How to handle "problems checking root device"?

[Bart Warmerdam <bartw@xs4all.nl>]

  Hi all,

  Can anyone help me on an installation problem on a 164SX?

  I downloaded the resc and root disks from the Debian site. As stated earlier
  (noticed problems with setup Falk) I downloaded the sx164 kernel from RH5.0
  and replaced the resc kernel with that one.
  
  Steps 1-3 go as described, but in step 4 of the README, my setup stops. This
  means:
  * Boot OK
  * Root OK
  * Then the installation should start, but instead, I get a dialog "Problem"
    with the following msg:

    "I had trouble checking the choice of root device. I don't know what to
    use as the root fs"

  entered at the milo prompt:
  boot fd0:linux root=/dev/fd0 rw ramdisk_size=5120 load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=1

  The root floppy (in the drive when the check is being done) is indead a
  non-readable format (no MSDOS, ext2 or minix). Doesn't the root device be
  something like /dev/ram or /dev/hda or /dev/sda

  My drive is not yet partitioned. So there is no filesystem on there.
  On other virtual terminals the system is "useable", but I like to install
  packages of course :)

  Can anyone give me a pointer where to start?

  Thanks!

  Bart

--
B. Warmerdam                                              GNU/Debian Linux
bartw@xs4all.nl, bartw@debian.org (Keyid: 10A0FDD1)       ----------------