Re: Can't mount USB partition as root

["Randy.Dunlap" <rddunlap@osdl.org>]

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 13:38:12 -0500 Wakko Warner <wakko@animx.eu.org> wrote:

| > > Is it possible to boot kernel with root from /dev/sda1 (USB)?
| > > partition table: whole /dev/sda is one partition (sda1), type 83 (Linux).
| > > Tried also switching on and off hotplugging in kernel and it didn't help.
| > 
| > Well, is the device detected and the partition table scanned before the
| > root mount is attempted?
| > 
| > I believe this should work given you've compiled in all the necessary
| > code.  Please capture the dmesg using serial console/netconsole/whatever
| > and post it along with your .config.
| 
| I did this with 2.4 a few months back.  Basically all I did was add the same
| delay before mounting root as the kernel does with mounting a root floppy. 
| Problem is the kernel is too fast for the usb code to find the disk.
| 
| I'v been wanting to ask this question.  How can I make the kernel "sleep"
| for say 5 seconds (or pause or something, whatever is required to delay
| execution) to wait for the device to become available.  I tried the same
| thing doing nfsroot with a cardbus nic which fails because the kernel
| doesn't see the card until after it attempted to mount /

I posted a patch for 2.4.22 which someone tested and reported as working.
The patch is here:
  http://www.xenotime.net/linux/usb/usbboot-2422.patch

--
~Randy