Very Computer

Hi, my friends linux machine just gave up on us! He's using lilo to boot
the kernel, and it get's to VFS mounting root (ext2 filesystem)
and stops... nothing else at all! We tried using boot disks to boot
it, and then the linux setup disks and re install lilo, and then
reinstall a new kernel image - nothing!

I booted a linux system off my Zip drive on his machine, and mounted his
linux partition - checked it, nothing wrong.... We could not solve the
problem, and ended up backing up his HDD and reinstalling - not the
best solution, but it worked.

I seem to recall having a similar problem when I moved my linux
system onto another partition of the HDD, but somehow I managed to
get it working again.

Jon had not done anything with the partitions of the HDD's before this
problem occurred.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has suffered from this problem,
and if they have a solution to it (just in case it happens again).

Cheers,

Mark.

Quote:

>Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has suffered from this problem,
>and if they have a solution to it (just in case it happens again).

I hope this is kernel/software dependent (vs. a hardware problem). I am
going to upgrade from 1.2.13 to 2.0.13 in an attempt at avoiding a
repeat performance.

Vincent Gogan

: >Hi, my friends linux machine just gave up on us! He's using lilo to boot
: >the kernel, and it get's to VFS mounting root (ext2 filesystem)
: >and stops... nothing else at all! We tried using boot disks to boot
: >it, and then the linux setup disks and re install lilo, and then
: >reinstall a new kernel image - nothing!

: Yup, I had the same problem and I have also noticed similar complaints
: in this newsgroup. I tried everything I could think of but still had
: to reformat the partition and reinstall Linux. It is a strange problem
: since the kernel appears to hang between mounting the root filesystem
: (which passes e2fsck) and starting "init". Looking at the source didn't
: give any clues so I could only guess that the partition was left in a
: weird state that prevented "init" from being started. Very strange.

It sounds like it may have been /dev/console that got screwed up. (I
haven't seen it myself but I've heard of it happening.  I think if
you issue a shutdown from somewhere other than the console {ie a
telnet session or an xterm} then init assumes that's the console
now.  The point as which it freezes on boot is when the syslogd kicks
in and tried to print stuff to a now-nonexistant tty.)

Try booting from floppy and remaking /dev/console with the correct
device description:

crw--w--w-   1 root     root       4,   0 Sep  1 00:01 /dev/console

        Geoff
--
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can't identify with that kind of work ethic. http://kipper.york.ac.uk/~geoff

Quote:>    Geoff

Vincent

: It sounds like it may have been /dev/console that got screwed up. (I

: Try booting from floppy and remaking /dev/console with the correct
: device description:

: crw--w--w-   1 root     root       4,   0 Sep  1 00:01 /dev/console

Great! It works!

I had the same problem and was wanderring around trying everything
I could without success, when I read this message and try it.
The minor number of /dev/console was set to 198 or something like
that.
I remember, I was under X-Window when I shut it down!

To fix it I booted with the boot/root diskettes and mounted the
hard drive and I  made up a new mknod with 4 and 0 for the console.

Thanks a lot.
--
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go to /dev and MAKEDEV console. You don't need to reinstall linux etc.
that's like taking a wrecking ball to crack a nut.

It worked for me. (It's happened twice to me. A bit of a pain till I figured
it out.)

--
Linux; 64bit, multi-platform, multi-tasking, multi-user and Free.
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There once was a girl named Irene
Who lived on distilled kerosene
        But she started absorbin'
        A new hydrocarbon
And since then has never benzene.
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Linux mellifluous 2.0.0 #5 Fri Aug 16 14:40:51 BST 1996 i486
  9:01am  up 19 days, 15:46,  2 users,  load average: 0.02, 0.01, 0.00
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My opinions are mine and not necessarily anyone else's.