Re: How to boot w/o initrd?

["Matthew T. Atkinson" <matthew@agrip.org.uk>]

'ello,

I just chrooted into my hard disk from d-i (because it panics on boot
ATM) and installed kernel-image-2.6.8 as I really need to get this box
set up.  Unfortunately it still panics when it starts up (now on
kernel-image-2.6.8-3 direct from Debian).

It surprises me that it is doing this as we are now talking about the
Debian package (not my custom-compiled kernel that didn't even start
properly :-)).  I am getting the same error of it not being able to load
the IDE drivers and thus not knowing how to talk to the hard disk to
boot init from it.

/boot is on the main hard disk, which was successfully mounted in d-i,
so I don't think it is a case of wrong kernel image file.

I've been looking around for .configs for the PowerBook5,4 again but
haven't found any -- hence I thought I would start again with the Debian
config for 2.6.8 and make small alterations each time before testing it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am getting closer and
closer to doing the Windows-style solution of formatting and starting
again.  This would waste a great deal of time, though, and I know the
solution must be simpler/more elegant than that (also I want to learn
something, but time isn't on my side ATM).  I just don't have the
experience with PPC to know what I am doing wrong...

Just so you know exactly why I'm doing this: I want to get the Debian
kernel-image package working again and then recompile the kernel w/o
initrd.  Gradually I want to prune out all the stuff I don't need and
disable the fb because I can't read the tiny console text (have to ssh
in to the box to do anything with it ATM).  After this, I hope to get
sound, CPUfreq, battery status and keyboard lighting to work.

bye just now,


-- 
Matthew T. Atkinson <matthew@agrip.org.uk>