System doesn't boot after kernel update

lennartack · 2009-11-11 21:00:05

A while ago my laptop (Compaq Presario C500) didn't boot anymore after I upgrade the kernel. I'm not sure which update it was, but it was probably between 2.6.30 and 2.6.31.

The error messages:

Waiting 10 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-uuid/etcetc ...
Root device '/dev/disk/by-uuid/etcetc' doesn't exist, attempting to create it
ERROR: Failed to parse block device ids for /dev/disk/by-uuid/etcetc'
ERROR: Unable to detect or create root device '/dev/disk/by-uuid/etcetc'

Then I'm dropped to a recovery shell where it seems no hard disk devs are created at all, so putting /dev/sda1 or /dev/hda1 in grub instead of the uuid doesn't help.

I've already tried updating to the latest kernel a few times, but without luck so far.

Thanks in Advance!

Lennart

falconindy · 2009-11-11 22:04:43

Whoa. I can't read. What's your mkinitcpio.conf look like?

Last edited by falconindy (2009-11-11 22:07:01)

grey · 2009-11-12 01:24:27

Maybe I cannot read either, but how did you try updating to the latest kernel if you cannot boot?

sand_man · 2009-11-12 01:49:12

What filesystem?

lennartack · 2009-11-12 14:45:24

Damnit guys learn to read

Okay I was in a hurry please excuse me...

sand_man wrote:

Whoa. I can't read. What's your mkinitcpio.conf look like?

# vim:set ft=sh
# MODULES
# The following modules are loaded before any boot hooks are
# run.  Advanced users may wish to specify all system modules
# in this array.  For instance:
#     MODULES="piix ide_disk reiserfs"
MODULES="intel_agp i915"

# BINARIES
# This setting includes, into the CPIO image, and additional
# binaries a given user may wish.  This is run first, so may
# be used to override the actual binaries used in a given hook.
# (Existing files are NOT overwritten is already added)
# BINARIES are dependancy parsed, so you may safely ignore libraries
BINARIES=""

# FILES
# This setting is similar to BINARIES above, however, files are added
# as-is and are not parsed in anyway.  This is useful for config files.
# Some users may wish to include modprobe.conf for custom module options,
# like so:
#    FILES="/etc/modprobe.conf"
FILES="/etc/modprobe.conf"

# HOOKS
# This is the most important setting in this file.  The HOOKS control the
# modules and scripts added to the image, and what happens at boot time.
# Order is important, and it is recommended that you do not change the
# order in which HOOKS are added.  Run 'mkinitcpio -H <hook name>' for
# help on a given hook.
# 'base' is _required_ unless you know precisely what you are doing.
# 'udev' is _required_ in order to automatically load modules
# 'modload' may be used in place of 'udev', but is not recommended
# 'filesystems' is _required_ unless you specify your fs modules in MODULES
# Examples:
#    This setup specifies all modules in the MODULES setting above.
#    No raid, lvm2, or encrypted root is needed.
#    HOOKS="base"
#
#    This setup will autodetect all modules for your system and should
#    work as a sane default
#    HOOKS="base udev autodetect pata scsi sata filesystems"
#
#    This is identical to the above, except the old ide subsystem is
#    used for IDE devices instead of the new pata subsystem.
#    HOOKS="base udev autodetect ide scsi sata filesystems"
#
#    This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
#    No autodetection is done.
#    HOOKS="base udev pata scsi sata usb filesystems"
#
#    This setup assembles an pata raid array with an encrypted root FS.
#    Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H raid' for more information on raid devices.
#    HOOKS="base udev pata raid encrypt filesystems"
#
#    This setup loads an lvm2 volume group on a usb device.
#    HOOKS="base udev usb lvm2 filesystems"
HOOKS="base udev autodetect pata scsi sata filesystems"

grey wrote:

Maybe I cannot read either, but how did you try updating to the latest kernel if you cannot boot?

Uhh I forgot what exactly I used to boot. SOME linux distro and then chrooted. I recall that the Arch Linux usb image didn't boot either on my laptop for the same reason, but I just did that succesfully to get mkinitcpio.conf.

sand_man wrote:

What filesystem?

Like that matters , you really can't read

grey · 2009-11-12 22:20:47

I also don't know how the filesystem would matter here, but given that sand_man has > 1000 posts on this forum I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

Last edited by grey (2009-11-12 22:21:15)

aaaantoine · 2009-11-13 15:17:16

grey wrote:

I also don't know how the filesystem would matter here, but given that sand_man has > 1000 posts on this forum I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

Post count doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Though, I see the OP is loading a reiserfs module. Could it be a 2.6.31 compatibility issue with ReiserFS that's causing the stuff to not load?

Pardon if it's a stupid question, I don't fully understand the capabilities/limitations of GRUB.

Last edited by aaaantoine (2009-11-13 15:18:47)

grey · 2009-11-13 15:32:06

This seems to be a thread for people with reading problems - this time it's either me or you:

I see the OP is loading a reiserfs module

Where did you see that?

Last edited by grey (2009-11-13 15:32:24)

aaaantoine · 2009-11-13 15:40:58

grey wrote:

This seems to be a thread for people with reading problems - this time it's either me or you:
I see the OP is loading a reiserfs module
Where did you see that?

...In the line that has the # next to it. >_<

Never mind.

lennartack · 2009-11-13 18:39:18

Thanks for your responses.

I'm not loading a reiserfs module, that line is commented . Anyway, I got the first problem fixed after I removed /etc/modprobe.conf from the FILES var, which contains the lines "options snd-pcsp index=2" and "options i915 modeset=1".

However, a new hard disk problem has occured. Whenever I reboot the filesystem check fails because /dev/sda1 superblock last mount time is in the future. Then I fix it using fsck and when I reboot it complains the last mount time of /dev/sda3 is in the future. After fixing it with fsck again the system boots fine, but whenever I reboot the process starts from the beginning. Could it be a problem with the CMOS battery?

Last edited by lennartack (2009-11-13 18:40:46)

grey · 2009-11-13 19:32:16

I see that a lot - both on the forums and on my own system. I think it means that the BIOS clock and your system's clock are out of sync. Check which one is right and fix the wrong one. The system clock can be fixed with openntpd, the command is 'ntpd -s -d'.

tavianator · 2009-11-13 20:28:13

lennartack: rm /var/lib/hwclock/adjtime.

Also, it's weird that snd-pcsp or i915 would be causing that problem. If you can figure out which one it was, an upstream bug report might be nice.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-11-11 21:00:05

System doesn't boot after kernel update

#2 2009-11-11 22:04:43

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#3 2009-11-12 01:24:27

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#4 2009-11-12 01:49:12

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#5 2009-11-12 14:45:24

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#6 2009-11-12 22:20:47

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#7 2009-11-13 15:17:16

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#8 2009-11-13 15:32:06

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#9 2009-11-13 15:40:58

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#10 2009-11-13 18:39:18

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#11 2009-11-13 19:32:16

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

#12 2009-11-13 20:28:13

Re: System doesn't boot after kernel update

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