Boot Issues!

[ddu_]

Hey guys, I've got an HP ZE1210 laptop that I want to run slackware on. After a successful install, I reboot the machine and I get this error:

Hard disk boot sector invalid
Press 'H' to rety Hard Drisk, any other key for floppy.


Pressing H gives the same error.

So, I use the Slackware install disk and at the boot prompt I use the following command as it suggests:

bare.i root=/dev/hda2 noinitrd ro

It boots up, and I'm able to get into KDE from here. However, during boot I see a lot of "modprobe: Can't open dependencies file /lib/modules/2.4.31.modules.dep"

I also see similiar errors when trying to rerun network scripts rc.inet1.

So, my questions are:

1: Is there a way to fix my boot problem?
2: what does the boot option bare.i root=/dev/hda2 noinitrd ro mean exactly? And, is this whats causing the modprobe errors?

Thanks in advance, i'll keep doing reasearch and hope for some help!

[Igi_BG]

Some time before I've had a problem like this with a HP notebook. The solution follows ...


>1: Is there a way to fix my boot problem?

Yes! Install slack with more suitable kernel perhaps ?2.6?.(at the first screen F2, F3 keys ... ) instead of "bare.i" . At the end of the setup (chose kernel) choose this kernel.


>:2 what does the boot option
>bare.i root=/dev/hda2 noinitrd ro mean exactly? And, is this whats causing the modprobe errors?

kernel to boot; root file system, i.e. where is it; not using init ram drive; read-only mount root file system (at the beginning). Modeprobe errors are becouse of missing root file system.

[ddu_]

Hi, I tried using the newer kernel with slack11 and I still get the same error!

if I used test26.s root=/dev/hda2 noinitrd ro

I can boot, but the CD has to be in. Is there any way to fix this? Is it a lilo issue?

[glussier]

Can you show us your /etc/lilo.conf file?

[Igi_BG]

Hi ddu_,

> .....
> if I used
> test26.s root=/dev/hda2 noinitrd ro ....
> ....

Did you made the your setup (slack11) using "test26.s" kernel?
I mind, booting your HP from the first slak_11 cd just using at the boot prompt (the one for the kernel and root file system) ONLY "test26.s" and then running setup?

[Igi_BG]

may be it would be best to see lilo.conf first

is there another os on your machine ?

when you prepare linux partitions before slack's setup which one you marked as bootable?

[glussier]

I think that lilo was not installed on the mbr, this is why he can, hence the following message:

Hard disk boot sector invalid
Press 'H' to rety Hard Drisk, any other key for floppy.

[Igi_BG]

is there in your lilo.conf something like:
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hda
................................

where /dev/hda is your linux bootable partition?
is there another os on your pc (winXP or another linux distro)?
why are you triyng to install lilo in mbr - this is not safe as i know

[glussier]

why are you triyng to install lilo in mbr - this is not safe as i know

Where have you picked that false information? If he want to boot, he need a bootloader, and, not necessarily lilo, has to be installed on the mbr.

[Igi_BG]

that is why I asked about another os on that computer especially windows - THE LORD OF MBR................