Fedora Core 2 boot problems

Wed Oct 6 10:54:43 UTC 2004

On Wed, 2004-10-06 at 04:36, Darren Coleman wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: fedora-list-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:fedora-list-
> > bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Darren Coleman
> > Sent: 06 October 2004 08:44
> > To: 'For users of Fedora Core releases'
> > Subject: RE: Fedora Core 2 boot problems
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: fedora-list-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:fedora-list-
> > > bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Bob Chiodini
> > > Sent: 05 October 2004 16:44
> > > To: For users of Fedora Core releases
> > > Subject: RE: Fedora Core 2 boot problems
> > >
> > > On Tue, 2004-10-05 at 11:07, Darren Coleman wrote:
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: fedora-list-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:fedora-list-
> > > > > bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Alexander Dalloz
> > > > > Sent: 05 October 2004 15:58
> > > > > To: For users of Fedora Core releases
> > > > > Subject: Re: Fedora Core 2 boot problems
> > > > >
> > > > > Am Di, den 05.10.2004 schrieb Darren Coleman um 16:28:
> > > > >
> > > > > > > > Booting 'Fedora Core (2.6.5-1.358)'
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > root (hd0,0)
> > > > > > > >  Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
> > > > > > > > kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.5-1.358 ro root=/dev/hda2
> > > > > > > >    [Linux-bzImage, setup=0x1400, size=0x1235b7]
> > > > > > > > initrd /initrd-2.6.5-1.358.img
> > > > > > > >    [Linux-initrd @ 0x2ffb2000, 0x2d9b1 bytes]
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > ..and that's it.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > No "Uncompressing the kernel".. nothing.. just a flashing
> > > cursor.
> > > > >
> > > > > > Tried both "single" and "3" - neither did any good I'm afraid.
> > Same
> > > > > result,
> > > > > > just a flashing cursor.
> > > > >
> > > > > > Daz
> > > > >
> > > > > To be sure, when you edited the kernel parameters line from the grub
> > > > > boot prompt, you did erase the "quite" instruction? If not please do
> > > > > that. Best would be to erase "rhgb quiet" completely and exchange it
> > > by
> > > > > a "3" (all without quotes). The quiet instruction suppresses lots of
> > > > > information normally printed out on the console.
> > > > >
> > > > > Alexander
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > Alexander Dalloz | Enger, Germany | GPG key 1024D/ED695653 1999-07-
> > 13
> > > > > Fedora GNU/Linux Core 2 (Tettnang) kernel 2.6.8-1.521smp
> > > > > Serendipity 16:55:11 up 5 days, 19:21, load average: 0.45, 0.47,
> > 0.26
> > > >
> > > > Hi Alexander,
> > > >
> > > > There was no "quiet" option shown that I saw.  I will check again and
> > > report
> > > > progress, however my current perception (based on the fact I've just
> > > > installed RH9 on the machine without any issues) is that there is a
> > > hardware
> > > > compatibility problem at fault. :(
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > >
> > > > Darren
> > >
> > > Darren,
> > >
> > > I think Alexander meant 'quiet' that suppresses the messages to the
> > > console. You can backspace over it after hitting 'a' at the grub menu.
> > > Might as well backspace over the 'rhgb' option too.
> > >
> > > Also, (a long shot) try the apm=off and/or acpi=off kernel parameters.
> > >
> > > Bob...
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > There is no "quiet" option shown, or "rhgb".  When I hit "a" at the GRUB
> > menu, the only kernel parameters are "ro root=/dev/hda2".  Adding
> > "apm=off"
> > and/or "acpi=off" to this did not do anything, nor did putting "single" or
> > "3" - same result each time.
> > 
> > Interestingly enough, as I mentioned before when I installed Red Hat 9 on
> > the system it booted fine, but when I upgraded the kernel to 2.6.8.1 (from
> > 2.4.x) it refused to boot, showing exactly the same characteristics as
> > Fedora Core 2.  Presumably there must be something inherent to 2.6.x that
> > is
> > incompatible with my hardware.  I am going to experiment with some kernel
> > rebuilds (given I have 2.4.x working) and see what I can come up with.
> > 
> > Thanks for the help everyone, it's much appreciated :)
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> > Darren
> > 
> > --
> > fedora-list mailing list
> > fedora-list at redhat.com
> > To unsubscribe: http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list
> 
> An update to this:
> 
> I replaced GRUB with LILO (in RH9) to see if this would show me anything
> else that GRUB wasn't, and attempting to boot 2.6.8.1 shows "Loading linux"
> with all the dots you normally get, and that's it.  The next line which
> usually states "Ok, Uncompressing linux" never appears - which is presumably
> why GRUB hangs where it does.
> 
> I appreciate this is tested on RH9 but my feeling is this is the same
> problem as I'm getting with a vanilla FC2 install - a system which cannot
> boot a 2.6.8.1 kernel (possibly a 2.6.x kernel).
> 
> Just for clarification - I am not changing any BIOS/CMOS settings, hardware
> or anything else so there is no logical reason why 2.4.x boots, and 2.6.x
> doesn't - other than a hardware incompatibility.  I have recompiled the
> 2.6.x kernel several times, enabling and disabling APM/ACPI support without
> any joy.
> 
> I don't think this is a module compatibility issue since the kernel doesn't
> even get as far as loading modules, it doesn't even decompress.
> 
> I've been frantically searching around Google for any people with similar
> experiences but have not turned up anything fruitful as yet.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Darren

Darren,

Given the above about lilo, grub and RH9.  How about installing FC2
using lilo as the boot loader.  I cannot remember if that option is
still there, but lilo exists in FC2.  You might be able to change the
boot loader after booting with the rescue disk.  You'll need to craft
/etc/lilo.conf by hand (I think) and run lilo.  It would probably be a
good idea to chroot /mnt/sysimage before changing anything in your /
file system.  

As a test, try appending noinitrd to the kernel command line from grub.
Presuming you don't have any SCSI drives that need mounting at boot
time.  From your initial post it looks like grub knows something about
where to find the kernel on the disk, maybe the initrd is hosed.  You
probably installed using ext3 for the file system type and those modules
are loaded as part of the initrd, but I think the kernel will try to
access the file systems as ext2 and boot without them.  If this reveals
anything then try rebuilding the initrd.

After booting with the rescue CD and chroot /mnt/sysimage, try:

 mkinitrd -f /boot/initrd-2.6.5-1.358.img 2.6.5-1.358

Since this is becoming a rather daunting task, you could also try
FC3T2.  It might be a little bleeding edge, but that depends on what you
are doing with the system.

Bob...
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: This is a digitally signed message part
URL: <http://listman.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/attachments/20041006/0b6a04d1/attachment-0001.sig>