Re: Please help! "Unable to mount root fs" after install.


Subject: Re: Please help! "Unable to mount root fs" after install.
From: Dennis Moser (aldus@angrek.com)
Date: Tue Feb 08 2000 - 11:54:24 MST


John.

I can relate to some of this as my YDL experience is with a 7200 and an
8500. By far the 8500 was the easiest to work with

> Hello, I have being trying install Yellog Dog Linux Champion 1.1,
>but have been unable to boot Linux after the installation process. My
>environment is as follows: PowerMac 8500/150, 128MB RAM, 2 x SCSI discs.
> I followed this procedure, as described in the installation guide:
>(1) reformatted my secondary (non-MacOS) disk using FWB toolkit, creating
>2 x 2 Gig MacHFS partitions, and leaving 4.5 GB unallocated. (2)
>followed the instructions for copying the MacOS side installation files
>to the system folder, control panels and extensions. I had previously
>installed MkLinux on the same (now reformatted) drive, but to be on the
>safe side removed all the MkLinux extensions, kernels etc. from the system
>folder. (3) started the installation process from the BootX application
> (4) used "fdisk" to create 2 x 2Gig partitions called "root" and
>"data", and one 128MB partition called "swap", and wrote the partition
>table. This gave me a slightly worrying message that the parition table
>could not be read until after rebooting. The installation guide mentions
>this slightly differently:
>
>" If you do not restart the installation program after making changes to
>the partition map, you will experience unusual errors later in the
>installation process."

THIS is an understatement and you are proof of the "unusual errors". I
wish they would be more emphatic about this warning in the manual.

>The only way that I saw to "restart the installation program" was to
>reboot and step through the same point. fdisk indicated that the
>partitions had been created as expected, so I continued with the
>installation.

Bad idea. You have to back up as far as you can in the install, then "3
finger salute" and restart your machine. Once the Mac OS has come back up
and the Deaktop is back, go and use BootX to restart the install procedure.
DON'T change anything in the BootX defaults, because you want it to start
back up as if it were doing the install from scratch. (Is this a problem
with fdisk, not gettingthe partitioning to be recognized later?)

You should be able to quickly step through the install to the point of
formatting/partitioning...you can skip over to creating the mount points.

>(5) I assigned the partitions that I had created to "/" and "/data"

No problem there.

>(6) Formatted swap partition, and proceeded to select packages.

No problem there.

>(7) The installation paused for some time while creating an "ext2" file
>system on the root partition, but then proceeded normally with package
>installation.
>(8) Selected mouse, and selected Network settings.
>(9) I had some problem with the display settings - for some reason my
>Apple Multiscan 17 monitor wasn't accepted, until I chose "custom" and
>set the refresh frequency and resolution manually.

Good old X...ugh.

>(10) I restarted, and set the the boot partition in the BootX application
>as instructed during the installation process. Curioly the Boot selector
>had "MacOS" , "Linux" and a greyed out box "MkLinux" - even though I
>removed MkLinux previously.
>On booting, all drives and partitions are recognised, but the last lines
>on the screen are:
>VFS: Cannot open root device 00:00
>Kernel Panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 00:00
>Rebooting in 180 seconds.

It's the "unusual errors" described above. You MUST go back and restart
your machine after using fdisk, then restart the install procedure.

>This is the third time I have tried to install Yellow Dog (once over
>FTP), and I would be very grateful indeed if someone could help me get it
>running! Could it be something to do with the drive formatting - FWB ? Is
>some vestige of MkLinux still on the hard disk?

It seems worse than it really is...I was having fits with my 7200 until I
took the manual at its word, took a deep breath and hit the Ctrl-Cmnd-Power
buttons after using fdisk. It worked just fine after that (well,
sort-of...I still have problems with X, but most of the time the machine's
in command line mode anyway...). When I did my 8500, I had already learned
the pit falls (about the restart) and the install went straight through and
booted up into X the firt time I tried it.

I know it sounds crazy, but try it once more. It should work.

Dennis Moser

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mailto:aldus@angrek.com
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"That so few now dare to be eccentric, marks the chief danger of the time"
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