Kernel 2.6.31.5

[thenktor]

I've built a kernel 2.6.31.5 package. Everone who feels to blow up is system is invited to test it I've created this kernel package because my cd writer was not working with the original kernel (pata problems..). I took the Slackware 2.6.29.6 config, ran make oldconfig over it and tweaked some other settings. Changes in this kernel package are:
* Always selected the default value at make oldconfig
* Deactivated:
- PATA subsystem
* Activated:
- Tickless System (Dynamic Ticks) NO_HZ
- High Resolution Timer Support HIGH_RES_TIMERS
- Support sparse irq numbering SPARSE_IRQ
- Preemptible Kernel (Low-Latency Desktop) PREEMPT
- all libata drivers for PATA
- module unloading support (probably this was deactivated by oldconfig default values, had to reactivate it)

Packages can be found here:
http://thenktor.dyndns.org/packages/a/k ... p-testing/
http://thenktor.dyndns.org/packages/a/k ... p-testing/

Short instructions:
It is save (and recommended) to install both packages beside the original packages. After that modify your /etc/lilo.conf to have the new and the old kernel as boot option. Example:

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# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
  root = /dev/sda5
  label = Linux-testing
  read-only

 image = /boot/vmlinuz-huge-smp-2.6.29.6-smp
  root = /dev/sda5
  label = Linux
  read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Important: Don't forget to run lilo afterwards!

WARNING: The pata drivers have been replaced by the libata ones. This means if you are using a PATA hard disk bootup will fail unless you change entries in /etc/fstab (hda -> sda). Don't try this kernel if you don't know what I'm talking about here!

[laprjns]

I willing to give this a try. Is there a kernel-source and kernel-header package avialble also? I will want to check out building drives for nVidia and VirtualBox.

Rich

[thenktor]

I willing to give this a try. Is there a kernel-source and kernel-header package avialble also? I will want to check out building drives for nVidia and VirtualBox.

Rich

You won't need a kernel headers package. Everything should work fine with the standard one.
I did not create a kernel-source package. Just go straight and unpack the kernel from kernel.org in /usr/src. That's all

[Shador]

WARNING: The pata drivers have been replaced by the libata ones. This means if you are using a PATA hard disk bootup will fail unless you change entries in /etc/fstab (hda -> sda). Don't try this kernel if you don't know what I'm talking about here!

With UUID=<some hex number> it should work in any case.

[thenktor]

WARNING: The pata drivers have been replaced by the libata ones. This means if you are using a PATA hard disk bootup will fail unless you change entries in /etc/fstab (hda -> sda). Don't try this kernel if you don't know what I'm talking about here!

With UUID=<some hex number> it should work in any case.

Yes, but that's not the default configuration. Therefore: If you don't know what I'm talking about: don't try it at home

[Shador]

This script can be used to convert your fstab (using blkid). So far I used it successfully on my laptop.

Just save it to e.g. make_fstab_uuid. To see the changes run:

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make_fstab_uuid /etc/fstab

To apply them (inplace) run:

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make_fstab_uuid /etc/fstab -i

!Important! Don't change the order of the arguments!
Use always: make_fstab_uuid <path to fstab> [-i]
Nothing bad should happen otherwise (except failure), but you never know.

Hope this is for somebody useful.

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#!/bin/bash

unset fstab inplace

if [ "x$1" != "x" ]; then
	fstab=$1
else
	echo "You must enter the path to the fstab."
	exit
fi
if [ "x$2" != "x" ]; then
	inplace="-i"
fi
if [ ! -r $fstab ] || [ ! -f $fstab ]; then
	echo "'$fstab' is not readable or no regular file."
	exit
fi

devices="$(cat $fstab 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}' 2>/dev/null | grep /dev/ 2>/dev/null)"
sedcommand="sed"

for device in $devices; do
	uuid=""
	uuid="$(blkid $device 2>/dev/null | grep -oe 'UUID="[0123456789ABCDEFabcdef-]\+"' 2>/dev/null)"
	[ "x$uuid" = "x" ] && continue
	sedcommand+=" -e s,^$device,$uuid,"
done

if [ "$sedcommand" = "sed" ]; then
	echo "No lines to substitute found. Probably everything which can \
be UUID is already UUID."
	exit
fi
eval $sedcommand $inplace $fstab 2>/dev/null

[laprjns]

I'm getting kernel panics with the new kernel. Here's what I did

1) Changed fstab to uuid using Shador script. After doing this confirmed that I was able to boot back into Salix without problems.

2) Changed my lilo.conf to the following:

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# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
  root = /dev/hdb3
  label = Salix-2.6.30.5 
  read-only
image = /boot/vmlinuz-huge-smp-2.6.29.6-smp
  root = /dev/hdb3
  label = Salix-2.6.29.6
  read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# Windows bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/hda1
  label = Windows
  table = /dev/hda
# Windows bootable partition config ends

3) Downloaded new kernel and installed with "installpkg"
4) Issued lilo -v
5) Rebooted to a lilo screen with three boot options, 2.6.30.5 kernel, 2.6.29.6 kernel, and Xp
6) Confirmed that I can boot into the 2.6.29.6 kernel and Xp
7) Booting into the 2.6.30.5 kernel results in the following error message

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 kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (3,67)

My root fs is ext4 and my fstab looks like this:

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UUID=d54366ef-1842-405d-b6c7-b02cfd1c7fed        swap             swap        defaults         0   0
UUID=dd22c655-2be1-4ac2-9eff-45d2e6ec24d6        /                ext4        noatime,defaults 1   1
UUID=e070c30f-bcbf-4b0e-9365-4fd5f851b1c4        /home            xfs         defaults         1   2
UUID=720f7c90-4643-40c7-a675-d12e31714ef9        /zw              ext4        defaults         1   2
UUID=44AA-67B1        /xp              vfat        defaults         1   0
UUID=4721-2E96        /shared_data     vfat        umask=000,defaults        1   0
//192.168.100.41/music 	/music    cifs        rw,_netdev,user=,passwd=,users 0 0
//192.168.100.41/photos	/photos	  cifs        rw,_netdev,user=,passwd=,users 0 0
#/dev/cdrom      /mnt/cdrom       auto        noauto,owner,ro  0   0
/dev/fd0         /mnt/floppy      auto        noauto,owner     0   0
devpts           /dev/pts         devpts      gid=5,mode=620   0   0
proc             /proc            proc        defaults         0   0
tmpfs            /dev/shm         tmpfs       defaults         0   0

Any ideas??
Rich

[JRD]

My root fs is ext4

I had the same problem as I also made a kernel package 2.6.30.5 with about the same config as thenktor did. I wanted one to better support my webcam which is not working since kernel 2.6.29. Unfortunatly for me, my webcam is still not working but this is off-topic.
I had to migrate my root to ext3 in order to boot. I don't understand why. I compiled ext4 in builtin (not module) in the kernel. This should do the trick but apprently not, and I see here that you have the same problem. Maybe a bug in 2.6.30.5 about that...

Thank a lot for your script Shador. I use blkid by hand to find the UUID and replace them in fstab but it was painfull. Your script seems good
I prefer to have UUID in fstab reither than device name because it doesn't depend on the device tree reprensentation.
I leave a double entry for root (one with UUID, one with device name) because if I copy my HD to another HD, and boot on this new HD, the UUID will have changed. So it will leave me boot in init 1 for example to fill the new UUID in fstab :p

[thenktor]

Code: Select all

 kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (3,67)

2 possibilities:
1. problem with ext4
2. problem with pata/sata controller

I'm using the kernel on my main PC and on my netbook without problems. On my PC I'm using a ext4 root and an ext3 boot partition, but on my netbook there is only an ext4 root partition, so I don't hink your problem is related to ext4.
What hard disk controller are you using? "lspci" should show something.

[damNageHack]

UUID has one main disadvantage: They are hard to remember and do not depend on the bus order of devices. How do you know which physical device is it, e.g. at hardware defect and need to change? You have to do try and error.

So I do not like the way of doing it with UUID. By the way: Ubuntu uses also UUID

Nevertheless, thx for your converting script.