Hello. It's been about a week that I've been unable to boot normally.
Every time I get the grub prompt, and then I have to go through the
sequence of commands "root/kernel/initrd/boot". I understand that this
may occur due to some defective file, but I can't see anything
abnormal in menu.lst, device.map, or fstab.

This is a dual boot box, Windows in /dev/hdc [(hd0,0) for grub], Sid
in /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]. I have several kernels installed: 2.6.18-4-686,
2.6.21-2-686, 2.6.22-1-686, 2.6.22-2-686. 21-2 and 22-1 can't
boot, saying something about BIOS being unable to handle the number of
cylinders. I don't know if this suggests something's wrong with my
system, but 18 and 22-2 boot just fine (except for the fact that I
always get the grub prompt), and the boot process was
normal until a couple of weeks ago.

Any will be appreciated. I have included below the files
menu.lst, devide.map, fstab, in case someone is interested. Regards,

Victor

----menu.lst------------------------------------------------

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not change this entry to 'saved' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 5

# Pretty colours
color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=/dev/hdd1 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd1,0)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(single-user) single
# altoptions=(single-user mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-1-686
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-1-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-1-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-1-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-1-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-1-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.21-2-686
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21-2-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.21-2-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21-2-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-4-686
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-4-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18-4-686
savedefault

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-4-686 (single-user mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-4-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18-4-686
savedefault

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/hdc1
title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,0)
#savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

-----device.map----------------------------------------------------

(hd0) /dev/hdc
(hd1) /dev/hdd

-----fstab---------------------------------------------------------

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/hdd1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/hdd2 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hda /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0

-------------------------------------------------------------------




--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 07:45:36PM -0400, Victor Munoz wrote:
> Hello. It's been about a week that I've been unable to boot normally.
> Every time I get the grub prompt, and then I have to go through the
> sequence of commands "root/kernel/initrd/boot". I understand that this
> may occur due to some defective file, but I can't see anything
> abnormal in menu.lst, device.map, or fstab.

can you manually load the menu.lst?

grub> configfile (hd1,0)/grub/menu.list

should get you a menu. Its at least easier than type all the root,
kernel etc lines.

>
> This is a dual boot box, Windows in /dev/hdc [(hd0,0) for grub], Sid
> in /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]. I have several kernels installed: 2.6.18-4-686,
> 2.6.21-2-686, 2.6.22-1-686, 2.6.22-2-686. 21-2 and 22-1 can't
> boot, saying something about BIOS being unable to handle the number of
> cylinders. I don't know if this suggests something's wrong with my
> system, but 18 and 22-2 boot just fine (except for the fact that I
> always get the grub prompt), and the boot process was
> normal until a couple of weeks ago.

hmmm... that's a little fishy. can we see your (as root)

fdisk -l /dev/hda

your menu.lst et al looks fine though I just only glanced through
them.

A

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFG40IPaIeIEqwil4YRAl5xAJ9YLOHJLNQQ+VdFRCA+5N sezD301gCeNQg4
gvqltf8MwyK+/SVNCPFsxRY=
=v+1J
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 05:45:03PM -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote:
>
> can you manually load the menu.lst?
>
> grub> configfile (hd1,0)/grub/menu.list
>
> should get you a menu. Its at least easier than type all the root,
> kernel etc lines.

Thanks for the tip, didn't know the command, but no, it doesn't work:

Error 18: Selected cylinder exceeds maximum supported by BIOS

>
> hmmm... that's a little fishy. can we see your (as root)
>
> fdisk -l /dev/hda
>

hda is cdrom, the bootable disk is hdc:

/boot/grub# fdisk -l /dev/hda
/boot/grub# fdisk -l /dev/hdb
/boot/grub# fdisk -l /dev/hdc

Disk /dev/hdc: 10.2 GB, 10248118272 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1245 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa24df59a

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 * 1 1244 9992398+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/boot/grub# fdisk -l /dev/hdd

Disk /dev/hdd: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00014f58

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdd1 * 1 19331 155276226 83 Linux
/dev/hdd2 19332 19457 1012095 82 Linux swap / Solaris

As I'm typing this, I notice for the first time that hdd1 is marked as
bootable. That's not correct, right? Is is possible that something
during some upgrade did it without me knowing? I will try to delete
the boot flag...


Victor



--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 09:07:39PM -0400, Victor Munoz wrote:
>
> Disk /dev/hdd: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
> Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
> Disk identifier: 0x00014f58
>
> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
> /dev/hdd1 * 1 19331 155276226 83 Linux
> /dev/hdd2 19332 19457 1012095 82 Linux swap / Solaris
>
> As I'm typing this, I notice for the first time that hdd1 is marked as
> bootable. That's not correct, right? Is is possible that something
> during some upgrade did it without me knowing? I will try to delete
> the boot flag...
>

Ok, I'm disappointed. It didn't work. hdd has no bootable partitions,
and I still get the grub prompt, and using configfile complains about
cylinders.

Victor


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

Victor Munoz(vmunoz@macul.ciencias.uchile.cl) is reported to have said:
> Hello. It's been about a week that I've been unable to boot normally.
> Every time I get the grub prompt, and then I have to go through the
> sequence of commands "root/kernel/initrd/boot". I understand that this
> may occur due to some defective file, but I can't see anything
> abnormal in menu.lst, device.map, or fstab.
>
> This is a dual boot box, Windows in /dev/hdc [(hd0,0) for grub], Sid
> in /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]. I have several kernels installed: 2.6.18-4-686,
> 2.6.21-2-686, 2.6.22-1-686, 2.6.22-2-686. 21-2 and 22-1 can't
> boot, saying something about BIOS being unable to handle the number of
> cylinders. I don't know if this suggests something's wrong with my
> system, but 18 and 22-2 boot just fine (except for the fact that I
> always get the grub prompt), and the boot process was
> normal until a couple of weeks ago.
>
> Any will be appreciated. I have included below the files
> menu.lst, devide.map, fstab, in case someone is interested. Regards,
>
> Victor
It's late and I'm tired but something looks wrong to me.
Do you have 4 hard drives or is this one (1) HD with

You say /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]

But to me /dev/hda -> (hd0,0)
/hdb -> (hd1,0)
/hdc -> (hd2,0)
/hdd -> (hd3,0)

but you have

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.21-2-amd64 Default
root (hd0,4) -------------<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro vga=0x31a
initrd /boot/initrd.img
savedefault

so you say that root is on hda1 partition 3
And the kernel is on root=/dev/sda5

I'm confused. How many HD's do you have, 1 or 2 or ?

I don't get this either

> # kopt=root=/dev/hdd1 ro

If it really is on hd1 partition d, that should be hda4 not hdd1.

I hope I'm wrong but I think you are confusing grub as much as me.


Wayne

>
> ----menu.lst------------------------------------------------
>
> # menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
> # grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
> # grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
> # and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.
>
> ## default num
> # Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
> # the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
> #
> # You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
> # is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
> # WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not change this entry to 'saved' or your
> # array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
> default 0
>
> ## timeout sec
> # Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
> # (normally the first entry defined).
> timeout 5
>
> # Pretty colours
> color cyan/blue white/blue
>
> ## password ['--md5'] passwd
> # If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
> # control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
> # command 'lock'
> # e.g. password topsecret
> # password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
> # password topsecret
>
> #
> # examples
> #
> # title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
> # root (hd0,0)
> # makeactive
> # chainloader +1
> #
> # title Linux
> # root (hd0,1)
> # kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
> #
>
> #
> # Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST
>
> ### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
> ## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
> ## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below
>
> ## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs
>
> ## ## Start Default Options ##
> ## default kernel options
> ## default kernel options for automagic boot options
> ## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
> ## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
> ## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
> ## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
> ## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
> # kopt=root=/dev/hdd1 ro
>
> ## default grub root device
> ## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
> # groot=(hd1,0)
>
> ## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
> ## e.g. alternative=true
> ## alternative=false
> # alternative=true
>
> ## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
> ## e.g. lockalternative=true
> ## lockalternative=false
> # lockalternative=false
>
> ## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
> ## alternatives
> ## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
> # defoptions=
>
> ## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
> ## e.g. lockold=false
> ## lockold=true
> # lockold=false
>
> ## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
> # xenhopt=
>
> ## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
> # xenkopt=console=tty0
>
> ## altoption boot targets option
> ## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
> ## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
> ## altoptions=(single-user) single
> # altoptions=(single-user mode) single
>
> ## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
> ## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
> ## alternative kernel options
> ## e.g. howmany=all
> ## howmany=7
> # howmany=all
>
> ## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
> ## e.g. memtest86=true
> ## memtest86=false
> # memtest86=true
>
> ## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
> ## can be true or false
> # updatedefaultentry=false
>
> ## ## End Default Options ##
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686 (single-user mode)
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-1-686
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-1-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-1-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-1-686 (single-user mode)
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-1-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-1-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.21-2-686
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21-2-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.21-2-686 (single-user mode)
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.21-2-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-4-686
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-4-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18-4-686
> savedefault
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-4-686 (single-user mode)
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-4-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro single
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18-4-686
> savedefault
>
> ### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
>
> # This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
> # ones.
> title Other operating systems:
> root
>
>
> # This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
> # on /dev/hdc1
> title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
> root (hd0,0)
> #savedefault
> makeactive
> chainloader +1
>
> -----device.map----------------------------------------------------
>
> (hd0) /dev/hdc
> (hd1) /dev/hdd
>
> -----fstab---------------------------------------------------------
>
> # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
> #
> # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
> proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
> /dev/hdd1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
> /dev/hdd2 none swap sw 0 0
> /dev/hda /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
> /dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> --
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
> with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
>

--
Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it
should be hard to understand.
__________________________________________________ _____


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 10:53:20PM -0400, Wayne Topa wrote:
> It's late and I'm tired but something looks wrong to me.
> Do you have 4 hard drives or is this one (1) HD with
>
> You say /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]
>
> But to me /dev/hda -> (hd0,0)
> /hdb -> (hd1,0)
> /hdc -> (hd2,0)
> /hdd -> (hd3,0)

That would be the logical order, but here hda and hdb have to do with
the cdrom. I get this from dmesg:

dmesg | grep hda
ide0: BM-DMA at 0xd000-0xd007, BIOS settings: hdaMA, hdb:pio
hda: HL-DT-ST GCE-8320B, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
hda: ATAPI 40X CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive, 8192kB Cache, DMA

Then hdc is the 10G disk for Windows, and hdd the 160G disk for sid.

If I type "root hd(" at the boot prompt, it only gives me 0 and 1 as
options, and a later "kernel" command actually finds vmlinuz in
(hd1,0)/boot. So I guess this is ok.

> I'm confused. How many HD's do you have, 1 or 2 or ?
>

2, as I said, and a cdrom, recognized as hda.

>
> I hope I'm wrong but I think you are confusing grub as much as me.
>

Well, it was not me anyway :-). grub decided it was time to get
confused last week, after months of normal operation.

Victor


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On 09/08/2007 11:40 PM, Victor Munoz wrote:
> [...]
> Well, it was not me anyway :-). grub decided it was time to get
> confused last week, after months of normal operation.
>
> Victor
>
>

Hello Victor. I would try reinstalling the failing kernels; if you do
this, copy the kernel .deb files out of /var/cache/apt/archives first,
because those kernels are probably no longer available on the Debian
mirrors.

I *might* also try reinstalling Grub using "grub-install <yada yada>."
However, if you install to the MBR, you must be sure that Grub will be
able to boot Windows. Have bootdisks for both Windows and Linux handy.

PS.
I think it's safer to let Windows have the MBR, and configure NTLOADER
to chain-load a Linux partition.




--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 07:05:39AM -0500, Mumia W.. wrote:
>
> Hello Victor. I would try reinstalling the failing kernels; if you do
> this, copy the kernel .deb files out of /var/cache/apt/archives first,
> because those kernels are probably no longer available on the Debian
> mirrors.

I tried leaving only one entry in menu.lst, corresponding to one
working kernel (2.6.18 I think), but got the boot prompt anyway.

>
> I *might* also try reinstalling Grub using "grub-install <yada yada>."
> However, if you install to the MBR, you must be sure that Grub will be
> able to boot Windows. Have bootdisks for both Windows and Linux handy.
>

Using Debian disc 1 in rescue mode, I re-installed the boot loader,
and nothing. Maybe I should do it manually?

Victor


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

Hi,

Trying to run Debian off of a USB memory stick (4GB)... working with etch.

Did an install from a DVD and the machine boots just fine.

At this point, just a basic linux machine but have room for the X
windows package. The linux version is 2.6.8. Tried to extract the
..config from the binary, but does not appear it was compiled with that
option.

Problem I'm having is trying to recompile a new kernel (2.6.17) and
reboot. Using grub and getting to the usual "kernel panic" point. ;-)

Has anyone been successful in building and booting a linux kernel on a
memory stick?

Here is the relevant grub section
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

## ## End Default Options ##

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.8-2-386
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-2-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-2-386
savedefault
boot

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.8-2-386 (recovery mode)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-2-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-2-386
savedefault
boot

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.17.5
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17.5 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-2-386
boot
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

and the fstab file
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/sda1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/sda5 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 iso9660 ro,user,noauto 0 0
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Browsed the "howtos" and found nothing on the subject.

Again, the installed binary works just fine, the version compiled from
source bombs. Best guess something is wrong/missing in the new kernel,
but can't find it for the life of me....

Thanks for any /suggestions/tips or places to look for info

John









--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

Victor Munoz(vmunoz@macul.ciencias.uchile.cl) is reported to have said:
> On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 10:53:20PM -0400, Wayne Topa wrote:
> > It's late and I'm tired but something looks wrong to me.
> > Do you have 4 hard drives or is this one (1) HD with
> >
> > You say /dev/hdd [(hd1,0)]
> >
> > But to me /dev/hda -> (hd0,0)
> > /hdb -> (hd1,0)
> > /hdc -> (hd2,0)
> > /hdd -> (hd3,0)
>
> That would be the logical order, but here hda and hdb have to do with
> the cdrom. I get this from dmesg:
>
> dmesg | grep hda
> ide0: BM-DMA at 0xd000-0xd007, BIOS settings: hdaMA, hdb:pio
> hda: HL-DT-ST GCE-8320B, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
> hda: ATAPI 40X CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive, 8192kB Cache, DMA
>
> Then hdc is the 10G disk for Windows, and hdd the 160G disk for sid.
>
> If I type "root hd(" at the boot prompt, it only gives me 0 and 1 as
> options, and a later "kernel" command actually finds vmlinuz in
> (hd1,0)/boot. So I guess this is ok.
>
> > I'm confused. How many HD's do you have, 1 or 2 or ?
> >
>
> 2, as I said, and a cdrom, recognized as hda.

It might be just me, as I have never seen/heard of a system set up
that way. I have always put my HD's on the promary IDE interfaces (A
& B) and the CD/DVD's on the secondary IDE interfaces (C & D). It may
or may not be necessary but that is how I always have seen it done.

> >
> > I hope I'm wrong but I think you are confusing grub as much as me.
> >
>
> Well, it was not me anyway :-). grub decided it was time to get
> confused last week, after months of normalVoperation.


title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686
--- > root (hd1,0)
----> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
savedefault

Grub did the 2 --> Lines? The root line says hdb and the kernel line
says hdd. No wonder it won't boot. Yet the older kernels boot up with
the same (wrong looking) root and kernel lines, so I am wrong. I have
not yet upgraded any of my sid partitions to the 2.6.22-2 kernel.
Maybe I have this problem to look forward to or maybe I should wait
till it (whatever 'it' is) gets fixed.

Sorry I could not .

Wayne

--
Hit any user to continue.
__________________________________________________ _____


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

Wayne Topa wrote:

>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686
> --- > root (hd1,0)
> ----> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
> savedefault
>
> Grub did the 2 --> Lines? The root line says hdb and the kernel line
> says hdd. No wonder it won't boot. Yet the older kernels boot up with
> the same (wrong looking) root and kernel lines, so I am wrong. I have
> not yet upgraded any of my sid partitions to the 2.6.22-2 kernel.
> Maybe I have this problem to look forward to or maybe I should wait
> till it (whatever 'it' is) gets fixed.
>
> Sorry I could not .
>
> Wayne
>
Not necessarily. Grub uses /boot/grub/device.map to identify which HDD
maps to which (hd?). It might be useful to see the OP's device.map
file, but grub could just ignore hda and hdb as they are not HDD.

HTH

Wackojacko


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 09:32:03PM -0400, Victor Munoz wrote:
> On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 09:07:39PM -0400, Victor Munoz wrote:
> >
> > Disk /dev/hdd: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
> > 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
> > Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
> > Disk identifier: 0x00014f58
> >
> > Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
> > /dev/hdd1 * 1 19331 155276226 83 Linux
> > /dev/hdd2 19332 19457 1012095 82 Linux swap / Solaris
> >
> > As I'm typing this, I notice for the first time that hdd1 is marked as
> > bootable. That's not correct, right? Is is possible that something
> > during some upgrade did it without me knowing? I will try to delete
> > the boot flag...
> >
>
> Ok, I'm disappointed. It didn't work. hdd has no bootable partitions,
> and I still get the grub prompt, and using configfile complains about
> cylinders.

I read the other part of this thread and I'm not sure those guys are
barking up the right tree, though they could be. I think it is
perfectly valid for grub and the kernel to have different device names
for the drives and so long as you keep track of which context you're
working in, then I think you're alright.

One thing that might be ful is what does the BIOS call those
drives? In your bios setup screen there will be the usual table of
harddrives and their positions on the motherboard, as the bios sees
them. Can you provide that info for us? please include how the bios is
addressing them (LBA etc).

What motherboard is this and how old is it? It looks like you are
facing an ancient problem with BIOS that couldn't see beyond the first
1024 cylinders. With your large / partition, I'd bet those non-working
kernels are beyond the range that the bios can see, and I'm willing to
bet that your bios is configured incorrectly to see those higher
cylinders.

A

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFG5DS4aIeIEqwil4YRAlTPAJ0Ud7u3bYiMLBH8wWygHm etN3DCzACgvkgd
Egb21/Gqu1KIgeLOPCLxrHc=
=zolB
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 08:53:48AM -0700, John Wojnaroski wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Trying to run Debian off of a USB memory stick (4GB)... working with etch.
>
> Did an install from a DVD and the machine boots just fine.
>
> At this point, just a basic linux machine but have room for the X windows
> package. The linux version is 2.6.8.

Are you sure this is etch? sarge has kernel 2.6.8, etch has 2.6.18

> Tried to extract the .config from the binary, but does not appear it
> was compiled with that option.

What do you mean by that? The config for Debian standard kernels can be
found in /boot

[snip menu.lst and fstab]

> Again, the installed binary works just fine, the version compiled from
> source bombs. Best guess something is wrong/missing in the new
> kernel, but can't find it for the life of me....

Why do you want to recompile the kernel? And what error messages do you
get when it "bombs".

Regards,
Andrei
--
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
(Albert Einstein)

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFG5DVHqJyztHCFm9kRArN9AJ49qdiSJ/BNyLls9bB0Q3N4HrT7LwCgkChZ
OqFGAa/fd5AemvWguvrgidg=
=5hNY
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 01:15:58PM -0400, Wayne Topa wrote:
> Victor Munoz(vmunoz@macul.ciencias.uchile.cl) is reported to have said:
> > On Sat, Sep 08, 2007 at 10:53:20PM -0400, Wayne Topa wrote:

> It might be just me, as I have never seen/heard of a system set up
> that way. I have always put my HD's on the promary IDE interfaces (A
> & B) and the CD/DVD's on the secondary IDE interfaces (C & D). It may
> or may not be necessary but that is how I always have seen it done.
>

Not necessarily. Since performance is poor if you have two hard drives
on one controller (e.g. hda and hdb), I've always put the boot drive as
the first hard drive (e.g. hda) since that is what some BIOSs look for.
Then removeable media on hdb, a second hard (if used) on hdc, then other
media on hdd.

Also, don't confuse Grub's hd0 or hd1 as necessarily /dev/hda or
/dev/hdb. Grub goes with the order of drives as the BIOS sees them.

The other question you've received is also valid: is this Etch, why a
custom kernel, what errors with a normal kernel, etc.

Is there a reason that you didn't put your boot hard drive as the first
drive on the first controller? Since I haven't run M$ since 3.1, I
don't know what would happen if you swapped the drives around.

Doug.


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 01:15:58PM -0400, Wayne Topa wrote:
> >
> > Well, it was not me anyway :-). grub decided it was time to get
> > confused last week, after months of normalVoperation.
>
>
> title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.22-2-686
> --- > root (hd1,0)
> ----> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-2-686 root=/dev/hdd1 ro
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-2-686
> savedefault
>
> Grub did the 2 --> Lines? The root line says hdb and the kernel line
> says hdd. No wonder it won't boot. Yet the older kernels boot up with
> the same (wrong looking) root and kernel lines, so I am wrong. I have
> not yet upgraded any of my sid partitions to the 2.6.22-2 kernel.
> Maybe I have this problem to look forward to or maybe I should wait
> till it (whatever 'it' is) gets fixed.
>

device.map, as posted in the original mail, correctly maps grub and
device names:

/boot/grub$ cat device.map
(hd0) /dev/hdc
(hd1) /dev/hdd

So probably there's no problem here.

Victor


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 06:46:14PM +0100, Wackojacko wrote:
> >
> Not necessarily. Grub uses /boot/grub/device.map to identify which HDD
> maps to which (hd?). It might be useful to see the OP's device.map
> file, but grub could just ignore hda and hdb as they are not HDD.
>

I did post it in the original post, and the map looks correct.

Victor


--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 11:00:24AM -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote:
>
> One thing that might be ful is what does the BIOS call those
> drives? In your bios setup screen there will be the usual table of
> harddrives and their positions on the motherboard, as the bios sees
> them. Can you provide that info for us? please include how the bios is
> addressing them (LBA etc).

Bios says this:

Primary master: HL-DL-ST GCE-8320B [that's the cdrom]
Primary slave: [Auto]
Secondary master: Fujitsu MPF3102AT [this is the 10G Windows disk]
Secondary slave: ST 3160212A [the 160G Debian disk]

Details for each drive follow:

Fujitsu: Cylinders 1024
Head 255
Sector 63
CHS Capacity 8422 Mb
Maximum LBA Capacity 10248 Mb

ST: Cylinders 1024
Head 255
Sector 63
CHS Capacity 8422 Mb
Maximum LBA Capacity 8455 Mb

Which is strange, since ST is 160G. Fujitsu data (10G), look ok.

>
> What motherboard is this and how old is it? It looks like you are
> facing an ancient problem with BIOS that couldn't see beyond the first
> 1024 cylinders. With your large / partition, I'd bet those non-working
> kernels are beyond the range that the bios can see, and I'm willing to
> bet that your bios is configured incorrectly to see those higher
> cylinders.
>

So your suggestion would be to repartition the disk, leaving a small
boot partition at the beginning of the 160G disk?

Anyway, the motherboard is not new.

lspci -v:

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8366/A/7 [Apollo KT266/A/333]
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. A7V266-E Mainboard
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
Memory at fc000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=32M]
Capabilities: [a0] AGP version 2.0
Capabilities: [c0] Power Management version 2

Probably 6 years old? (I bought it used, in 2003)

Victor





--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On 09/09/2007 03:02 PM, Victor Munoz wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 11:00:24AM -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote:
>> [...]
>
> So your suggestion would be to repartition the disk, leaving a small
> boot partition at the beginning of the 160G disk?
>
> Anyway, the motherboard is not new.
>
> lspci -v:
>
> 00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8366/A/7 [Apollo KT266/A/333]
> Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. A7V266-E Mainboard
> Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
> Memory at fc000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=32M]
> Capabilities: [a0] AGP version 2.0
> Capabilities: [c0] Power Management version 2
>
> Probably 6 years old? (I bought it used, in 2003)
>
> Victor

Yes, create a small (~1GB) /boot partition at the head of the 160GB
disk. I always had to do that with my old 486 computer because its BIOS
was restricted by the 1024-cylinder limit.



--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org

On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 04:02:35PM -0400, Victor Munoz wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 11:00:24AM -0700, Andrew Sackville-West wrote:
> >
> > One thing that might be ful is what does the BIOS call those
> > drives? In your bios setup screen there will be the usual table of
> > harddrives and their positions on the motherboard, as the bios sees
> > them. Can you provide that info for us? please include how the bios is
> > addressing them (LBA etc).
>
> Bios says this:
>
> Primary master: HL-DL-ST GCE-8320B [that's the cdrom]
> Primary slave: [Auto]
> Secondary master: Fujitsu MPF3102AT [this is the 10G Windows disk]
> Secondary slave: ST 3160212A [the 160G Debian disk]
>
> Details for each drive follow:
>
> Fujitsu: Cylinders 1024
> Head 255
> Sector 63
> CHS Capacity 8422 Mb
> Maximum LBA Capacity 10248 Mb
>
> ST: Cylinders 1024
> Head 255
> Sector 63
> CHS Capacity 8422 Mb
> Maximum LBA Capacity 8455 Mb
>
> Which is strange, since ST is 160G. Fujitsu data (10G), look ok.

I don't have a machine available for reboot at the moment, but there
are options that can be set for each harddrive. The language is
escaping me at the moment, but it has to do with whether the drive is
LBA or not etc. You could fiddle with those settings (take notes!) and
see if that s. if its set for some legacy setting (again, the
language escapes me ATM), it may pretend it can't address beyond 1024
cylinders when in fact it can. but i think that's a shot in the dark.

>
> >
> > What motherboard is this and how old is it? It looks like you are
> > facing an ancient problem with BIOS that couldn't see beyond the first
> > 1024 cylinders. With your large / partition, I'd bet those non-working
> > kernels are beyond the range that the bios can see, and I'm willing to
> > bet that your bios is configured incorrectly to see those higher
> > cylinders.
> >
>
> So your suggestion would be to repartition the disk, leaving a small
> boot partition at the beginning of the 160G disk?

yup. probably up until now you've always had this problem, but the
kernels happened to be written within the first 1024 cylinders and
thus caused no problem. Also, the same with menu.lst, it was probably
within that boundary as well. Then last week, the menu.lst got
rewritten to a part of the disk that the bios can't see and suddenly
doesn't work.

At least that's the way I understand it. Reality may diverge
drastically from my perception.


A

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFG5GGzaIeIEqwil4YRAt2qAJ47H5x8/+EXJZVREEGOm8KfVkUloQCglgbf
Kqrcs0dFjNVUGvy5BdauR68=
=dKyT
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Andrei Popescu wrote:

>On Sun, Sep 09, 2007 at 08:53:48AM -0700, John Wojnaroski wrote:
>
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>Trying to run Debian off of a USB memory stick (4GB)... working with etch.
>>
>>Did an install from a DVD and the machine boots just fine.
>>
>>At this point, just a basic linux machine but have room for the X windows
>>package. The linux version is 2.6.8.
>>
>>
>
>Are you sure this is etch? sarge has kernel 2.6.8, etch has 2.6.18
>
The DVD is an older version with sarge, then did a 'dist-upgrade' to get
to etch.

>What do you mean by that? The config for Debian standard kernels can be
>found in /boot
>
>
>
I was looking in the linux source scripts directory for the extract
program. Found the .config copy in boot...

>
>
>>Again, the installed binary works just fine, the version compiled from
>>source bombs. Best guess something is wrong/missing in the new
>>kernel, but can't find it for the life of me....
>>
>>
>
>Why do you want to recompile the kernel? And what error messages do you
>get when it "bombs".
>
>
>
two reasons:

1) to make the kernel smaller by removing extraneous modules rather than
trying to build linux-from-scratch. Would like to fit it all on a 2GB
stick including X-windows and run with out any "moving parts", and

2) will be adding the real-time modules from RTAI and patches and need
to recompile

Started with sarge and the 2.6.8 binary and then downloaded 2.6.17.5
from kernel.org which will be patched for the ADEOS code and RTAI modules.

I'll try using the config file in /boot. Actually, I should do a fresh
install using etch and 2.6.18 and source provided.

Wi