kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Hulin Thibaud]

Hello !
I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but 
that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknow-block 
(3.69)

I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot 
config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are an 
error with the near same configuration.
I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my 
IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand how 
do exactly. I do that :
lspci |grep IDE
0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. 
VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
make xconfig
-Device Drivers
--* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
--- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
--- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
--- * PCI IDE chipset support
---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
- File systems
-- * Ext3 journalling file system support
--- * Ext3 extended attributes
---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
---- * Ext3 Security Labels

Have I forgot anything ?

Thanks very much,
Thibaud.

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Nick Manley]

I think you meant 2.6.18?  Anyways, I'm not expert but I usually have
problems when using oldconfig.  It seems you have your kernel settings
configured properly and have included all the proper stuff (ext3, ide
drivers) to be built in.  I would try disabling SCSI if you aren't
using it.  Another thing to look at would be your settings in GRUB (or
lilo).  Your particular setup might vary but it should look something
like this...

title Linux 2.6.18
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.18 root=/dev/hda3 ro
# you might also have an "initrd" placed here

If you search Google you can find other suggestions as well and also
posting to your distribution's forum might be a good idea too as the
kernel mailing list is usually a place for reporting bugs and
discussing kernel development.  Basically it is a last resort kind of
thing if you can't find the information anywhere else.

On 8/13/06, Hulin Thibaud <hulin.thibaud@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
> Hello !
> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but
> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknow-block
> (3.69)
>
> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot
> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are an
> error with the near same configuration.
> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my
> IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand how
> do exactly. I do that :
> lspci |grep IDE
> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
> make xconfig
> -Device Drivers
> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
> - File systems
> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
>
> Have I forgot anything ?
>
> Thanks very much,
> Thibaud.
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
>

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Jiri Slaby]

Hulin Thibaud wrote:
> Hello !
> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but 
> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknow-block 
> (3.69)
> 
> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot 

Wow, 2.6.18 wasn't released yet and you have 2.6.19, cool.

> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are an 
> error with the near same configuration.
> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my 
> IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand how 
> do exactly. I do that :
> lspci |grep IDE
> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. 
> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
> make xconfig
> -Device Drivers
> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
> - File systems
> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
> 
> Have I forgot anything ?

RAID or LVM? Try initrd.

regards,
-- 
http://www.fi.muni.cz/~xslaby/            Jiri Slaby
faculty of informatics, masaryk university, brno, cz
e-mail: jirislaby gmail com, gpg pubkey fingerprint:
B674 9967 0407 CE62 ACC8  22A0 32CC 55C3 39D4 7A7E

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Hulin Thibaud]

Sorry, new kernel is 2.6.17. to install suspend2.
I believe using LVM, but I'm not sure.
In effect, initrd is not present ! I rode this lines in my menu.lst :
title		Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.171915
root		(hd1,4)
kernel		/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.171915 root=/dev/hdb5 ro quiet splash
savedefault
boot

So, I suppose that's the center of the problem, but actually, I don't 
know how to solve it.

Nick Manley a écrit :
 > I think you meant 2.6.18?  Anyways, I'm not expert but I usually have
 > problems when using oldconfig.  It seems you have your kernel settings
 > configured properly and have included all the proper stuff (ext3, ide
 > drivers) to be built in.  I would try disabling SCSI if you aren't
 > using it.  Another thing to look at would be your settings in GRUB (or
 > lilo).  Your particular setup might vary but it should look something
 > like this...
 >
 > title Linux 2.6.18
 > root (hd0,2)
 > kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.18 root=/dev/hda3 ro
 > # you might also have an "initrd" placed here
 >
 > If you search Google you can find other suggestions as well and also
 > posting to your distribution's forum might be a good idea too as the
 > kernel mailing list is usually a place for reporting bugs and
 > discussing kernel development.  Basically it is a last resort kind of
 > thing if you can't find the information anywhere else.
 >
 > On 8/13/06, Hulin Thibaud <hulin.thibaud@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
 >> Hello !
 >> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but
 >> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
 >> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknow-block
 >> (3.69)
 >>
 >> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot
 >> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are an
 >> error with the near same configuration.
 >> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my
 >> IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand how
 >> do exactly. I do that :
 >> lspci |grep IDE
 >> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc.
 >> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
 >> make xconfig
 >> -Device Drivers
 >> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
 >> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
 >> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
 >> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
 >> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
 >> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
 >> - File systems
 >> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
 >> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
 >> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
 >> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
 >>
 >> Have I forgot anything ?
 >>
 >> Thanks very much,
 >> Thibaud.
 >> -
 >> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe
 >> linux-kernel" in
 >> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
 >> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
 >> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
 >>
 >
 >




Jiri Slaby a écrit :
> Hulin Thibaud wrote:
>> Hello !
>> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but 
>> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
>> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on 
>> unknow-block (3.69)
>>
>> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot 
> 
> Wow, 2.6.18 wasn't released yet and you have 2.6.19, cool.
> 
>> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are 
>> an error with the near same configuration.
>> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my 
>> IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand 
>> how do exactly. I do that :
>> lspci |grep IDE
>> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. 
>> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
>> make xconfig
>> -Device Drivers
>> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
>> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
>> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
>> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
>> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
>> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
>> - File systems
>> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
>> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
>> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
>> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
>>
>> Have I forgot anything ?
> 
> RAID or LVM? Try initrd.
> 
> regards,

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Jiri Slaby]

Hulin Thibaud wrote:
> Sorry, new kernel is 2.6.17. to install suspend2.
> I believe using LVM, but I'm not sure.

see
/dev/mapper/*

lvm(8) and lvdisplay, vgdisplay, pvdisplay...

mount(8) output

> In effect, initrd is not present ! I rode this lines in my menu.lst :
> title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.171915
> root        (hd1,4)
> kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.171915 root=/dev/hdb5 ro quiet splash
> savedefault
> boot
> 
> So, I suppose that's the center of the problem, but actually, I don't 
> know how to solve it.

You need to run mkinitrd with appropriate parameters on created initrd dir.
See a small howto here:
http://linuxreviews.org/howtos/Kernel-Build-HOWTO/en/x543.html
or use google (and man) to find out howto involve mkinitrd.

regards,
-- 
http://www.fi.muni.cz/~xslaby/            Jiri Slaby
faculty of informatics, masaryk university, brno, cz
e-mail: jirislaby gmail com, gpg pubkey fingerprint:
B674 9967 0407 CE62 ACC8  22A0 32CC 55C3 39D4 7A7E

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Reinaldo Carvalho]

Try build-in LVM driver.

Device Drivers  --->
Multi-device support (RAID and LVM)  --->
[*] Multiple devices driver support (RAID and LVM)
[*]   Device mapper support

-- 
Reinaldo Carvalho


On 8/14/06, Hulin Thibaud <hulin.thibaud@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
> Sorry, new kernel is 2.6.17. to install suspend2.
> I believe using LVM, but I'm not sure.
> In effect, initrd is not present ! I rode this lines in my menu.lst :
> title           Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.171915
> root            (hd1,4)
> kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.171915 root=/dev/hdb5 ro quiet splash
> savedefault
> boot
>
> So, I suppose that's the center of the problem, but actually, I don't
> know how to solve it.
>

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Jiri Slaby]

Reinaldo Carvalho wrote:
> Try build-in LVM driver.
> 
> Device Drivers  --->
> Multi-device support (RAID and LVM)  --->
> [*] Multiple devices driver support (RAID and LVM)
> [*]   Device mapper support

He might try, but this won't resolve his issue. He needs to activate LVM volume 
in userspace (by rc.sysinit et. al.) before root contained on that volume can be 
mounted. This has to be done by init ram disk.

regards,
-- 
http://www.fi.muni.cz/~xslaby/            Jiri Slaby
faculty of informatics, masaryk university, brno, cz
e-mail: jirislaby gmail com, gpg pubkey fingerprint:
B674 9967 0407 CE62 ACC8  22A0 32CC 55C3 39D4 7A7E

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Phillip Susi]

You need to use the initrd.  See the man pages for update-initramfs and 
maybe mkinitramfs.  The initrd is where all the drivers get loaded and 
hardware is detected in an Ubuntu system.  It is required for root to be 
on LVM.

Hulin Thibaud wrote:
> Sorry, new kernel is 2.6.17. to install suspend2.
> I believe using LVM, but I'm not sure.
> In effect, initrd is not present ! I rode this lines in my menu.lst :
> title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.171915
> root        (hd1,4)
> kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.171915 root=/dev/hdb5 ro quiet splash
> savedefault
> boot
> 
> So, I suppose that's the center of the problem, but actually, I don't 
> know how to solve it.
> 

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Hulin Thibaud]

In progress ! I built-in LVM driver and compile the kernel with the 
-initrd option. I have not more the kernel panic message, but I have a 
lot of errors than this :

I/O error ; hda: cannot handle device with more than 16 heads - giving up


I'm astonished, I believed that old .config was operational with a new 
kernel (my old was a 2.6.16, the new, 2.6.17).

Regards,
Thibaud.

Hulin Thibaud a écrit :
> Sorry, new kernel is 2.6.17. to install suspend2.
> I believe using LVM, but I'm not sure.
> In effect, initrd is not present ! I rode this lines in my menu.lst :
> title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.171915
> root        (hd1,4)
> kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.171915 root=/dev/hdb5 ro quiet splash
> savedefault
> boot
> 
> So, I suppose that's the center of the problem, but actually, I don't 
> know how to solve it.
> 
> Nick Manley a écrit :
>  > I think you meant 2.6.18?  Anyways, I'm not expert but I usually have
>  > problems when using oldconfig.  It seems you have your kernel settings
>  > configured properly and have included all the proper stuff (ext3, ide
>  > drivers) to be built in.  I would try disabling SCSI if you aren't
>  > using it.  Another thing to look at would be your settings in GRUB (or
>  > lilo).  Your particular setup might vary but it should look something
>  > like this...
>  >
>  > title Linux 2.6.18
>  > root (hd0,2)
>  > kernel /boot/bzImage-2.6.18 root=/dev/hda3 ro
>  > # you might also have an "initrd" placed here
>  >
>  > If you search Google you can find other suggestions as well and also
>  > posting to your distribution's forum might be a good idea too as the
>  > kernel mailing list is usually a place for reporting bugs and
>  > discussing kernel development.  Basically it is a last resort kind of
>  > thing if you can't find the information anywhere else.
>  >
>  > On 8/13/06, Hulin Thibaud <hulin.thibaud@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>  >> Hello !
>  >> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but
>  >> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
>  >> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on unknow-block
>  >> (3.69)
>  >>
>  >> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot
>  >> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there 
> are an
>  >> error with the near same configuration.
>  >> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for my
>  >> IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't understand how
>  >> do exactly. I do that :
>  >> lspci |grep IDE
>  >> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc.
>  >> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
>  >> make xconfig
>  >> -Device Drivers
>  >> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
>  >> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
>  >> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
>  >> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
>  >> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
>  >> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
>  >> - File systems
>  >> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
>  >> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
>  >> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
>  >> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
>  >>
>  >> Have I forgot anything ?
>  >>
>  >> Thanks very much,
>  >> Thibaud.
>  >> -
>  >> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe
>  >> linux-kernel" in
>  >> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
>  >> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>  >> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
>  >>
>  >
>  >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jiri Slaby a écrit :
>> Hulin Thibaud wrote:
>>> Hello !
>>> I'm trying to compile my own kernel for drivers on two computers, but 
>>> that fails. A the boot, I have this error :
>>> kernel panic - not syncing: VFS Unable to mount root fs on 
>>> unknow-block (3.69)
>>>
>>> I'm using the kernel 2.6.19 with Ubuntu Dapper. I use the old boot 
>>
>> Wow, 2.6.18 wasn't released yet and you have 2.6.19, cool.
>>
>>> config and I type make oldconfig, so I don't understand why there are 
>>> an error with the near same configuration.
>>> I suppose that I must compile not in module but in hard support for 
>>> my IDE chipset, harddisk and file system. Probably, I don't 
>>> understand how do exactly. I do that :
>>> lspci |grep IDE
>>> 0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. 
>>> VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
>>> make xconfig
>>> -Device Drivers
>>> --* ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support
>>> --- * Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support
>>> --- * Include IDE/ATA-2 DISK support
>>> --- * PCI IDE chipset support
>>> ---- * Generic PCI IDE Support
>>> ----- * VIA82CXXX chipset support
>>> - File systems
>>> -- * Ext3 journalling file system support
>>> --- * Ext3 extended attributes
>>> ---- * Ext3 POSIX Access Control Lists
>>> ---- * Ext3 Security Labels
>>>
>>> Have I forgot anything ?
>>
>> RAID or LVM? Try initrd.
>>
>> regards,
> 
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
> 
> 

Re: kernel panic - not syncing: VFS - unable to mount root fs on unknown-block

[Jiri Slaby]

Hulin Thibaud wrote:
> In progress ! I built-in LVM driver and compile the kernel with the 
> -initrd option. I have not more the kernel panic message, but I have a 
> lot of errors than this :
> 
> I/O error ; hda: cannot handle device with more than 16 heads - giving up

Try to kick off
Use old disk-only driver on primary interface
at
-> Device Drivers 

   -> ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support 

     -> ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support (IDE [=y]) 

       -> Enhanced IDE/MFM/RLL disk/cdrom/tape/floppy support (BLK_DEV_IDE [=y]) 


regards,
-- 
http://www.fi.muni.cz/~xslaby/            Jiri Slaby
faculty of informatics, masaryk university, brno, cz
e-mail: jirislaby gmail com, gpg pubkey fingerprint:
B674 9967 0407 CE62 ACC8  22A0 32CC 55C3 39D4 7A7E