fallen apart on you and youre using a rescue disc (or cdrom or whatever).

It would seem that what you want to do is simply hit enter or type in linux when the boot prompt comes up. That should start the installer.

Once you have the installer in, then reinstall lilo or grub or chos or whatever and use that to load the linux partition.

I'm just getting a little bit confused, it just seems that youre trying to start up a non existant linux installation...

[Odin]

Originally posted by BadFishBrewer
The model think pad i have does not have a CDrom. and there is no OS, i am just starting the install. so i don't think there was a Linux paratition. But let me ask you this.

The hard drive i have in the laptop is partitioned in 2 partitions

the c: is 5 mb
the d: is 750 mb

thanks

Okay, I just read this again. You're on a ThinkPad with no CD-ROM and no other OS on it.

You've got a completely clean hard drive, that you have partitioned to

5 MB
750 MB

Yielding a total of 755 MB? Is this accurate, or is your C: 5 GB? If you have a total of 755 MB, what distro are you trying to install?

Additionally, if your drive is clean, formatted (no data), and partitioned, boot from bootdisk and do what sharth said:

boot: [enter] or boot: linux

This should then ask you for your root disk after its finished doing its thing. From here your setup should be a snap. Are you installing all your packages from the hard drive, floppy, or network since you have no CD-ROM?