Re: How to boot w/o initrd?
'ello,
On Tue, 2004-08-31 at 20:07, Jens Schmalzing wrote:
> Make sure you are actually using the initrd. Check your yaboot.conf
> file, run ybin to install it where yaboot can find it, check again to
> see whether it's what you expect.
It was the yaboot.conf file -- I still had the initrd line commented
out. When I un-commented it, the Debian kernel booted fine (as it needs
an initrd).
I've just compiled my own kernel _without_ initrd support and I am still
getting this same problem of it not being able to find the IDE device.
OK, I thought, something it needs must be compiled as a module, which
the kernel can't find if it doesn't have an initrd. This isn't a
problem; I can re-configure and recompile and sort it out. The problem
is that, again, I can't boot the machine.
I have tried to boot the old Debian kernel from yaboot:
/boot/vmlinux.old initrd=/boot/initrd.old
but whatever I do (and I've tried /boot/vmlinux-2.6.8-powerpc,
/boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-powerpc -- which is what the ls command in d-i
tells me is there) it still doesn't work -- it can't seem to find the
initrd.
To me it looks like yaboot is not loading the initrd / the kernel is not
receiving the initrd parameter for some reason. Am I using the wrong
syntax for it?
I also tried this at the yaboot prompt:
hd:2,/boot/vmlinux-2.6.8-powerpc root=/dev/discs/disc0/part2
initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-powerpc
which is what the Debian kernel would have wanted because it uses DevFS
(so does mine ATM, too, I have only changed the initrd option).
It seems to me that I should be able to boot the system from yaboot and
not need to keep booting from the d-i CD to rescue the system by editing
yaboot.conf and re-running ybin.
It takes me a _very_ long time to get into d-i, mount the disc and so on
because I have to use my magnifier to read all the text due to it being
so small :-).
I feel I must have got something wrong at the yaboot prompt because I
don't see how it could have a problem with me specifying things manually
-- but whatever I try I can't make it see that initrd image from the
Debian kernel.
> There are larger console fonts, such as Sparc 12x22.
Thanks, yes, I was hoping to try them at some point. I don't suppose
you know the kernel option to disable the fb device, do you? Then at
least I might be able to read more of what the Debian kernels have to
say and the console :-).
bye just now,
--
Matthew T. Atkinson <matthew@agrip.org.uk>
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