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#1 2011-12-09 22:58:27

danielfeng
Member
Registered: 2011-11-14
Posts: 8

Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

I know many people had this problem already and "me too" posts are not welcome. However I'd like to provide more details to help (probably) trouble shooting.

The problem only happens after upgrading to latest 3.1.4 x86_64 kernel. I've tested both on existing system & fresh installation.

The "fresh installation" means the latest Arch Installation CD.

Results:

i686 upgrade on KVM: pass
i686 upgrade on XenServer: pass
i686 upgrade on VirtualBox: pass
i686 fresh installing on KVM: pass
i686 fresh installing on XenServer: pass
i686 fresh installing on VirtualBox: pass

x86_64 upgrade on KVM: no data
x86_64 upgrade on XenServer: fail
x86_64 upgrade on VirtualBox: pass
x86_64 fresh installing on KVM: no data
x86_64 fresh installing on XenServer: fail
x86_64 fresh installing on VirtualBox: pass

Looks like it's indeed due to mkinitcpio BUT I've tried everything without luck. On XenServer I just couldn't make x86_64 work with 3.1.4.

1. 3.1.4 kernel w/ mkinitcpio 0.7.2 (rebuilding@current system, rebuilding@chroot) --- fail
2. 3.1.4 kernel w/ mkinitcpip 0.8.0-3 (rebuilding@current system, rebuilding@chroot) --- fail
3. 3.1.4 kernel + adding "quiet" to grub -- fail
4. 3.1.4 kernel + syslinux (doesn't make sense though) -- fail
5. 3.0.3 (stock in CD) kernel --- pass

I don't know what is wrong but hopefully other XenServer users can test x86_64 w/ 3.1.4?

Off-topic: i686 is actually better for VPS. However i686 doesn't support Xen PV and will not be supported according to Arch team, I had to switch to x86_64. It is really a dilemma when x86_64 doesn't work as well.

Update:

kernel26-lts (2.6.32.49-1) works well w/ mkinitcpip 0.8.0-3 (no Xen support though).

Last edited by danielfeng (2011-12-10 17:03:40)

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#2 2011-12-09 23:00:41

danielfeng
Member
Registered: 2011-11-14
Posts: 8

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

BTW it's not due to out-dated mirrorlist or something.

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#3 2011-12-10 00:03:13

brain0
Developer
From: Aachen - Germany
Registered: 2005-01-03
Posts: 1,382

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Which driver does the XenServer use for hard drive access? Also, attach the output of 'lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img'.

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#4 2011-12-10 02:31:34

danielfeng
Member
Registered: 2011-11-14
Posts: 8

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

brain0 wrote:

Which driver does the XenServer use for hard drive access? Also, attach the output of 'lsinitcpio -a /boot/initramfs-linux.img'.

I don't know much about XenServer. I was always using i686 on VPS (OVZ/KVM/Xen, usually 128MB~1024MB RAM) and just started testing x86_64 recently.

The outputs (3.1.4 fallback didn't work as well):

**************************************************************

==> Image: /boot/initramfs-linux-3.0.img
==> Kernel: 3.0-ARCH
==> Compressed with: gzip
  -> Compression ratio: .567
  -> Estimated decompression time: 0.032s

==> Included modules:
  ata_piix			  hid-roccat-koneplus
  cdrom				  hid-roccat-kovaplus
  crc16				  hid-roccat-pyra
  ext4				  hid-samsung
  fb_sys_fops			  hid-sjoy
  ff-memless			  hid-sony
  hid				  hid-sunplus
  hid-a4tech			  hid-tmff
  hid-apple			  hid-topseed
  hid-axff			  hid-twinhan
  hid-belkin			  hid-uclogic
  hid-cherry			  hid-wacom
  hid-chicony			  hid-waltop
  hid-cypress			  hid-zpff
  hid-dr			  hid-zydacron
  hid-elecom			  jbd2
  hid-emsff			  lcd
  hid-ezkey			  libata
  hid-gaff			  mbcache
  hid-gyration			  pata_acpi
  hid-kensington		  scsi_mod
  hid-keytouch			  sd_mod
  hid-kye			  snd
  hid-lcpower			  snd-rawmidi
  hid-logitech			  snd-seq-device
  hid-magicmouse		  soundcore
  hid-microsoft			  sr_mod
  hid-monterey			  syscopyarea
  hid-multitouch		  sysfillrect
  hid-ntrig			  sysimgblt
  hid-ortek			  uhci-hcd
  hid-petalynx			  usbcore
  hid-picolcd			  usbhid
  hid-pl			  xen-blkfront [explicit]
  hid-prodikeys			  xenbus_probe_frontend
  hid-quanta			  xen-fbfront [explicit]
  hid-roccat			  xenfs [explicit]
  hid-roccat-arvo		  xen-kbdfront [explicit]
  hid-roccat-common		  xen-netfront [explicit]
  hid-roccat-kone

==> Included binaries:
  /sbin/udevadm
  /sbin/udevd
  /sbin/blkid
  /sbin/modprobe
  /bin/busybox

==> Hook run order:
  udev

**************************************************************

==> Image: /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Kernel: 3.1.4-1-ARCH
==> Compressed with: gzip
  -> Compression ratio: .566
  -> Estimated decompression time: 0.070s

==> Included modules:
  ata_piix			  hid-roccat-koneplus
  cdrom				  hid-roccat-kovaplus
  crc16				  hid-roccat-pyra
  ext4				  hid-samsung
  fb_sys_fops			  hid-sjoy
  ff-memless			  hid-sony
  hid				  hid-speedlink
  hid-a4tech			  hid-sunplus
  hid-apple			  hid-tmff
  hid-axff			  hid-topseed
  hid-belkin			  hid-twinhan
  hid-cherry			  hid-uclogic
  hid-chicony			  hid-wacom
  hid-cypress			  hid-waltop
  hid-dr			  hid-wiimote
  hid-elecom			  hid-zpff
  hid-emsff			  hid-zydacron
  hid-ezkey			  jbd2
  hid-gaff			  lcd
  hid-gyration			  libata
  hid-holtekff			  mbcache
  hid-kensington		  pata_acpi
  hid-keytouch			  scsi_mod
  hid-kye			  sd_mod
  hid-lcpower			  snd
  hid-logitech			  snd-rawmidi
  hid-magicmouse		  snd-seq-device
  hid-microsoft			  soundcore
  hid-monterey			  sr_mod
  hid-multitouch		  syscopyarea
  hid-ntrig			  sysfillrect
  hid-ortek			  sysimgblt
  hid-petalynx			  uhci-hcd
  hid-picolcd			  usbcore
  hid-pl			  usbhid
  hid-prodikeys			  xen-blkfront [explicit]
  hid-quanta			  xenbus_probe_frontend
  hid-roccat			  xen-fbfront [explicit]
  hid-roccat-arvo		  xenfs [explicit]
  hid-roccat-common		  xen-kbdfront [explicit]
  hid-roccat-kone		  xen-netfront [explicit]

==> Included binaries:
  /sbin/udevadm
  /sbin/switch_root
  /sbin/blkid
  /sbin/modprobe
  /bin/mount
  /bin/busybox

==> Hook run order:
  udev

**************************************************************

==> Image: /boot/initramfs-linux-3.0-fallback.img
==> Kernel: 3.0-ARCH
==> Compressed with: gzip
  -> Compression ratio: .804
  -> Estimated decompression time: 0.224s

==> Included modules:
  3w-9xxx			  megaraid_mm
  3w-sas			  megaraid_sas
  3w-xxxx			  mpt2sas
  9p				  mptbase
  9pnet				  mptctl
  a100u2w			  mptfc
  aacraid			  mptsas
  advansys			  mptscsih
  affs				  mptspi
  af-rxrpc			  msdos
  aha152x_cs			  mtd
  ahci				  mvsas
  ahci_platform			  ncpfs
  aic79xx			  nfs
  aic7xxx			  nfs_acl
  aic94xx			  nfsd
  arcmsr			  nilfs2
  ata_generic			  nls_cp437
  ata_piix			  ntfs
  atp870u			  ocfs2
  auth_rpcgss			  ocfs2_dlm
  autofs4			  ocfs2_dlmfs
  be2iscsi			  ocfs2_nodemanager
  befs				  ocfs2_stackglue
  bfa				  ocfs2_stack_o2cb
  bnx2fc			  ocfs2_stack_user
  bnx2i				  ohci-hcd
  btrfs				  omfs
  BusLogic			  osd
  cachefiles			  osst
  cciss				  oxu210hp-hcd
  cdrom				  parport
  ceph				  pata_acpi
  ch				  pata_ali
  cifs				  pata_amd
  cnic				  pata_arasan_cf
  coda				  pata_artop
  configfs			  pata_atiixp
  cpqarray			  pata_atp867x
  cramfs			  pata_cmd640
  crc16				  pata_cmd64x
  crc32c			  pata_cs5520
  crc32c-intel			  pata_cs5530
  crc-itu-t			  pata_cs5536
  cuse				  pata_cypress
  cxgb3				  pata_efar
  cxgb3i			  pata_hpt366
  cxgb4				  pata_hpt37x
  cxgb4i			  pata_hpt3x2n
  DAC960			  pata_hpt3x3
  dc395x			  pata_it8213
  dlm				  pata_it821x
  dmx3191d			  pata_jmicron
  dpt_i2o			  pata_legacy
  eata				  pata_marvell
  ecryptfs			  pata_mpiix
  ehci-hcd			  pata_netcell
  enclosure			  pata_ninja32
  exofs				  pata_ns87410
  exportfs			  pata_ns87415
  ext2				  pata_oldpiix
  ext3				  pata_opti
  ext4				  pata_optidma
  fat				  pata_pcmcia
  fb_sys_fops			  pata_pdc2027x
  fcoe				  pata_pdc202xx_old
  fdomain			  pata_piccolo
  fdomain_cs			  pata_radisys
  ff-memless			  pata_rdc
  fnic				  pata_rz1000
  fscache			  pata_sc1200
  ftdi-elan			  pata_sch
  fuse				  pata_serverworks
  gdth				  pata_sil680
  gfs2				  pata_sis
  hfs				  pata_sl82c105
  hfsplus			  pata_triflex
  hid				  pata_via
  hid-a4tech			  pcmcia
  hid-apple			  pcmcia_core
  hid-axff			  pdc_adma
  hid-belkin			  pm8001
  hid-cherry			  pmcraid
  hid-chicony			  ppa
  hid-cypress			  qla1280
  hid-dr			  qla2xxx
  hid-elecom			  qla4xxx
  hid-emsff			  qlogic_cs
  hid-ezkey			  qlogicfas408
  hid-gaff			  quota_tree
  hid-gyration			  quota_v1
  hid-kensington		  quota_v2
  hid-keytouch			  r8a66597-hcd
  hid-kye			  raid_class
  hid-lcpower			  reiserfs
  hid-logitech			  sata_inic162x
  hid-magicmouse		  sata_mv
  hid-microsoft			  sata_nv
  hid-monterey			  sata_promise
  hid-multitouch		  sata_qstor
  hid-ntrig			  sata_sil
  hid-ortek			  sata_sil24
  hid-petalynx			  sata_sis
  hid-picolcd			  sata_svw
  hid-pl			  sata_sx4
  hid-prodikeys			  sata_uli
  hid-quanta			  sata_via
  hid-roccat			  sata_vsc
  hid-roccat-arvo		  scsi_dh
  hid-roccat-common		  scsi_dh_alua
  hid-roccat-kone		  scsi_dh_emc
  hid-roccat-koneplus		  scsi_dh_hp_sw
  hid-roccat-kovaplus		  scsi_dh_rdac
  hid-roccat-pyra		  scsi_mod
  hid-samsung			  scsi_tgt
  hid-sjoy			  scsi_transport_fc
  hid-sony			  scsi_transport_iscsi
  hid-sunplus			  scsi_transport_sas
  hid-tmff			  scsi_transport_spi
  hid-topseed			  scsi_transport_srp
  hid-twinhan			  scsi_wait_scan
  hid-uclogic			  sd_mod
  hid-wacom			  ses
  hid-waltop			  sg
  hid-zpff			  snd
  hid-zydacron			  snd-rawmidi
  hpsa				  snd-seq-device
  hptiop			  soundcore
  hwa-hc			  squashfs
  initio			  sr_mod
  ipr				  st
  ips				  stex
  ipv6				  sunrpc
  isci				  sx8
  iscsi_boot_sysfs		  sym53c500_cs
  iscsi_tcp			  sym53c8xx
  isofs				  syscopyarea
  isp1362-hcd			  sysfillrect
  isp1760			  sysimgblt
  jbd				  tmscsim
  jbd2				  u132-hcd
  jffs2				  udf
  jfs				  ufs
  kafs				  uhci-hcd
  lcd				  uio
  libahci			  umc
  libata			  usbcore
  libceph			  usbhid
  libcrc32c			  uwb
  libcxgbi			  vfat
  libfc				  vmw_pvscsi
  libfcoe			  whci
  libiscsi			  whci-hcd
  libiscsi_tcp			  wusbcore
  libosd			  wusb-wa
  libsas			  xen-blkfront [explicit]
  libsrp			  xenbus_probe_frontend
  lockd				  xen-fbfront [explicit]
  logfs				  xenfs [explicit]
  lpfc				  xen-kbdfront [explicit]
  mbcache			  xen-netfront [explicit]
  mdio				  xfs
  megaraid			  xhci-hcd
  megaraid_mbox			  zlib_deflate

==> Included binaries:
  /sbin/udevadm
  /sbin/udevd
  /sbin/blkid
  /sbin/modprobe
  /bin/busybox

==> Hook run order:
  udev

**************************************************************

==> Image: /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
==> Kernel: 3.1.4-1-ARCH
==> Compressed with: gzip
  -> Compression ratio: .806
  -> Estimated decompression time: 0.190s

==> Included modules:
  3w-9xxx			  megaraid_sas
  3w-sas			  mpt2sas
  3w-xxxx			  mptbase
  9p				  mptctl
  9pnet				  mptfc
  a100u2w			  mptsas
  aacraid			  mptscsih
  advansys			  mptspi
  affs				  msdos
  af-rxrpc			  mtd
  aha152x_cs			  mvsas
  ahci				  ncpfs
  ahci_platform			  nfs
  aic79xx			  nfs_acl
  aic7xxx			  nfsd
  aic94xx			  nilfs2
  arcmsr			  nls_cp437
  ata_generic			  ntfs
  ata_piix			  ocfs2
  atp870u			  ocfs2_dlm
  auth_rpcgss			  ocfs2_dlmfs
  autofs4			  ocfs2_nodemanager
  be2iscsi			  ocfs2_stackglue
  befs				  ocfs2_stack_o2cb
  bfa				  ocfs2_stack_user
  bnx2fc			  ohci-hcd
  bnx2i				  omfs
  btrfs				  ore
  BusLogic			  osd
  cachefiles			  osst
  cciss				  oxu210hp-hcd
  cdrom				  parport
  ceph				  pata_acpi
  ch				  pata_ali
  cifs				  pata_amd
  cnic				  pata_arasan_cf
  coda				  pata_artop
  configfs			  pata_atiixp
  cpqarray			  pata_atp867x
  cramfs			  pata_cmd640
  crc16				  pata_cmd64x
  crc32c			  pata_cs5520
  crc32c-intel			  pata_cs5530
  crc-itu-t			  pata_cs5536
  cuse				  pata_cypress
  cxgb3				  pata_efar
  cxgb3i			  pata_hpt366
  cxgb4				  pata_hpt37x
  cxgb4i			  pata_hpt3x2n
  DAC960			  pata_hpt3x3
  dc395x			  pata_it8213
  dlm				  pata_it821x
  dmx3191d			  pata_jmicron
  dpt_i2o			  pata_legacy
  eata				  pata_marvell
  ecryptfs			  pata_mpiix
  ecryptfs_format		  pata_netcell
  ehci-hcd			  pata_ninja32
  enclosure			  pata_ns87410
  encrypted			  pata_ns87415
  exofs				  pata_oldpiix
  exportfs			  pata_opti
  ext2				  pata_optidma
  ext3				  pata_pcmcia
  ext4				  pata_pdc2027x
  fat				  pata_pdc202xx_old
  fb_sys_fops			  pata_piccolo
  fcoe				  pata_radisys
  fdomain			  pata_rdc
  fdomain_cs			  pata_rz1000
  ff-memless			  pata_sc1200
  fnic				  pata_sch
  fscache			  pata_serverworks
  ftdi-elan			  pata_sil680
  fuse				  pata_sis
  gdth				  pata_sl82c105
  gfs2				  pata_triflex
  hfs				  pata_via
  hfsplus			  pcmcia
  hid				  pcmcia_core
  hid-a4tech			  pdc_adma
  hid-apple			  pm8001
  hid-axff			  pmcraid
  hid-belkin			  ppa
  hid-cherry			  qla1280
  hid-chicony			  qla2xxx
  hid-cypress			  qla4xxx
  hid-dr			  qlogic_cs
  hid-elecom			  qlogicfas408
  hid-emsff			  quota_tree
  hid-ezkey			  quota_v1
  hid-gaff			  quota_v2
  hid-gyration			  r8a66597-hcd
  hid-holtekff			  raid_class
  hid-kensington		  reiserfs
  hid-keytouch			  sata_inic162x
  hid-kye			  sata_mv
  hid-lcpower			  sata_nv
  hid-logitech			  sata_promise
  hid-magicmouse		  sata_qstor
  hid-microsoft			  sata_sil
  hid-monterey			  sata_sil24
  hid-multitouch		  sata_sis
  hid-ntrig			  sata_svw
  hid-ortek			  sata_sx4
  hid-petalynx			  sata_uli
  hid-picolcd			  sata_via
  hid-pl			  sata_vsc
  hid-prodikeys			  scsi_dh
  hid-quanta			  scsi_dh_alua
  hid-roccat			  scsi_dh_emc
  hid-roccat-arvo		  scsi_dh_hp_sw
  hid-roccat-common		  scsi_dh_rdac
  hid-roccat-kone		  scsi_mod
  hid-roccat-koneplus		  scsi_tgt
  hid-roccat-kovaplus		  scsi_transport_fc
  hid-roccat-pyra		  scsi_transport_iscsi
  hid-samsung			  scsi_transport_sas
  hid-sjoy			  scsi_transport_spi
  hid-sony			  scsi_transport_srp
  hid-speedlink			  scsi_wait_scan
  hid-sunplus			  sd_mod
  hid-tmff			  ses
  hid-topseed			  sg
  hid-twinhan			  snd
  hid-uclogic			  snd-rawmidi
  hid-wacom			  snd-seq-device
  hid-waltop			  soundcore
  hid-wiimote			  squashfs
  hid-zpff			  sr_mod
  hid-zydacron			  st
  hpsa				  stex
  hptiop			  sunrpc
  hwa-hc			  sx8
  initio			  sym53c500_cs
  ipr				  sym53c8xx
  ips				  syscopyarea
  ipv6				  sysfillrect
  isci				  sysimgblt
  iscsi_boot_sysfs		  tmscsim
  iscsi_tcp			  tpm
  isofs				  tpm_bios
  isp1362-hcd			  trusted
  isp1760			  u132-hcd
  jbd				  ubi
  jbd2				  ubifs
  jffs2				  udf
  jfs				  ufs
  kafs				  uhci-hcd
  lcd				  uio
  libahci			  umc
  libata			  usbcore
  libceph			  usbhid
  libcrc32c			  uwb
  libcxgbi			  vfat
  libfc				  vmw_pvscsi
  libfcoe			  whci
  libiscsi			  whci-hcd
  libiscsi_tcp			  wusbcore
  libosd			  wusb-wa
  libsas			  xen-blkfront [explicit]
  libsrp			  xenbus_probe_frontend
  lockd				  xen-fbfront [explicit]
  logfs				  xenfs [explicit]
  lpfc				  xen-kbdfront [explicit]
  mbcache			  xen-netfront [explicit]
  mdio				  xfs
  megaraid			  xhci-hcd
  megaraid_mbox			  zlib_deflate
  megaraid_mm

==> Included binaries:
  /sbin/udevadm
  /sbin/switch_root
  /sbin/blkid
  /sbin/modprobe
  /bin/mount
  /bin/busybox

==> Hook run order:
  udev

Last edited by ewaller (2011-12-10 04:22:00)

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#5 2011-12-10 04:17:29

ewaller
Administrator
From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Moderator comment:
danielfeng,

Please use BBCode code tags when you post program output or file contents.  Especially long ones.
I am going to take the liberty of adding them to your post.  Hit the edit link on your post to see how it is done.

Thanks,
ewaller


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#6 2011-12-15 19:51:45

danielfeng
Member
Registered: 2011-11-14
Posts: 8

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Update:

There might be some weird compatible issues between linux-3.1.x and mkinitcpio 0.8.0-3 on XenServer. The initramfs generated could be incorrect.
But mkinitcpio 0.8.0-3 works well with kernel26-lts. It generates correct initramfs.
The stock kernel26-lts x86_64 does come with Xen guest support (domU), and I believe the i686 domU support could be enabled by compiling a custom kernel.
However, custom linux-3.1.x couldn't boot, no matter it's i686 or x86_64. I've tested almost a week on tons of VMs.

So for now I will just use custom i686 kernel26-lts w/ domU support enabled on my i686 Arch VMs on XenServer.
One thing I've noticed was that when booting from kernel26-lts, log messages of daemons will show up. linux-3.x is cleaner. But it's not a problem.

I don't see any problem on VirtualBox, so I suspect that this issue only applies to XenServer (I'm using the latest XenServer 6.0). Not sure if it also applies to regular Linux distro + Xen installation.

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#7 2011-12-17 06:48:03

danielfeng
Member
Registered: 2011-11-14
Posts: 8

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Okay I've made i686 kernels w/ Xen guest support enabled (just like stock x86_64). Both are based on stock i686 kernels (meaning almost 100% the same except Xen guest support). Tested on XenServer 6.0.

linux-xen:
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=51622

kernel26-lts-xen:
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=55041

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#8 2011-12-31 16:55:47

Painless
Member
Registered: 2006-02-06
Posts: 233

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

I've just tried x86_64 linux 3.1.5 on a Xen VPS, this failed.  I tried this kernel version with mkinitcpio versions 8.0.3 and 0.7.5, both failed.  Downgrading to linux 3.0.7 (using mkinitcpio 0.7.5) works for me.

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#9 2012-01-04 23:56:53

guitarxperience
Member
Registered: 2011-10-26
Posts: 29

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Hi I just came back to my arch linux build after a vacation to windows and found that my upgrade caused this error.  Im getting rusty on my linux chops but would greatly appreciate if someone could post the steps it takes to solve this issue.  I just dont have hours on end to spend hacking away at this point in time and I need to get into my system to do some work.  Thank you.

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#10 2012-01-05 02:30:42

ewaller
Administrator
From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

guitarxperience wrote:

...would greatly appreciate if someone could post the steps it takes to solve this issue.

Good luck with that.

...I just dont have hours on end to spend hacking away at this point in time and I need to get into my system to do some work. ...

You might read this


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#11 2012-01-05 13:33:23

guitarxperience
Member
Registered: 2011-10-26
Posts: 29

Re: Unable to determine major/minor number root device /dev/sda1

Yeah I understand the rules of the Arch Way thank you.  Peace.

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