Bug 127542

Summary:	mkinitrd creates a wrong version cpio file
Product:	Gentoo Linux	Reporter:	Frack <frack>
Component:	[OLD] Core system	Assignee:	Gentoo's Team for Core System packages <base-system>
Status:	RESOLVED WONTFIX
Severity:	normal	CC:	Sergey.Belyashov
Priority:	High
Version:	unspecified
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Package list:		Runtime testing required:	---
Bug Depends on:	324741
Bug Blocks:
Attachments:	Possible solution mkinitrd-4.2.0.3-cpio-format.patch

Description Frack 2006-03-25 08:53:25 UTC

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.

Comment 1 Frack 2006-03-25 08:54:50 UTC

Created attachment 83091 [details, diff]
Possible solution

Comment 2 Immo 'FaUl' Wehrenberg 2006-08-17 16:32:25 UTC

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

Comment 3 Sergey Belyashov 2007-02-10 15:46:51 UTC

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?

Comment 4 Sergey Belyashov 2007-02-10 15:52:25 UTC

Created attachment 109725 [details, diff]
mkinitrd-4.2.0.3-cpio-format.patch

Comment 5 Johann Hanne 2007-04-28 18:18:39 UTC

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!!

Comment 6 Sergey Belyashov 2007-06-03 09:30:39 UTC

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.

Comment 7 webograph van da net 2007-08-06 13:48:03 UTC

please fix that in gentoo soon -- i just wrote that very patch as well :-)

Comment 8 Samuli Suominen (RETIRED) gentoo-dev

2010-07-21 12:51:33 UTC

gone