Readonly filesystem on boot

[Johann Spies <jspies@sun.ac.za>]

My home network server has started to give this problem some weeks ago:

When it boot, the root filesystem is mounted readonly.  

I have to go back to runlevel 1, remount the filesystem with 

mount -o remount, rw /

and repair the network:

first 'ifconfig lo up'  (it does not show up after normal network startup and I
have a static network setup with pppoe -> eth1 and eth0 -> home
network).

Even after a normal network startup ,the lo-device does not show up when
I do a 'ifconfig'  

Then I restart the network and go back to level 5.

I have checked the filesystem of the root partition and there is no
problem. I even went as far as to rsync the whole partition to another
disk and then did a mkfs.ext4 on it, reinstalled grub and corrected the
uuid in /etc/fstab after I put the data back.

All that did not make any difference.  There is a bios bug that causes
Linux not to see all 4G ram and the kernel is complaining about that
during the startup.  I even removed the errors=remount-ro in /etc/fstab
to see whether that makes any difference, but it still boot up with the
root filesystem mounted as readonly.

I have tried the debian 2.6.32 and 3.2.2 kernels.  Both reacts in the
same way.

Any idea on what is causing this?

Regards
Johann


-- 
Johann Spies                            Telefoon: 021-808 4699
Databestuurder /  Data manager

Sentrum vir Navorsing oor Evaluasie, Wetenskap en Tegnologie
Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology 
Universiteit Stellenbosch.

     "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence 
      cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which 
      made heaven and earth."                      
                           Psalms 121:1,2