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Conference nlfdc::linux-users

Title:	Linux, the Free Operating System
Notice:	New here? Sign in on topic 2
Moderator:	EST::DEEGAN

Created:	Fri Feb 11 1994
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	609
Total number of notes:	2862

609.0. "VFS: mounted root (ext2 filesystem) readonly - hangs here ???" by STAR::PRYAN () Fri Jun 06 1997 01:55

I'm trying to install redhat 4.0 linux 2.0.18 on a P150 with an IDE hard drive
and everything is fine till I boot. the last message I get is

VFS: mounted root (ext2 filesystem) readonly

Then it just hangs. I let it go all day yesterday and when I came home it had
completed but after entering "root" and then the password, it just hung.

any suggestions ??

I have partioned my hard drive as follows:
hda1   /  (50 Meg)
hda2   /usr   (350 Meg)
hda3   swap    (32 Meg)
hda4   /home    (770 Meg)

i have installed LILO into the first segment on hda1


Thanks in advance !!

T.R Title User Personal
Name Date Lines

609.1 MOVIES::TWEEDIE Fri Jun 06 1997 15:42 22

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
609.1		MOVIES::TWEEDIE		`Fri Jun 06 1997 15:42`	22
	A hang after the VFS root mount is usually an indication that there was trouble starting the "init" process. When the kernel starts, it spawns a process to start executing the system startup, but if that fails then it's effectively now a user-mode process failing, not a kernel panic, so you may not get any console error codes. The key sequence CTRL-ScrollLock will list all of the running processes if typed at the console, so you can find out if init has started running or not. If not, it's likely that the kernel can't find the init command (it looks in /etc, /bin and /sbin for it). This may be a sign of filesystem corruption or mis-configuration (eg. overlapping partitions), or it may be just that the kernel is looking in the wrong place for the root filesystem. The red hat boot disks have a rescue mode (boot from the floppy and type "rescue" at the prompt), which should allow you to look at the filesystem and see if there's a problem. If not, you should be able to mount things from the rescue boot and check that lilo has got the right root partition (not boot partition!) in /etc/lilo.conf. (I know that the red hat rescue stuff works in rh4.1. I think it was in 4.0 too but I wouldn't swear to it.) Cheers, Stephen.

A hang after the VFS root mount is usually an indication that there
was trouble starting the "init" process.  When the kernel starts, it spawns
a process to start executing the system startup, but if that fails then it's
effectively now a user-mode process failing, not a kernel panic, so you may
not get any console error codes.

The key sequence CTRL-ScrollLock will list all of the running processes if
typed at the console, so you can find out if init has started running or not.

If not, it's likely that the kernel can't find the init command (it looks in 
/etc, /bin and /sbin for it).  This may be a sign of filesystem corruption or
mis-configuration (eg. overlapping partitions), or it may be just that the
kernel is looking in the wrong place for the root filesystem.  The red hat
boot disks have a rescue mode (boot from the floppy and type "rescue" at the
prompt), which should allow you to look at the filesystem and see if there's 
a problem.  If not, you should be able to mount things from the rescue boot
and check that lilo has got the right root partition (not boot partition!)
in /etc/lilo.conf.  (I know that the red hat rescue stuff works in rh4.1. 
I think it was in 4.0 too but I wouldn't swear to it.)

Cheers,
 Stephen.