Bill Swingle wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 06, 2000 at 08:14:24PM -0600, phil@ipal.net wrote:
> > The CD has this file as /boot/silo.conf in the last version of the ISO
> > I got:
> >
> > partition=1
> > default=linux
> > read-write
> > message=/boot/message
> > root=/dev/ram
> >
> > image[sun4u]=/boot/vmlinux.sun4u
> > label=linux
> > append="ramdisk_size=5120k"
> > initrd=/boot/color.gz
> >
> > image[sun4c,sun4d,sun4m]=/boot/vmlinux.sun4cdm
> > label=linux
> > append="ramdisk_size=5120k"
> > initrd=/boot/color.gz
> >
> > This points to where the kernel is for the CD. It may be /.boot in the
> > case of an earlier ISO.
>
> The CD is not the issue. The CD works (mostly) fine.
>
> The things I'm trying to work out are:
>
> 1) Why can't I boot off the new kernel I built
That's to be diagnosed. Some combination of analyzing any error messages,
plus trying alternatives during compile, could lead to answers.
> 2) Where the heck is the kernel I'm booting off now?
On the CD itself at /boot/vmlinux.sun4u or /boot/vmlinux.sun4cdm depending
on your architecture type.
> 3) Why won't silo read my /etc/silo.conf (which didn't previously exist
> at all)
I don't know the answer to that, yet. For good measure, put a copy of it
in the /boot directory, too, just to be sure.
> 4) How can I convince my system to boot /vmlinux instead of the mystery
> kernel?
At the silo boot, instead of the labeled system (e.g. "linux") type in the
full kernel path. Boot from HD (not CD) and when you get the silo boot
prompt, try typing:
/vmlinux root=/dev/hda1
> > What you need to do is boot the harddrive based system with the CD kernel
> > to get back in and try fixing things.
>
> I can get into the system just (mostly) fine.
That means you won't have to start all over and install again.
> > Very possibly, the installed kernel
> > was at /vmlinuz so your recompile may have replaced it.
>
> I'm 100% positive there was no kernel in / before or after I compiled my
> new kernel. The new kernel was copied to / by hand.
It might be in /boot or /.boot ... look there and see what's there.
> > But by booting
> > from the CD kernel, you are back up and working to the extent that kernel
> > lets you do so. The CD won't be mounted so you could eject it once the
> > kernel is loaded. Or you can mount it and reinstall packages, or copy
> > files.
> >
> > To fix things, you'd need to check the silo config and the compilation to
> > see what might be wrong.
>
> The silo.conf is fine. Hitting <TAB> at the SILO prompt reveals that it
> has only one option and has not read any of the other options that are
> in the new silo.conf.
SILO is smarter than LILO, and can find and read files from ext2 format
without the kernel being present. Offhand I don't remember how it lets
you specify which device.
> > You might also try to manually load the network
> > driver module you need to temporarily get networking working so you can
> > transfer files in and out, such as getting a compile log and a copy of
> > your silo.conf for us.
>
> After the install I ended up without a /lib/modules directory making it
> impossible to config the ethernet interface. I now have modules that I
> compiled from the src in /usr/src/linux but of course they're from newer
> source than the mystery kernel, which is the only one I can boot.
If you compiled every driver directly into your new kernel, it won't need
any modules. The the issue will be making sure we get it loaded instead of
whatever kernel SILO thinks it should load.
When you "rescue boot" using the kernel from the CD, that lets you in enough
to see what /etc/silo.conf and/or /boot/silo.conf has in it, and to look
around for some other kernel that might be getting loaded.
-- | Phil Howard - KA9WGN | My current websites: linuxhomepage.com, ham.org | phil (at) ipal.net +---------------------------------------------------- | Dallas - Texas - USA | phil-evaluates-email-ads-750-dollars-each@ipal.net
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