redhat 8 kernel recompile

[jamie roughan_1]

having issues recompiling kernel on redhat 8.0 with lilo.

while trying to upgrade to the latest stable 2.4.20 I make xconfig, make dep, make clean, make bzImage, compile modutils 2.4.20, make modules, make modules install, make install, edit lilo, run lilo and then get the following error on reboot: kmod failed to execute /sbin/modprobe -s -k block -major -3, errno = 2
please append a correct "root=" boot option
kernel panic: VFS unable to mount root fs on 3:02

always been able to recompile kernel in the past. ; - <

here is a copy of the standard lilo.conf from redhat 8.0 1st time I've seen the append command used. ; - <

[Balaji N]

hi,
the kernel is not able to find the root disk. by anychance did u change the disk's etc or not.

how abt trying to pass the root device option to the kernel at the lilo prompt.

linux root=/dev/hdc2

or something like that. and after it boots, use e2labelfs to check and change the root device LABEL name.

please post ur findings.

hth
-balaji

[I_M]

Hi
Do you use scsi disk as system disk? or IDE?
Do you use scsi driver into kernel or module?

If you use scsi disk and scsi driver as module, you need to do /sbin/mkinitrd in your steps ( before edit lilo).

Tlaking about "modproble -k " error, its not a root cause of your problem. All system have same message (including mine).
This is already reported to Bugzilla at RedHat, but it hasn't been fixed so far.

Good luck

[Sergejs Svitnevs]

I think that it's not loading the driver of the SCSI device.
Run mkinitrd package , and lilo will load
an initrd if you ask it to.
Regards,
Sergejs

[Vitaly Karasik_1]

AFAIK, we need initrd in order to use ext3 - it means we need initrd always in rh8

[jamie roughan_1]

thankyou for replying, I am not using scsi. I have modified the lilo.conf file and will pass the linux root=dev/hda2 option which I believe will have no effect.

[jamie roughan_1]

as expected passing options has no effect. box boots , ctrl x to text mode. ? gives choice of linux(2.4.18) or 2.4.20 kernel.
input 2.4.20 root=/dev/hda ,hda1, hda2 all the same result of kernel panic. Personally, I dont believe the rh8 kernel reads lilo at all & uses grub regardless. anyone successfully recompile rh8 kernel & load it ...of course.

by the way.. my compile was error free. just loading the new kernel with lilo has been the issue. With 7.0-3 was always able to recompile with lilo.

[Bruce Copeland]

I've rebuilt kernels (in fact the 2.4.20 kernel with and without patches) a number of times under Red Hat 8 and never had a problem. I use the steps: make clean, make xconfig, make dep, make bzImage, make modules, make modules_install, and make install. I do not do anything with lilo because I'm using grub.

If you're system is using grub, you should see the blue grub screen at boot. If that's the case, I suggest you look at your /boot/grub/grub.conf file, and see if there's anything obviously different about the section for your 2.4.20 kernel and the original 2.4.18 kernel. If you can't find anything wrong there, then it's probably a kernel config problem.

Bruce

[Balaji N]

hi
are u using initrd? and i assume that the ide drivers are compile d into the kernel (not as module) since u have a ide hdd.

try removing initrd and see if it helps.

actually i had a similar problem some time back. i had used some flags for gcc while compiling the kernel and it didnt work. after i removed those flags and it worked.

-balaji

[Vitaly Karasik_1]

again: in RH7.3/8.0 kernels ext3 support isn't built in in the kernelk, but by ext3 module. It means: it your root fs is ext3 (default in RH) and you didn't configure ext3 support into kernel, *you need initrd*

Vitaly.