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When I load Suse Linux 9.1 Pro edition, it freezes when the blue bar is at about 50%. When I look at details, it sometimes says:

1.) some error about usb01

OR

2.) some error about the hdd

Any help would be appreciated. thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kc0arf

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reported a kernel panic on boot that prevents the root filesystem from mounting. That symptom most often comes from one of three problems: the filesystem itself is damaged, the initramfs/initrd does not contain the disk-controller driver required at early boot, or the boot/GRUB configuration points to the wrong device name. correctly asked for the exact message, and was right to suspect partition/drive problems — the diagnostics below expand on recovery steps without repeating earlier suggestions.

A safe rescue workflow (from a SUSE install/rescue CD or any modern live Linux) is: confirm the disk/partition layout, discover UUIDs, mount the installed root read-only and inspect /etc/fstab and the GRUB menu so the boot loader and fstab agree on the root device. If the kernel was changed recently or the BIOS/controller mode changed (IDE/AHCI), rebuild the initial ramdisk so the necessary disk modules are available at boot, then reinstall GRUB if root still won’t be located. Useful commands to run from the rescue environment:

fdisk -l
blkid
mount -o ro /dev/sdXY /mnt
mount -t proc proc /mnt/proc
chroot /mnt /bin/bash
mkinitrd
grub-install /dev/sdX

Do basic hardware checks: confirm the BIOS sees the drive, try a different IDE/SATA cable or port, and check SMART for early failure signs. If the drive may be failing, create an image before running destructive repairs — GNU ddrescue is designed for this: https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/

If time is short, copying critical data off the disk from a live environment is the priority; a fresh drive and reinstall is the fastest route to restore service. If the system used to boot fine and no hardware changes were made, focus on initrd and GRUB/device-name mismatches first — those are common and fixable without full reinstallation.

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Member Avatar for alc6379

Please tell us exactly what the errors are. Doing so will enable us to help you more effectively.

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The error message is:

Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs hda2

Thanks

PS: Suse used to work befor - it suddenly "broke".

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Please help/respod. I need to get linux back and running asap. It's really important.

Thanks,
C++

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

/dev/hda2 is a filessytem on your hard drive. (hd) means that it is a hard disk. (a) means that it is the primary IDE channel, primary (not slave) device. (2) means that it is the second partition on that drive.

Linux systems are servers, and by convention, servers partition the hard drives to protect them. The simple answer is that your second partition is in trouble -- either bad data, physical errors that sort of thing.

If you are in a hurry, I would go to the store, get a different hard drive, and re-install. We do not know if you have physical damage or not, and I am thinking you are brand new to linux.

If you have some more time, try to load linux in "safe mode" or as we call it, single user mode. Not having deep SUSE experience, I do not know if you have those options, or how to get them. In RedHat, at the GRUB screen, we type in an "a" and then add the word "single" to the boot command line.

If you can get to a prompt, you can try running fsck to repair the volume. "fsck /dev/hda2" in your case. You might need to put other qualifiers in there -- might want to "man fsck" first.

Good luck with this.

Christian

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