Re: Can't boot RH 7.2 or 9 SMP kernel on Netfinity 5500

[Rick Stevens <rstevens vitalstream com>]

Gregg Brickner wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm at wits end.  I have an IBM Netfinity 5500 (8660-71X) with dual
> PIII/550s, 1 GB RAM, and a single 18.2 GB disk on the ServerRAID adapter.  I
> can boot the uniprocessor kernel for Redhat 7.2 and 9.0 just fine, however I
> can't boot any SMP kernel I've tried so far.  The error ends with something
> like
>
>   Kernel Panic
>   VFS:  Cannot open root device LABEL=/ or 00:00
>   Please append a correct root= boot option
>
> I've tried installing 7.2 with the kernel on the distribution CDs.  I've
> tried the same for RH 9.  I've upgraded the kernel RPM to 2.4.20-13.9, and
> tried both the 586 and 686 RPM.  I've tried putting "root=/dev/sda2" (or
> whatever, depending on the install) into grub.conf.  I've tried moving the
> disk around in the box and changing the ServerRAID configuration.  All
> attempts give the same error as above.
>
> The Netfinity BIOS is current with the version on IBM's Web site.  There
> *are* two processors installed :-)  Both PIIIs are enabled and pass the
> onboard diagnostics.  Any ideas?

Try adding "noapic" to the boot command.  If you're using grub, when
the menu shows up, hit "e" and use the arrow keys to scroll down to the
"kernel" line.  Hit "e" again and add "noapic" to the end of the line.
Hit "ENTER" and "b" to boot.  If the system comes up, then edit the
/boot/grub/grub.conf file and add the "noapic" to the end of the
"kernel" line and save the file.  The next boot will automatically add
the command.

If using lilo, just put "linux noapic" at the "boot:" prompt.  If it
works, edit the /etc/lilo.conf file and add a line:

	append="noapic"

to the stanza for the kernel you're booting.
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- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens vitalstream com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
-  Jimmie crack corn and I don't care...what kind of lousy attitude  -
-                 is THAT to have, huh?   -- Dennis Miller           -
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