Machine failing to boot with Linux 6.17

[Tal Zussman]

Hi,

I'm trying to run Linux 6.17 on a c6525-25g machine with an Ubuntu 24.04 image.

While the DKMS emulab module builds (after enabling CONFIG_NETFILTER), there are some warnings about initrd/initramfs, but the build completes.

However, when I try to boot into the kernel, it fails to mount the root filesystem, and opens an initramfs shell.

I can get the exact warnings later (since the testbed is currently offline), but any ideas for fixing this? I've confirmed the same kernel boots on a different machine.

Thanks!

[David M Johnson]

On 2/17/26 15:44, Tal Zussman wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm trying to run Linux 6.17 on a c6525-25g machine with an Ubuntu 24.04
> image.
> While the DKMS emulab module builds (after enabling CONFIG_NETFILTER),
> there are some warnings about initrd/initramfs, but the build completes.
> However, when I try to boot into the kernel, it fails to mount the root
> filesystem, and opens an initramfs shell.

This usually indicates that your custom kernel does not have the
necessary support for the I/O controller, or that you have configured
the necessary driver as a module but did not create an initramfs. You
should set `CONFIG_SATA_AHCI=m` and ensure you've done `make
modules_install && make install` (or replace the second part with a
different path to create the initramfs); also ensure that
/boot/grub/grub.cfg has been updated to load the initramfs for your
custom kernel.

(We typically recommend starting from an Ubuntu distro kernel config,
then adding or removing config options as you require; this ensures your
image will boot on the broadest variety of hardware. See
https://groups.google.com/g/cloudlab-users/c/y3SwBbUs2oE/m/M67jRhFSAAAJ
for more detail.)

> I can get the exact warnings later (since the testbed is currently
> offline), but any ideas for fixing this? I've confirmed the same kernel
> boots on a different machine.
>
> Thanks!

David