i get kernel panic - not syncing: vfs:...while booting

**jpalfree** · 09-17-2005

hi,
i've seen this problem addressed before and i think i have a few ideas but i just want to make sure. This is the error message i get while booting from grub:

Code:

powernow - k8 &#58; found 1 AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron Procesors &#40;version 1.40.2&#41;
Powernow - k8&#58; Bios error - no PSB or ACPI _PSS objects
ACPI wakeup devices&#58;
HUB0 XVR0 XVR1 XVR2 XVR3 USB0 USB2 MMAC MMCI UARI
ACPI&#58; &#40;Supports S0 S1 S4 S5&#41;
VFS&#58; Cannot open root device "sda9" or unknown - block &#40;0,0&#41;
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic - not syncing&#58; VFS&#58; unable to mount root fs on unknown - block &#40;0,0&#41;

First of all, i'm 99% sure i've set up the grub.conf correctly, since i've done it before and succesfully dual booted Suse and mandriva.

I think it may be incorrect SCSI modules in the kernel. (and do i have to put them in the autoload file?)
but my BIG QUESTION is do i NEED a boot partition?? because i don't have one for gentoo. I have grub installed by suse already. and i am just squeezing gentoo into a 5GB partition (sda9) which is root. I didn't make a boot partition for gentoo because i don't have one for mandriva and it still boots nicely from grub...
your views on this would be greatly appreciated

**drakebasher** · 09-17-2005

You do not need a /boot partition. It's great to have for multi-distro setups and I think it can be good for systems that need to be very secure since you don't need to actually mount the /boot partition which keeps the kernel safe. This is what you need to boot:

Grub installed to the MBR of the boot device, pointing to the partition where the remainder of Grub is
The remainer of Grub: grub stage 1. 5 and 2 and grub.conf with grub.conf written to point to the kernel including kernelparameters and initrd if used.
Kernel
initrd, if used
root partition with /sbin/init and /etc/fstab

If you have multiple distros in a system and no /boot partition, the MBR will just need to point to the location of grub.conf, etc. and the variouskernels can be in their respective /boot directories under their respective root partitions. But they don't have to be there. They just need to be as described above.

**loopforever** · 09-17-2005

You are probably experiencing the same issue noted in the thread below. Please see my response to that user.

In addition, if you are using SCSI or SATA hard drives, make sure support for these drives is built-in to the kernel, and not as a module.

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/pos...61.html#295061

Please let me know if this helps

!

**jpalfree** · 09-17-2005

i actually read that thread before posting this but thanks
and yes, that was the problem. I compiled the kernel with all the sata support and it boots!

and now i'm at a loss of how to get the rest to work... :S
i don't have a network, or even an internet connection on the computer i've installed gentoo on, and when i "emerge --usepkg kde" it keeps telling me that it can't find kde-base from an html address.. but i thought i could just use the package cd.
gnome installed nicely, but when i "startx"... it says "timeout in locking authority file..."

for a relatively new linux user, gentoo is a bit overwhelming...

**drakebasher** · 09-17-2005

Originally Posted by jpalfree

for a relatively new linux user, gentoo is a bit overwhelming...

It's not for beginners or users in a hurry. To emerge packages from the CD, I think you need to edit your /etc/make.conf file, changing DISTDIR to point back to the CD.

**jpalfree** · 09-17-2005

yes i knew when i downloaded the iso s that it would be a challenge..but i'm up for it.

actually things are finally starting to fall into place. kde is up and running and i have been installing packages from the cd by editing the make.conf PKGDIR variable to point to the cdrom. the only challenges i think i have to tackle now are getting the sound and 3d acceleration to work.

**Sovtek** · 09-21-2005

Okay, I'm still getting the error message as follows...
"Kernel Panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown - block (1,0)"

Also when I boot, It just takes me to the Grub command line... so in order to get it to continue booting I have to type in -
"kernel /kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_roo"
another question... should it be "real_root" at the end? Becuase "real_roo" looks wrong to me as well.

FYI complete Linux noob here. So feel free to explain even the most basic stuff here. It can't hurt

.

**drakebasher** · 09-21-2005

Originally Posted by Sovtek

FYI complete Linux noob here. So feel free to explain even the most basic stuff here. It can't hurt

.

This is pretty basic: "complete noobs" really shouldn't be getting into Gentoo. It could be a significant task to find and fix the error in your kernel configuration. Lots of users here have had a pretty good challenge in just getting Grub to work right. If your Linux is on the primary master drive and you don't care to boot to Windows, that will be easy to fix, but otherwise, it may take a little work. Once you get your kernel to boot, you will be dealing with the command line and not a colorful friendly graphic interface. You will need to emerge either gnome or KDE which is not so hard, but then you will have a minimal GUI. Do you know what applications you will want? Will you have all of the required support in your kernel configuration?

Take a look at posts from new users of other distros: they have problems booting, getting the mouse to work, getting the GUI working, getting sound to work, getting access to files, configuring files, even shutting down. You can look forward to all of these and then some with Gentoo. Gentoo is definitly a very cool distro, but it's hard work building a system, and especially if you don't understand what alot of the pieces are.

**Sovtek** · 09-21-2005

Well, quite honestly I would rather be working in Fedora. But the choice is not mine to make. I have been told to install gentoo, the learning curve be damned. So that's my tasking at my job. In answer to your question, yes Gentoo will own this drive. No other Os's or anything else will be here. Nothing fancy. 1 (20 GB) HDD with gentoo install is the idea here. The applications will be at least Apache with PHP support.

So in short, I'm here to learn, I have to learn, and any help or guidance you veterans can provide would be of service.

**drakebasher** · 09-21-2005

Originally Posted by Sovtek

Also when I boot, It just takes me to the Grub command line... so in order to get it to continue booting I have to type in -
"kernel /kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_roo"
another question... should it be "real_root" at the end? Becuase "real_roo" looks wrong to me as well.

You should have a file /boot/grub/grub.conf which should have something like the following for booting your system:

Code:

title Your new Gentoo
  root &#40;hd0,0&#41;
  kernel /kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda1

"title", "root" and "kernel" are key words. What goes after "title" is up to you. "root" must be followed by the drive,partition where your kernel is. Count hard drives only (not CDROMs, etc), first one is "0". "real_root" must be followed by the drive/partition of your root partition, in Linux format, as I show in the example. Change the "hda1" to the correct designation for your system. That the real_root device is not named is probably why you can't boot.

If you don't have a /boot/grub/grub.conf, I think maybe you can just create one like the above. I don't think there is anything else that's necessary in the file, but you won't have the colorful "splashscreen".

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