Kernel doesn't recognize root= parameter?

Message

golemB · Post by **golemB** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 4:18 am

Can anyone help me out?

I just finished building my first Gentoo system (from Stage 1) but it doesn't seem to boot in a satisfactory way.

The kernel boot nice and fast, up until it complains about being unable to load up my root partition at sda3. (I use VMWare virtual disk, so it appears as a SCSI drive.) Here's what I get:

Code: Select all

ds: no socket drivers loaded!
VFS: Cannot open root device "sda3" or 08:03
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 08:03

And then it hangs, being a kernel panic and all. (The first line about ds is irrelevant?)

In any case, I am able to boot from the 1.4rc3 LiveCD if I specify "gentoo root=/dev/sda3" but not if I have that as the parameter in GRUB from my MBR. I'm pretty sure I have a working kernel in my /boot partition (since the boot process gets this far already) and I think I have the correct symlinks in that partition (boot -> . and menu.lst -> grub.conf).

puggy · Post by **puggy** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 4:54 am

Did you compile devfs into the kernel?
If not, go back and do it. You'll have to enable the very first option in the kernel (experimental drivers etc.) to see the devfs kernel option.

Puggy

zhenlin · Post by **zhenlin** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 7:12 am

You must also compile the appropriate drivers for the filesystem. Not as modules mind you.

golemB · Post by **golemB** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:35 pm

Yes, I compiled devfs into the kernel, and I did compile reiserfs and ext3 support. I guess I will recheck my kernel config and recompile to make sure, but I was pretty careful to do these things.

dbpiv · Post by **dbpiv** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 2:12 pm

I have recently experienced the same problem and the problem was that I had not selected the correct SCSI card in the kernel config. I added the scsi support for my card and then re-compiled the kernel and it worked.

dp

golemB · Post by **golemB** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 2:29 pm

dbpiv: Thanks, that is helpful!

Does anybody have an idea what "scsi controller" is used by a VMWare virtual machine? And what driver may support it?

dbpiv · Post by **dbpiv** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 4:06 pm

golemB...Try looking at this series of post http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php? ... t=buslogic.

But as a synopsis it looks like a Buslogic? Not sure if there is a model, but BusLogic and I found it under SCSI Support > SCSI Low Level Drivers >BusLogic Support.

Let me know if thise gets you on your way.

dp

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golemB · Post by **golemB** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 1:14 pm

dbpiv wrote: ... it looks like a Buslogic? Not sure if there is a model, but BusLogic and I found it under SCSI Support > SCSI Low Level Drivers >BusLogic Support.

Well said! This worked wonders for me. Many thanks!