[vox-tech] problem encountered when creating a ramdisk
Hai Yi
yihai2004 at gmail.com
Sat Dec 16 22:42:49 PST 2006
peter:
I didn't find /proc/config.gz
also, when is a *module* loaded into the kernel? How can I control the
modules's loading/unloading? for instance, when I tried to install
nviadia's driver, it complained about conflict with a nv-related
module already loaded in the kernel. In this case, I want to remove it
at runtime.
thanks,
Hai
On 12/17/06, Peter Jay Salzman <p at dirac.org> wrote:
> Hola Hai,
>
> Yeah. Don't put in the initrd line in menu.lst.
>
> This is the perfect opportunity to rid yourself of the ramdisk, so I'd take
> advantage of it if possible.
>
> Look at /proc/config.gz. Make sure that ext3 is built into the kernel:
>
> CONFIG_EXT3_FS=y
>
> What you don't want to see is this:
>
>
> CONFIG_EXT3_FS=m
>
> It's always helpful if you post error messages to the list
>
> If you see that ext3 is being built as a module, go back to menuconfig and
> change it to "y". That's assuming you're using ext3. Make sure that any
> filesystem on your hard drive is built directly into the kernel.
>
> As for USB... hmmm. I'm guessing your USB system is built as a module if
> you're using oldconfig from previous kernel. Do lsmod. See any USB related
> modules? Do lsusb. Anything? What happens when do "ls /proc/bus/usb/"?
>
> Also, go through "dmesg | less" and look for anything usb related.
>
> Peter
>
>
>
> On Sun 17 Dec 06, 1:17 AM, Hai Yi <yihai2004 at gmail.com> said:
> > hey peter:
> > first, thank you very much! after reading your post, I did the following
> > things:
> > I ran the make bzImage to create a vmlinuz in the boot and I saw its
> > corresponding system map as well (without doing any additional work),
> > and I modified menu.1st and added the new kernel's entry.
> >
> > However, here comes the problem. I found the last line of each entry
> > is about the initrd.img, I can find 2.4.17's initrd.img from /boot,
> > but as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't create the initrd.img for my
> > new kernel.
> >
> > Ignoring this line for the new kernel's entry in menu.1st or using the
> > old kernel's initrd.img for the new entry would cause kernel panic,
> > whatsoever.
> >
> > Good news is that I eventually created this file using:
> > mkinitrd -o /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8.13 2.6.8.13
> >
> > and added it to the menu.1st. Then the new kernel is installed and
> > worked! and I used uname -r to verify the installation.
> >
> > Bad news is that the usb port has problem - I couldn't make the mouse
> > work. I guess it's a bout the configuration. But how come this was not
> > the problem for my old kernel? I used the same configuration, I think.
> >
> > Basically, I followed this link to compile the new kernel:
> > http://www.howtoforge.com/kernel_compilation_debian
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Hai
> >
> > On 12/16/06, Peter Jay Salzman <p at dirac.org> wrote:
> > >On Sat 16 Dec 06, 4:26 PM, Hai Yi <yihai2004 at gmail.com> said:
> > >> Hello, there:
> > >>
> > >> I start a process to create a new kernel, 2.6.13. When I came to the
> > >step
> > >> of creating a ramdisk, I had a problem. I used the command:
> > >> mkinitrd.yaird -o /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18.3-default1 2.6.18.3-default1
> > >>
> > >> and I got this error:
> > >> yaird error: can't open /proc/bus/input/devices (fatal)
> > >>
> > >> I check the directory of /proc/bus/, there is no 'input'
> > >>
> > >> I did some google, someone said it's a yaird's bug, anyhow, I can't
> > >find
> > >> possible solution; as an alternative, I might use initramfs-tools,
> > >but
> > >> how to proceed, I don't know.
> > >>
> > >> Anyone can kindly point a direction for me?
> > >>
> > >> Thanks,
> > >> Hai
> > >
> > >Hai, I believe you don't need the ramdisk. The ramdisk is used so the
> > >kernel can bootstap itself on wildly different hardware. I'm no expert,
> > >but
> > >I *think* the process goes:
> > >
> > >1. Load the kernel.
> > >2. Use ramdisk to make minimal root filesystem required by the kernel.
> > >3. Probe hardware(?) and load any modules that are needed.
> > >4. Mount the "real" root filesystem.
> > >
> > >Useful for distros trying to cater to a variety of hardware. Not so useful
> > >once the kernel is tuned for your particular machine.
> > >
> > >What sets of instructions are you using?
> > >
> > >Here's how I do it:
> > >
> > >1. Configure the kernel. Use "make oldconfig" to import current
> > > configuration. Then "make menuconfig" to finetune and make
> > > sure everything looks good.
> > >
> > >2. make bzImage
> > >
> > >3. Copy the resulting vmlinuz to /boot (I rename the kernel). Here is my
> > > /boot directory:
> > >
> > > grub/
> > > lost+found/
> > > System.map-2.6.11 System.map-2.6.12 System.map-2.6.14
> > > System.map-2.6.15 System.map-2.6.16 System.map-2.6.18
> > > vmlinuz-2.6.11 vmlinuz-2.6.12 vmlinuz-2.6.14
> > > vmlinuz-2.6.15 vmlinuz-2.6.16 vmlinuz-2.6.18
> > >
> > > Once "make bzImage" is done, it'll tell you where the file "vmlinuz" is.
> > >
> > >4. Copy System.map into /boot, renaming it after the kernel as I do in the
> > > ls listeing above.
> > >
> > >5. "make modules && make modules_install"
> > >
> > >6. Make a new entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst
> > >
> > >
> > >I think that's everything. I don't compile my kernel nearly as much as I
> > >did back in grad school. No time anymore. If there's a mistake here,
> > >someone will catch it.
> > >
> > >If you have any questions about a specific step, don't hesitate to ask.
> > >
> > >Peter
> > >_______________________________________________
> > >vox-tech mailing list
> > >vox-tech at lists.lugod.org
> > >http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox-tech
> > >
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>
> --
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> You cannot always predict how it will round when the rounding digit is 5.
> If you want a rounding function that rounds according to predictable rules,
> you should write your own.
> -- MSDN, on Microsoft VBA's "stochastic" rounding function
>
> Peter Jay Salzman, email: p at dirac.org web: http://www.dirac.org/p
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