"kernel panic - not syncing : VFS: unable to mount root FS on unknown-block (0, 0)"
A.M. Fradley
FS on unknown-block (0, 0)" when I try to use a 2.6.11 kernel that I compiled
myself. I used:
cd /usr/src/linux-2.6.11.7/
make oldconfig
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
make install
The make oldconfig had been working with 2.6.9 but I wasn't sure whether it
copied the exiting config file from root itself or whether I had to do that
myself. I tried with and without copying the file just in case. make
oldconfig still asked me a load of questions and since it had worked with the
previous versions I just pressed enter on each. I assume that makes it use the
defaults. I don't know much about what it's doing with the configs and it had
been working fine until now so I tried to just leavew the settings the same.
The only other thing I changed was the EXTRAVERSION in the makefile.
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A.M. Fradley
> Not sure if this helps, but anytime I had this error, it's because I
> didn't compile the filesystem's driver into the kernel.
I somehow fixed it by using 2.6.11.8 instead but I should probably know how to
do that for future reference. Can you refer me to anywhere that would explain
how to do that?
A.M. Fradley
load of junk I didn't need as well) and the kernels I'd been compiling had
filled it up. I deleted a few old ones and tried to modify grub.conf to
correspond and I'm not sure it ended up right. I finished building the
2.6.11.8 kernel and assumed that the make install would fix any mistakes. The
kew kernel seems to boot (I'm using it now), but there's some extra messages
that are normally only shown if I didn't shut down properly and there seem to
be some extra files in the root directory that weren't there before; random
files/folders from elsewhere on the file system. Maybe I'm imagining things
but perhaps someone would notice if something was wrong with the grub file. Or
maybe it's just some new features that have been added.
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You do not have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /, eg.
# root (hd0,4)
# kernel /boot/vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/hda5
# initrd /boot/initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=0
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd0,4)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
title Fedora Core (2.6.11.8)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.11.8 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.11.8.img
title Fedora Core (2.6.9-AMF-1)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.9-AMF-1 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.9-AMF-1.img
title Fedora Core (2.6.9-prep)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.9-prep ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.9-prep.img
title Fedora Core (2.6.5-1.358)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.5-1.358 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.5-1.358.img
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
HC
> I receive the boot error "kernel panic - not syncing : VFS: unable to mount
> root FS on unknown-block (0, 0)" when I try to use a 2.6.11 kernel that I
> compiled myself.
I have faced this problem a couple of times in the past. One of these
solutions has always worked for me:-
1. Making sure that the right filesystem support(ext3) is compiled
into the kernel and not as a module.
2. Though I have successfully avoided ramdisks on 2.4, the 2.6 has
required me to keep it on. After a kernel compile, I update it by -
$/sbin/mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.10.img 2.6.10
3. Having the right hard disk drivers(I have had to try out different
options in xconfig before I got the right drivers).
[Since you are using a old .config, you can possibly rule this out]
4. Mistakes in grub.conf - 'make install' in FC by default puts a like like -
" kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.11.8 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet "
in grub.conf.
I have had problems with this and so I always keep this line as-
"kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.11.8 ro root=/dev/hda3"
where /dev/hda3 contains the root.
I saw your grub.conf and you may want to try this.
Good luck!
HC
A.M. Fradley
> I think that the files (if they are in /lost+found) are files that
> fsck found were damaged. Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but I believe
> having a file in directory means that the hard link that points to the
> inode was corrupted? Something is happening that is causing that.
>
> BTW, I think this is a list about kernel coding/hacking/et cetera.
> This seems like a question for your local LUG.
I ended up reinstalling linux and I found out that the extra files were
previously hidden until I asked the file browser to show the hidden files. The
types of files are .gnome, .mozilla, .nautilus, etc and are in the /root
directory. I did get a warning when reinstalling that it was unable to align
the partition or something but I think I've had that all along. It mentioned
that the problem could be ignored but fixed after installation. Anyway the
linux-2.6.5-1.358 doesn't have the extra start up operations that I was
concerned about but after I compiled and installed linux-2.6.11.8, that version
does this procedure making comments like starting run mode 3, run mode 5, and
checking for new hardware. The only other times I've this is when I havn't
shut down properly and probably when I install new hardware, but I havn't done
that yet.
Could it be the way I compiled? I found some where that I could do something
like this:
make clean
make mrproper
cp /lib/modules/2.6.5-1.358/build/.config .
make
make modules_install install
Clean and mrproper might nort be needed and I assume having modules_install and
install on the same line just does both at once. I'm not too sure about the
make command because I'm still on Fedora Core 2 and I don't know if I should
still be using make bzImage and make modules. If it's none of that that caused
it, could it be a new feature of the 2.6.11 that caused this or maybe a change
in the configurations. I didn't make any, I just kept accepting the defaults
that worked for me before.
BTW, what's an LUG?
> On 4/30/05, A.M. Fradley <u2...@csc.liv.ac.uk> wrote:
A.M. Fradley
the hide info button the first time and it never doing it after that. I tried
the show info on the lernel that had been working normally and that gave me the
same thing. So maybe it's just that the defaults have changes. There was
comething about fs ext2 at the beginning even though I used ext3 when
installing. However it doesn't seem to be causing any problems for the moment.
Would this cause any serious problems later on?
Ryan Sablosky
configuration files or caches. The fact that desktop application
directories (.mozilla, .gnome, etc) shows that you are or have in the
past run a desktop session as root, which is _BAD_ and should not be
done.
The question about ext3 & ext2 is simple (google-worthy), ext3 is ext2
but with a file that adds journalizing abilities. (google it)
A LUG is a Linux Users Group, i.e. a bunch of people in your area who
also use linux. Seeing as how you're in a university, and in the
computer science division no less, finding your local lug should take
about 5.93 seconds of googling.