Salix OS

If you don't like UUID, you could use Labels. You must be sure to have different Labels for each of your disk and you can replace it easily.
The drawback is when you plug an USB key or disk before booting that have the same Label as one of your own disk. If you don't name it not too general (not "ROOT", "HOME", something like that), there is quite no chance it happens.

damNageHack wrote: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.

It's the only way to have consistent names. What if the mapping of physical devices to device nodes changes?
Of course they are hard to remember but you don't need too.
If you're device fails you should be able to "convert" the UUIDs back to the current device nodes with 'blkid'.
In the past I also added the device names as comments, but that really breaks the idea of UUIDs.

Anyway, I just wanted to show some advantages/solutions, still on my main machine with only one disk, I'm also staying with the good old device names, for exactly the same reasons you presented.

BTW grub2 uses UUIDs too, to overcome the problem of different device ordering in grub2/bios and linux.

Shador wrote: In the past I also added the device names as comments, but that really breaks the idea of UUIDs.

Let me guess, you used Ubuntu. Cause it uses UUID with device name in comments for each line too (stupid i.y.a.m.).

Shador wrote: BTW grub2 uses UUIDs too, to overcome the problem of different device ordering in grub2/bios and linux.

I can not imagine people changing the order of their devices all the time.

Nevertheless, all has advantages and disadvantages.

But let us come back to topic: New kernel for salix

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

I getting kernel panics on two different computers. I'm using Shador's script for uuid fstab on both, and can also boot other OS's on these computers. The common denominators is ext4 for the / fs.

Can the ext4 fs be changes to ext3 without losing data??

Thanks
Rich

laprjns wrote: Can the ext4 fs be changes to ext3 without losing data??

No it cannot.
You must copy your data elsewhere, format, copy back.

Convert an existing ext3 -> ext4 possibly YES, old ext3 partitions can be mounted as both because ext4 features will be added accordingly, but depends on the organisation of the new structures (inodes and so on)-

BUT be careful!

Convert an initially created ext4 -> ext3 (back) NO way, compatibility problems cause of new features.

WARNING! Once you run following commands, the filesystem will no longer be mountable using the ext3. Please note that ext4 may have some bugs so do not use for production servers (wait for sometime watch Linux kernel mailing list for ext4 bugs). It's recommended that you keep /boot in a ext3 partition for sometime.

You need ext4 patch applied into kernel and compile kernel with ext4 support. Once done type the following command to convert an existing ext3 filesystem to use ext4, type:

# tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/dev-name

Check your config if ext4 is enabled and built into the kernel, as a module it will not work cause the kernel accesses / filesystem before loading its modules (in some way, it is logical )

You can also test with the kernel parameter rootfstype=ext4.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-con ... ystem.html

damNageHack wrote:Check your config if ext4 is enabled and built into the kernel, as a module it will not work cause the kernel accesses / filesystem before loading its modules (in some way, it is logical )

I've said:

but on my netbook there is only an ext4 root partition

And it works there

Well, tried it on a third computer, my laptop, and got a kernel panic. Did the same as the others, changed to uuid in fstab and am able to boot into the 2.6.29.6 kernel and Xp after the change. Root file system on the laptop is also ext4.

Hi JRD,

JRD wrote:...I wanted one to better support my webcam which is not working since kernel 2.6.29.

You may try the 2.6.30.9-qx1, flux and me are using for FluFlux-SL/Lin2Go.

There are not many webcams known which don't work with this kernel - at least from the feedback in our forum.

You'll find the kernel, modules, firmware, headers, stripped and full sources at:

http://mirror.live-modules.org/quax/ind ... .6.30.9-qx

You could even use it for salix-live...

Regards, Quax