[PATCH] Dump partition list on inability to mount /
Dr. David Alan Gilbert
The attached patch dumps a list of partitions (in a similar
format to /proc/partitions) to the console just before the kernel
panics complaining that it can't mount /, the aim being to allow
the victim to see quickly if all his devices have been found
and to understand if they have the names he expects them to have.
This is especially useful when debugging problems on other
peoples machines, systems you don't know the hardware config of,
or machines where the config has just changed (who moved
that scsi device.....). The patch displays the minor/major
numbers (in hex for use on a root=), the name and the name
of the device driver associated with it (e.g. ide-disk) -
suggestions on easy ways to get the model of the device
in a generic way would be appreciated.
One of the annoying things about the fail to mount / panics is that you
can no longer scroll up to find out what errors came from device driver
initialisation - I'm tempted to remove or delay the panics. Thoughts?
The patch is against 2.6.11-rc5 and has been tested on Alpha and x86.
I ask that it be included in the main kernel tree.
Comments and reports welcome.
Dave
Signed off by: Dave Gilbert <li...@treblig.org>
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