RE: PROBLEM: kernel mount of initrd fails unless mke2fs uses 1024

[Post, Mark K]

Andries,

That won't be possible.  Since this initrd is my root file system, when the
kernel fails to mount it, it goes into a panic and I'm dead.  Any other
suggestions?

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 5:17 PM
To: [e-mail]; [e-mail];
[e-mail]
Subject: RE: PROBLEM: kernel mount of initrd fails unless mke2fs uses
1024 byt e blocks

        The kernel does set_blocksize() to change the blocksize of your
        device. This set_blocksize() throws away all buffers with the
        now incorrect size. But your device is a ramdisk, and throwing
        out these buffers kills all your data.

    Andries,

    Thanks for the update.  So, what do I do now?
    Wait for a fix for 2.2?  Send my problem report to someone else?

First you check whether my analysis is correct:
check that after the failed mount attempt the ramdisk
does not hold any data anymore. (Say with od or so.)

Now we have a known problem. You can avoid meeting it
by only using blocksize 1024. On the kernel side this
of course will have to be fixed some time.
I think Adam Richter once submitted a patch to fix this,
but apparently it was not taken.
For 2.5 I think the aim must be to get rid of set_blocksize()
entirely. I don't know whether 2.2 and 2.4 will be fixed.

Andries