Re: [gentoo-user] Problems booting my server - ext2 - e2fsck

[Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com>]

On 28 July 2010 15:27, Bill Longman <bill.longman@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 07/28/2010 07:04 AM, Mick wrote:
>> On 28 July 2010 14:53, Bill Longman <bill.longman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 07/28/2010 06:42 AM, Mick wrote:
>>>> On 28 July 2010 09:50, KH <gentoo-user@konstantinhansen.de> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I installed grub by connecting the hdd to my workstation. This did not
>>>>> change anything.
>>>>> Also I changed /etc/fstab . Now I have 0 0 for every partition. The pc
>>>>> boots fine now. I can use it but ... There is no /dev/hd* . Running
>>>>> mount /boot I get the answer /dev/hda1 does not exist. Also there is no
>>>>> /dev/sd*
>>>>>
>>>>> Any ideas?
>>>>
>>>> KH, if you have changed the kernel to use libATA (i.e. the newer
>>>> SATA/PATA options) then you need to update your fstab from /dev/hdaX
>>>> to /dev/sdaX and change your grub.conf accordingly.
>>>
>>> But he doesn't even have those devices, so this will not do him any good
>>> until we know how the kernel is configured (or not) and get the devices
>>> back.
>>
>> I am not sure that he does not have those devices ... I don't know if
>> the error message is returned from grub or from the OS.
>>
>> It could be that the kernel stanza is wrongly pointing to /dev/hda,
>> and, or fstab is not correct.
>
> He says the "pc boots fine now" and he "can use it" and he goes on to
> say that he has "no /dev/hd*" or "/dev/sd*" devices, so I have to
> believe he's got a running system.

Hmm ... he'll have to be able to hang his OS off some fs or other if
it is indeed working.  Unless he's running some clever ramdisk, then I
would not reach the conclusion that he has a working OS.

> Not having any /dev/hd* files would
> support the error trying to mount /boot. Trying to fix /etc/fstab first
> is not the way to attack his problem given the information we have now.

Perhaps he passed the correct path to his grub and the boot sequence
fails when it tries to find the devices listed in fstab, so the OS
never completes booting.

Either way, hopefully the OP will shed some light to this rather than
us assuming more or less what might actually be the case.
-- 
Regards,
Mick