"Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (3,69)"
It seems that a common problem with various 2.6 kernel versions exists with locating their
root partitions, eg. when your boot entry says 'root=/dev/hdb5' (eg. mine) these
kernels construct an incorrect path, resulting in kernel panic.
Different fixes are proposed.
One suggestion was to change the root line into something like 'root=0305' (where,
apparently, '03' stands for hda - perhaps identifying the third drive, what XP
calls ':C') and the '05' is the partition number. In my case that would be 'root=0405'
- but that did not get past 'kernel panic'.
All the symlinks in /boot appear to be there.
Another suggestion is to add
'append="root=/dev/hdb5"'
to the image sections of lilo, but that did not work either.
When I ran lilo I received
"/dev/mapper/control: open failed: no such device
Is device-mapper driver missing from kernel ?
/dev/mapper/control: open failed: no such device
Is device-mapper driver missing from kernel ?
Incompatible libdevmapper 1.00-15-ioctl (2004-04-07) (compat) and kernel driver
Warning: The boot sector and map file are on different disks.
Added Linux* ..."
Another fix is based on the fact that if vmlinuz is not pointing to the new kernel,
it is a waste of time. This can be fixed by using a live CD Knoppix variant,
booting, and mounting /usr/ and /var by hand to proper mount points.
I can boot from the rescue floppy using a 2.4* kernel, but cannot access the net
*** how can Paradise static cable be configured here ? *** which might allow me to
change '/etc/apt/sources.list' to 'testing' and 'dist-upgrade'.
I have tried
mount /dev/hdb6 /mnt/hdb5/usr mount /dev/hdb8 /mnt/hdb5/var
but keep getting the message that it is not a proper mount point.
One is then supposed to
chroot /mnt/hdb5 (whatever is correct), edit lilo.conf, and then run lilo.
Another fix is to append
root=/dev/hdb5/3,69 or /(3,69), or just /3 or root=/dev/345/3 (?)
but I'm not sure which option (if any) is correct here.
The /boot partition is about 80% full at the moment and I don't think that sizing is a factor right now.
My notes show that within /boot 'initrd.img-2.6.5-1-686' has gone from 4571136 to 4009984, in other words it has decreased in size from my first (successful) install of 'kernel-image-2.6.5-1-686' to after I did a dist-upgrade. That's a change of 561152. I may have a partly installed package here.
I have tried to move and resize /boot (within 1024 blocks), but Parted keeps
giving me a message along the lines that it is possible but may cause trouble
in certain circumstances. I don't know how seriously to take this with unstable.
I'd appreciate any constructive advice.
Adam Bogacki, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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