[linux-audio-user] planetedge kernels

[Fernando Pablo Lopez-Lezcano]

On Mon, 2004-10-11 at 18:23, Joey Reid wrote:
> Hi all. This is probably a question for Fernando, but I am not 
> subscribed to the CCRMA list, so I will post it here and hope you will 
> be kind.

Hmm, maybe you should have subscribed then, this is a very specific
question... :-)

> I decided to try a kernel from the planetedge to experiment with 
> low-latency 2.6. I installed the S7, since looking at the archives that 
> appears to be the one people have been having luck with. I haven't been 
> able to boot it, and I think I know why. Looking at the kernel config, 
> it shows
> 
> # CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE_SATA is not set
> 
> and my system is on a SATA disk. Bummer.
> 
> So I would like to know, without downloading and trying all the 
> planetedge kernels, do any of them have CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE_SATA=y? And 
> is the reason it is turned off because the default config for the kernel 
> is so? Is there an issue there? And does anyone know how to rebuild a 
> kernel rpm using a different config?

I've been doing a bit of research (I have an install on a sata disk and
it works fine). 

This is what the kernel configurator says about this option:

"Support for SATA (deprecated; conflicts with libata SATA driver)
BLK_DEV_IDE_SATA

There are two drivers for Serial ATA controllers.

The main driver, "libata", exists inside the SCSI subsystem
and supports most modern SATA controllers.

The IDE driver (which you are currently configuring) supports
a few first-generation SATA controllers.

In order to eliminate conflicts between the two subsystems,
this config option enables the IDE driver's SATA support.
Normally this is disabled, as it is preferred that libata
supports SATA controllers, and this (IDE) driver supports
PATA controllers."

So, it is an obsolete driver (apparently this changed sometime around
2.6.8)....

What is probably happening in your case is that the drive is being
recognized, but it is being labeled as /dev/sda instead of the (old)
convention of it being /dev/hda (or b or c or whatever). But the kernel
installed originally only knew about the old driver so it is looking at
an non-existent drive for the root partition. 

Check the kernel messages as it boots to see if it is seeing your drive
and note what it is being recognized as (sda, sdb, etc). I think you
have to change the root= option in the grub boot line to match this (and
latter possibly also /etc/fstab if you don't use labels for the root
partition - for sure you'll have to fix the swap partition entry). 

-- Fernando