# mount: Mounting /dev/hda3 on /newroot ...CLOSED unsuccessful

## Nu-kid

>> Determining root device

>> Mounting root....

mount: Mounting /dev/hda3 on /newroot failed:Invalid argument

!! Could not mount specified ROOT, try again

!! The root block device is unspecified or not detected.

Please specify a device to boot, or "shell" for a shell...

boot() :: 

The above message comes after I try booting my PC for the first time without the CD, after configuring the kernel and grub.

I can't find any reasons that make sense in the threads already posted...

ANybody has a clue?

Thnx.

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## EzInKy

What file system are you using? Did you compile support for it into the kernel, not as a module?

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## Nu-kid

I checked the kernel the ext2 and ext3 filesystems are not modules.

Thnx.

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## EzInKy

 *Nu-kid wrote:*   

> I checked the kernel the ext2 and ext3 filesystems are not modules.
> 
> Thnx.

 

Hmm...what about support for your motherboards chipset?

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## Nu-kid

I'm not clear on where to check for my motherboard chipset in the kernel.

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## EzInKy

 *Nu-kid wrote:*   

> I'm not clear on where to check for my motherboard chipset in the kernel.

 

Device Drivers --->

     ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support --->

          List of drivers

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## jmbsvicetto

Nu-kid,

are you using genkernel and kernel sources 2.6.17-gentoo-r4? If so, it seems there are already 2 reports on this issue.

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## Nu-kid

I'm using kernel 2.6.12-r6

And i enabled everything under not as modules.

Device Drivers --->

ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support ---> 

and recompiled the kerenel and copied the new config over to the /boot and still the problem persists

Any more suggestions?

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## Nu-kid

what is /newroot ?

Even my boot cd says 

making tmpfs for /newroot

I never specified in fstab a /newroot  

Thnx for any input..

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## grenwald

could you post the listing of your fstab and menu.lst ?

Don't really have a solution for you, sorry, but it happened quite often for me and I spent many hours searching all around before see that was only a typing error  :Sad: 

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## Nu-kid

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.

# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-src/rc-scripts/etc/fstab,v 1.18.4.1 2005/01/31 23:05:14 vap$#

# noatime turns off atimes for increased performance (atimes normally aren't

# needed; notail increases performance of ReiserFS (at the expense of storage

# efficiency).  It's safe to drop the noatime options if you want and to

# switch between notail / tail freely.

#

# See the manpage fstab(5) for more information.

# <fs>                  <mountpoint>    <type>          <opts>          <dump/pass>

# NOTE: If your BOOT partition is ReiserFS, add the notail option to opts.

/dev/hda1               /boot           ext2            noauto,noatime  1 2

/dev/hda2               none            swap            sw              0 0

/dev/hda3               /               ext3            noatime         0 1

/dev/cdroms/cdrom0      /mnt/cdrom      iso9660         noauto,ro       0 0

/dev/fd0                /mnt/floppy     auto            noauto          0 0

# NOTE: The next line is critical for boot!

proc                    /proc           proc            defaults        0 0

# glibc 2.2 and above expects tmpfs to be mounted at /dev/shm for

# POSIX shared memory (shm_open, shm_unlink).

# (tmpfs is a dynamically expandable/shrinkable ramdisk, and will

#  use almost no memory if not populated with files)

shm                     /dev/shm        tmpfs           nodev,nosuid,noexec     0 0

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## Nu-kid

/proc/mounts@ is a lsymlink

Where is the file? Where is this a link to?

I have some bad entries in there that I want to remove but I don't know where the original file is.

Thnx.

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## Headrush

```
ls -l /proc/mounts

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11 Aug  5 21:33 /proc/mounts -> self/mounts
```

The files in /proc aren't files you can edit in the normal text file sense.

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## Nu-kid

so how do I remove bad entries in that file?

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## Headrush

 *Nu-kid wrote:*   

> so how do I remove bad entries in that file?

 

Show the entries and tell us which you think is wrong.

Most of the entries are mounted using the options in your /etc/fstab file.

Edit: Post your /etc/fstab also please.Last edited by Headrush on Sun Aug 06, 2006 2:54 am; edited 2 times in total

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## jmbsvicetto

Nu-kid,

you need to post your grub.conf or lilo.conf file as well.

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## Nu-kid

All the entires with /newroot are wrong one of them is causing me to get the mount: Mounting /dev/hda3 on /newroot failed

# nano -w /proc/mounts

rootfs / rootfs rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot tmpfs rw 0 0

/dev/cdroms/cdrom0 /newroot/mnt/cdrom iso9660 ro 0 0

/dev/loop/0 /newroot/mnt/livecd squashfs ro 0 0

proc /newroot/proc proc rw,nodiratime 0 0

sysfs /newroot/sys sysfs rw 0 0

udev /newroot/dev tmpfs rw,nosuid 0 0

devpts /newroot/dev/pts devpts rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot/mnt/livecd/lib/firmware tmpfs rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot/mnt/livecd/usr/portage tmpfs rw 0 0

usbfs /newroot/proc/bus/usb usbfs rw 0 0

/dev/hda3 / ext3 rw 0 0

/dev/hda1 /boot ext2 rw 0 0

none /proc proc rw,nodiratime 0 0

So I'm unclear as to where this info get pulled from?

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## Nu-kid

# nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf

default 0

timeout 10

splashimage=(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title=Gentoo Linux 2.6.12-R6

root (hd0,0)

kernel /boot/Linux-x86-2.6.12-Gentoo-R6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_roo$initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6

Thnx again...

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## jmbsvicetto

If it's not a typo, you have a problem here:

 *Quote:*   

> title=Gentoo Linux 2.6.12-R6
> 
> root (hd0,0)
> 
> kernel /boot/Linux-x86-2.6.12-Gentoo-R6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_roo$initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6

 

You should have

 *Quote:*   

> title=Gentoo Linux 2.6.12-R6
> 
> root (hd0,0)
> 
> kernel /boot/Linux-x86-2.6.12-Gentoo-R6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda3
> ...

 

If this doesn't help, you should think about building your own kernel.

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## Headrush

Nu-kid, this is the same problem you have in another thread, isn't it?

Stick to one thread per issue.

Its in the Gentoo forum guidelines and it makes following the problem and see everyone's previous suggestions easier.

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## Nu-kid

ooh..okay I'll post this in the other thread..

I

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## Nu-kid

/proc/mounts@ is a lsymlink

Where is the file? Where is this a link to?

I have some bad entries in there that I want to remove but I don't know where the original file is.

how do I remove bad entries in that file?

# nano -w /proc/mounts

rootfs / rootfs rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot tmpfs rw 0 0

/dev/cdroms/cdrom0 /newroot/mnt/cdrom iso9660 ro 0 0

/dev/loop/0 /newroot/mnt/livecd squashfs ro 0 0

proc /newroot/proc proc rw,nodiratime 0 0

sysfs /newroot/sys sysfs rw 0 0

udev /newroot/dev tmpfs rw,nosuid 0 0

devpts /newroot/dev/pts devpts rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot/mnt/livecd/lib/firmware tmpfs rw 0 0

tmpfs /newroot/mnt/livecd/usr/portage tmpfs rw 0 0

usbfs /newroot/proc/bus/usb usbfs rw 0 0

/dev/hda3 / ext3 rw 0 0

/dev/hda1 /boot ext2 rw 0 0

none /proc proc rw,nodiratime 0 0

So I'm unclear as to where this info get pulled from?

Thnx for all you help..

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## grenwald

/proc/mounts point to /etc/mtab i think

But if you want to remove entries in this file, remember that, it is generated automatically while booting, or each time a drive is mount/unmount

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## jmbsvicetto

Actually /proc/mounts is not a file, but a "window" into the kernel. If something is wrong there, then you have something wrong with your kernel or your config.

If you're booting from a live-cd, it's common to see some strange entries on /proc/mounts.

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## Nu-kid

I don't have an /etc/mtab..

But I don't think it's generated auot at boot.I was reading on on the net that the reason I'm having the above problem is because a process that starts at boot  is trying to run from  path /newroot instead of / <root>. So I was thinking that maybe it's this file it has entries in there pointing to /newroot. I checked my other Linux PC's /proc/mounts@ file and it has simular ebtries without the /newroot. So I fgured this is a symlink and it needs to have the original file edited accordingly. But i don't know how those entries got in there nor where the original file is. The /proc/mounts@ file is uneditable.

Any thouhghts..

Thnx ya'll

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## jmbsvicetto

Nu-kid,

as Headrush has warned you, one should not double or cross-post on the forums. When you have a new issue, create a new thread; but as long as you have an issue keep the discussion on a single thread.

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## Nu-kid

ok...

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## Nu-kid

Does anybody no anything about where /proc/mounts@ comes from? Or where it gets the info?

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## Nu-kid

That grub.conf that I posted was a typo. Below is what my grub.conf looks like.

Thnx.

The problem still persists.

title=Gentoo Linux 2.6.12-R6

root (hd0,0)

kernel /boot/Linux-x86-2.6.12-Gentoo-R6 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda3

initrd /boot/initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.12-gentoo-r6

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## jmbsvicetto

Have you last compiled your kernel with genkernel or are you still using the initramfs file, but have compiled the kernel by hand?

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