Product: sys-apps/mkinitrd Version: 4.2.0.3 When mkinitrd makes a initramfs file, it invokes cpio with wrong parameters; the new image is interpreted by the kernel as a inetrd one (kernel doesn't find the "magic cpio sequence"), failing the boot.
Created attachment 83091 [details, diff] Possible solution
just to make sure that the next who traps into this finds the right hint at google (it cost me at least two hours to solve the problem and develope the same patch as suggested above): if you try to boot a kernel with this it sayes: Unpacking Initramfs...<0>Kernel panic - not syncing: no cpio magic
kernel 2.6.19-r5 cpio format must be "newc". Else it says: "Unpacking Initramfs...<0>Kernel panic - not syncing: no cpio magic" sys-apps/mkinitrd-4.2.0.3 currently contains 'cpio -c -o'. Must be 'cpio -H newc -o'. May be patch inverted?
Created attachment 109725 [details, diff] mkinitrd-4.2.0.3-cpio-format.patch
Confirmed, took me 2 hours to find out. Additionally, the last unmasked version in portage (3.5.7-r3) uses pivot_root in the linuxrc script which is deprecated, did not work for me with kernel 2.6.16.33 and might be generally broken. This leaves us with no usable mkinitrd version in portage so imho the proposed patch should be applied asap and 4.2.0.3 be unmasked!!
RH releases new mkinitrd (4.2.1.10): https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2007-0273.html This new release contains same bugs as current. I think, it is not good idea to wait while RH resolve it.
please fix that in gentoo soon -- i just wrote that very patch as well :-)
gone
