[SWLUG] A Puzzle. trying new kernel. Bug?

[Neil Greenwood]

On 26/02/07, Ilyan <ac.thomas at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> [snip]
> *Is there  a bug in the new Kernel,* a bug in my computer, or just an
> idiot in front of the screen?

I think "none of the above". It seems to be a missed configuration
step in the particular new kernel that you're using.

> I have Open Suse 10 Linux LXFS03A/12/05 off  5 CDs on an Asus
> motherboard with AMD Athlone and 1GB memory, Windows 2000 Pro on one IDE
> drive and Suse on one Sata drive.  which drive runs is selected in the
> Bios. Also connected are 144 and 5.25 floppy drives that do not work.
> and a  2GB USB device is plugged in.       There should be a variety of
> lost Linux partitions with the Windows on the IDE drive.  F1 starts the
> booting of whichever disc was selected in Bios.
>
> Alone on the Sata drive, Suse works, but seems rather bare.   Suse can
> be upgraded down the web and works as usual - without the new kernel.
> Load the new kernel and reboot.   It soon comes to seeking sda2,   goes
> no further. No way to recover found.  Switch off, reboot, back to the
> same full stop.   Back to the 5 CDs to reload.  Process repeats working
> until update kernel then to crash seeking sda2.    (there is only one
> Sata hard drive.)

Where did you get the new kernel from? It sounds like it is missing
the SATA drivers that were included in the default kernel from the 5
CDs.

Please describe the steps you're taking to install the new kernel,
since this might help us to help you.

> Where I say no way to recover found, it is possible to put text in to a
> $ sign.   I do not know what to do to tell it to continue without
> seeking that sda2 -sda2  may not be exactly what it says  but I am now
> on the Windows drive.    from $, Quit, Shutdown, exit, Closedown and I
> think powerdown had no effect.   (I have now had a small response from exit)

The $ sign is a shell (similar to a Windows command prompt). 'exit' is
the command to exit the shell. What has happened is that it couldn't
find the disk with the Suse installation on it (the driver issue
mentioned above), and so Linux booted into a maintenance mode - the
idea is that you fix the problem here then 'exit' and it will try to
boot normally.

This isn't a problem that you can fix in this shell.

Normally when installing a new kernel, the previous good one is left
as an option to select at boot time, but it doesn't sound like this
has happened in this case.


> The worst thing is that I cannot find my Ubuntu or Kubuntu CDs.  Time to
> look for NetBsd ?

Installing a new kernel is a tricky process to master. It's not really
the first thing that you should attempt after installing Linux. What
are you trying to fix that needs a new kernel?

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Suse to tell you exactly how to fix
it. I'd suggest sticking with the kernel from the installation CDs
until you are more at home in Linux.


Sorry if I've sounded condescending at any point - that's not the
intention. I'm trying to get some more information so that we can help
you out more.