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Subject: Re: forgot passwd, cannot login, [rd]init=/bin/sh don't work
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jidanni@jidanni.org wrote:
 > ...
> OK, I then tried linux-doc-2.6.26/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt.gz:
>    rdinit=  [KNL]
>     Format:<full_path>
>     Run specified binary instead of /init from the ramdisk,
>     used for early userspace startup. See initrd.
>
> So in grub2 I chose "e" to edit, and changed the lines to
>   linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-1-686 root=UUID=... rdinit=/bin/sh
>   initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-1-686
> hit ESC then RET, and alas it was like I didn't type anything at
> all but just hit RET, booting proceeded as usual, and /proc/cmdline
> shows that my changes to that command line were thrown away.

The only reason to use a ramdisk during boot is if your kernel
doesn't have any support for your root filesystem (unlikely) or
for your hardware (much more likely).

If the disk controller on your motherboard isn't too exotic you
could probably boot the kernel directly, i.e:
/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-1-686 init=/bin/sh root=whatever
Note the use of *init* instead of rdinit because you aren't
using the initial ramdisk this way.

May or may not work, but it's worth a try.