Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

moon_dog · 2007-05-05 19:38:48

i installed arch on a partition, my root partition runs ubuntu. anyway, after installation and modifying the grub menu on my root partition, i tried to boot into arch and kept getting this message:

Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0) on boot

not sure what's going on... here's my menu.lst:

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
#            grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not change this entry to 'saved' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default        0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout        3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title        Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root        (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader    +1
#
# title        Linux
# root        (hd0,1)
# kernel    /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=f2b2d330-1af7-49e1-9f19-73a184424c8a ro
# kopt_2_6=root=/dev/hda1 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,0)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
##      alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
##      lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
##      lockold=true
# lockold=false

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
##      altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
##      howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
##      memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/hda1 ro quiet splash
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic (recovery mode)
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/hda1 ro single
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic
boot

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-386
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-386 root=/dev/hda1 ro quiet splash
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-386
quiet
savedefault
boot

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-386 (recovery mode)
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-386 root=/dev/hda1 ro single
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-386
boot

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hda1 ro quiet splash
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot

title        Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hda1 ro single
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
boot

title        Ubuntu, memtest86+
root        (hd0,0)
kernel        /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
boot

title        Arch Linux
root         (hd0,2)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
intird        /boot/kernel26.img
boot

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

lucke · 2007-05-05 21:05:14

You have a typo in "initrd" in Arch's entry. If correcting that still doesn't work, try changing kernel26.img to kernel26-fallback.img.

pelle.k · 2007-05-05 23:35:04

Hey moon_dog! I'm the one who answered you in ubuntuforums.
I didn't catch that typo though... Why didn't you copy paste your entry from arch:s menu.lst?
Manual typing. bah, you better go and buy a typewriter

moon_dog · 2007-05-06 06:19:40

ok got the whole thing resolved... it was just a typo on the menu.lst file, hehe thanks for spotting that.... now though i can't seem to get my wireless working.

iwconfig gives this output:

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      no wireless extensions.

this is my rc.conf

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="en_US.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"
TIMEZONE="Canada/Pacific"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Scan hardware and load required modules at bootup
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
# Module Blacklist - modules in this list will never be loaded by udev
MOD_BLACKLIST=()
#
# Modules to load at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a module with a ! to blacklist it
#
MODULES=(b44 mii ipw2200) 
# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
HOSTNAME="myhost"
#
# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available
# interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
#
# Note: to use DHCP, set your interface to be "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
#
lo="lo 127.0.0.1"
#eth0="eth0 192.168.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255"
eth0="dhcp"
eth1="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(lo eth0 eth1)
#
# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
#gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
#
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network-profiles
#
#NET_PROFILES=(main)

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond)


# End of file

and my conf.d

#
# Settings for wireless cards
#
# For each wireless interface declared in INTERFACES (in rc.conf), declare
# a wlan_${IF} variable that contains the arguments to be passed to
# iwconfig(8).  Then list the original interface name in the
# WLAN_INTERFACES array.
#

wlan_eth1="eth1 mode managed essid default"
WLAN_INTERFACES=(eth1)

moon_dog · 2007-05-06 07:18:21

reinstalled the wireless card driver and i can now see my wireless connection and use iwconfig to set up a connection. however i still can't/don't know how to request and receive an IP address. i tried using the "commit" flag in iwconfig:

iwconfig eth1 essid "linksys" mode managed channel 6 key off commit

but an error message came up saying i couldn't commit. on boot i still get this error

::starting network [failed]

pelle.k · 2007-05-06 13:15:11

This is technically a subject for a new thread, but since were already at it;

Your wireless have native drivers then? Since eth1 is wlan?
I guess you know what you're doing, but it couldn't hurt to be sure.

dmesg | grep eth1

This is how i have my wlan connection set up. Nothing more, nothing less.

lo="lo 127.0.0.1"

eth0="eth0 192.168.0.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255"

wlan0="dhcp"
wlan_wlan0="wlan0 essid xxxxxx channel 6 key restricted s:xxxxxxxxxxxxx"

INTERFACES=(lo eth0 wlan0)

You can bring up/down just one interface by

/etc/rc.d/network ifup wlan0
/etc/rc.d/network ifdown wlan0

One thing you should make sure of, is that your wireless card doesn't use a firmware file. If it does you have to download it, and put it in /lib/firmware yourself, since arch linux has no such extras in their repos/kernel.

Good luck!

shen · 2007-05-06 13:18:21

as root to get an ip from the dhcp server you type

dhcpcd eth1

Where eth1 is the eth# of your wifi card.

just leave the commit part off that iwconfig command and see if it will assign the essid and channel then use the dhcpcd command to get the ip address.
Hope that helps.
also here's the link to the wiki entry for wireless setup in case you don't already have it..
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless

moon_dog · 2007-05-06 16:23:43

thanks all for the help, you've really been great. the dhcpcd eth1 command worked perfectly, and i noticed that if i set up a wireless profile in conf.d, then it would autoload during boot without having to manually set everything up with iwconfig and dhcpcd.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-05-05 19:38:48

Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#2 2007-05-05 21:05:14

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#3 2007-05-05 23:35:04

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#4 2007-05-06 06:19:40

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#5 2007-05-06 07:18:21

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#6 2007-05-06 13:15:11

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#7 2007-05-06 13:18:21

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

#8 2007-05-06 16:23:43

Re: Kernel panic - Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-bl

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