RE: PROBLEM: kernel mount of initrd fails unless mke2fs uses 1024 byte blocks

From: Post, Mark K (mark.post@eds.com)
Date: Fri Apr 12 2002 - 16:28:48 EST


Andries,

That won't be possible. Since this initrd is my root file system, when the
kernel fails to mount it, it goes into a panic and I'm dead. Any other
suggestions?

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Andries.Brouwer@cwi.nl [mailto:Andries.Brouwer@cwi.nl]
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 5:17 PM
To: Andries.Brouwer@cwi.nl; linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org;
mark.post@eds.com
Subject: RE: PROBLEM: kernel mount of initrd fails unless mke2fs uses
1024 byt e blocks

        The kernel does set_blocksize() to change the blocksize of your
        device. This set_blocksize() throws away all buffers with the
        now incorrect size. But your device is a ramdisk, and throwing
        out these buffers kills all your data.

    Andries,

    Thanks for the update. So, what do I do now?
    Wait for a fix for 2.2? Send my problem report to someone else?

First you check whether my analysis is correct:
check that after the failed mount attempt the ramdisk
does not hold any data anymore. (Say with od or so.)

Now we have a known problem. You can avoid meeting it
by only using blocksize 1024. On the kernel side this
of course will have to be fixed some time.
I think Adam Richter once submitted a patch to fix this,
but apparently it was not taken.
For 2.5 I think the aim must be to get rid of set_blocksize()
entirely. I don't know whether 2.2 and 2.4 will be fixed.

Andries
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Apr 15 2002 - 22:00:21 EST