On an Ultra 10 it is necessary to ensure that BLK_DEV_CMD_64x is set to Y (compiled in). By default in the vanilla 2.6.13_rc4 kernel it is compiled as a module. The default setting (compiled as a module) prevents the kernel from booting from the primary IDE drive. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1.compile kernel as specified in the Sparc Installation guide. 2.copy image & boot 3. Actual Results: The kernel did not find the root partition Expected Results: Found the root partition & booted -> ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support -> <*> CMD64{3|6|8|9} chipset support
Hrm, we don't include kernel configuration information in the install docs, do we?
(In reply to comment #1) > Hrm, we don't include kernel configuration information in the install docs, do we? Yup, we do.... the Configuring the Kernel section at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=1&chap=7 for example.
That isn't a list of "on hardware X, you need to enable kernel option Y". To do that kind of list for SPARC we'd need a) a lot more test hardware and b) someone with several weeks of spare time... See, if we add in one comment about cmd64x, we'd need to add in a whole load more about every other bit of hardware out there.
It might be worth a note in the sparc FAQ, though.
I agree with Ciaran on this one. You can perfectly fetch a generic-enough kernel configuration from the livecd, and now also genkernel builds a valid kernel (i've been working with the gk devs getting an updated config in it). On the new release media this is noted at boot time too. Let's say, for example, does PPC take into consideration every Oldworld/Newworld machines out there in their handbook? Or for that matter RS/6000 (pSeries) machines? Colp: the kernel configs for the livecd are in /etc/kernels usually, just remember to enable your preferred filesystem builtin (it's M on the current one, Y on the soon-to-be-released one).
Oh, and BTW, 2.6 kernels aren't considered stable on SPARC yet. You shouldn't have issues on a U10 with some of them - but then some things like onboard sound won't work. One of the things missing is a Kconfig rework upstream so that the defconfig is sane (which is exactly your problem), among SMP problems and others.
