custom initrd kernel

["Carlo U. Segre" <segre@iit.edu>]

Hello All:

I have been having a problem successfully compiling and booting
custom initrd kernels.  The reason I need to make a custom kernel at all
is that I have a keyspan 49W USB to serial converter and the stock Debian
2.4.16 kernel does not include the firmware for licensing reasons (but the
module is compiled anyway?).  My understanding is that I need to have the
firmware loaded in order to make this device function (it certainly does
not seem to work without the firmware!) so I have no choice but to compile
a custom kernel from the kernel.org source.

I have compiled many custom kernels in non-initrd mode but since things
are moving toward initrd in 2.4.x, I wanted to be able to make a kernel
which boots in this way.  I used make-kpkg with the --initrd option and
when the kernel-image package is installed it makes an
initrd.img-2.4.16-... file as the stock kernel-image packages do.
LILO is properly set up and points to the new initrd.img link but when I
reboot, there is a kernel panic when the root cannot be mounted.  The
curious thing is that it is trying to load the "real" root directory (i.e.
the hard disk partition) not the ramdisk image.

I am sure that there is some really simple thing that I am not doing
right, any suggestions?

Cheers,

Carlo

-- 
Carlo U. Segre -- Professor of Physics
Illinois Institute of Technology
Voice: 312.567.3498            Fax: 312.567.3494
Carlo.Segre@iit.edu    http://www.iit.edu/~segre