USB root filesytem using a 2.6 kernel?

USB root filesytem using a 2.6 kernel?

[Jeff Stevens]

Has anyone had any luck booting from a linux filesytem
on a USB pen drive running 2.6?  I am running kernel
2.6.9 that is programmed into flash and am trying to
boot from a root filesystem on a USB pen drive.  I am
using the kernel command line option "root=/dev/sda1".
 I am able to NFS boot my system, and then mount my
pen drive, and can see all of the files fine. 
However, it tells me that I have an invalid root
option if I try setting root to /dev/sda1.  I
understand under 2.4 there is a patch that keeps
trying to mount the sda1 device with time delays in
between each try.  I tried that, but it didn't help. 
I also tried the 2.6 patch that keeps a list of ready
devices, and that didn't work.  I was trying to do
this without a ramdisk, but so far it looks like I'll
have to use one after all.

Thanks,
   Jeff Stevens
   jsteve17@yahoo.com

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Re: USB root filesytem using a 2.6 kernel?

[Peter Korsgaard]

On 9/13/05, Jeff Stevens <jsteve17@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Has anyone had any luck booting from a linux filesytem
> on a USB pen drive running 2.6?

It's a timing issue - your USB stick doesn't get detected / scanned
for partitions before the kernel tries to mount the rootfs. Use the
rootdelay kernel parameter to force a delay (of E.G. 10s) to fix it.

You might need to upgrade your kernel through, I think it was added in 2.6.=
11

--=20
Bye, Peter Korsgaard