[Sussex] Strange grub behaviour

[John D.]

Rupert Swarbrick wrote:

> Presumably as it's Gentoo, you compiled your own kernel. You might want
> to try not using an initrd - they tend to be difficult to get right and
> somewhat of a black box when you try to work out how you broke it.

Hum? I sort of understand how to compile the kernel myself, but in
truth, because I'm not confident when
trying bits of the "white mans magic" like that, I use "genkernel",
otherwise I suspect that I'd miss something.

As to how I'd "not use an initrd", I wouldn't even know where to start.
It has crossed my mind to get rid of the 2.6.11-gentoo-r8 version
though, as it's
not booting at all and then looking into how I might have a go at
emerging/installing it again, as genkernel did manage to miss out lp
support for my printer.

>
> It sounds like maybe it's failing to load your ram disk, which would
> contain the modules to read your /dev/hda3. When I've compiled things
> like PCI disks and reiserfs support in as modules without an initrd by
> accident I've had error messages like that in the past.

Which might go someway to explaining that although I have the same stuff
in the grub.conf, it doesn't like trying to boot the 2.6.11-gentoo-r8

>
>
> Regarding your grub problems, you could always try completely
> reinstalling it (use dd to blank the start of the drive first to make
> sure). Or if it feels safer, install lilo or something else on top first
> instead.
>
> Of course, you could try using lilo in the short term to get things
> working, as it always seems less inclined to go horribly wrong - I had
> to a couple of months ago when I messed up my grub bootloader with
> terrible splash options, but I've managed to get grub back.


I've tried re-installing grub already, but as I haven't got a
"benchmark" model to go by I've tried this with what Iv'e read and can
only presume that I've got it right.

Thinking though, if there is something wrong with the way genkernel
compiled the 2.6.11-gentoo-r8, if I just followed the instructions in
the gentoo kernel upgrade howto,  do you know if it "revamps" the whole
thing, or does it make a new version and leave the problematic one (file
or whatever) in place ??? because if it was the former, then surely a
recompile would make it so that grub might then know or see the ram disk
part.

Also I'm unsure whether I'd have to just delete all the current version
files available (the kernel image of 2.6.22-gentoo-r8 and it's
accompanying initrd), or whether it would all be uninstalled if I did
emerge unmerge, but again, I'm not sure what I'd put for that, as it's
post compile.

Hum?

regards

John D.