This is from "Lockergnome Penguin Shell of 10.25.2002 http://www.lockergnome.com/issues/penguinshell/20021025.html
"Your kernel is contained within a filesystem. To load Linux, you need the kernel. But you have to mount the filesystem first in order to access that kernel code. And mounting the filesystem is, in part, a function of the kernel. It seems like a real conundrum - you need the filesystem to load the kernel, but you need the kernel to load the filesystem. Linux systems, of course, can solve this problem. And, in fact, the answer to the old "chicken and egg" question in Linux would be "neither." What comes first in Linux is the initrd file, or the initial RAM disk. The initrd file is so named because it's actually a temporary filesystem that's loaded into RAM. The initrd file, normally named initrd.img is loaded by a program named LOADLIN. This temporary filesystem is loaded in the first stage of the boot process, making it possible to mount the other critical filesystems. When the / or /boot filesystem is mounted (depending on where you've stored your kernel), the kernel takes over and releases initrd from RAM. If you've paid attention to the scrolling messages during the boot sequence on your system, you've seen this release in the form of a message noting the amount of RAM freed on the release of initrd. Things aren't always black and white. In Linux, it's neither the chicken kernel nor the egg filesystem that comes first. It's the initrd file that makes both possible." I don't know if it says anything about your problem. Larry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cleve Allison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 5:39 AM Subject: Re: [brlug-general] dual booting issues
