[afnog] SuSE /root problem

[Mike Barnard]

> On Wed, May 11, 2005 at 09:16:19AM +0300, Mike Barnard wrote:
>> Hi, i got a problem with a SuSE 7.2. there was no hard disk activity,
>> nothing was working. i rebooted and it cant come up. ran hdd test and
>> still cant boot, ive done a repair installation and i get an error that
>> YaST cannot find a valid root partition.
>
> 1. Is the hard drive detected at all? (If booting from a rescue CD, do you
>    see messages about hda? At power-up does the BIOS detect the hard
> drive?)

i get to see the disk at POST. BIOS has no problem detecting the HDD. cant
boot of it though, get the usual NO BOOT device thing! running fixes off
the SuSE 9.1 CD tell me that the root partition is corrupt.

>
> 2. Can you read blocks from it? Boot from rescue CD, try
>       dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/null count=512
>    (which will read the first 512 0.5K blocks, or 256KB of data)
>
yeah i can read all other data off it using third party data recovery
tools. HDD repair tools tell me that there is an error in the zero sector.
i believe when i rebooted it, then somehow this first block got messed up.
im thinking that i do a system update or re-write the partition info again
using the SuSE Cd. my worry is loosing the data on the disk.


> 3. Is there a valid partition table on the hard drive? (i.e. boot from
>    rescue CD, run 'fdisk /dev/hda', use 'p' to print partition table,
>    what does it show?)
>
> If 1 or 2 fails, then it looks like you have a low-level hardware problem:
> the drive has died completely, the controller has died completely, the
> cable
> is duff, or so on. Examining kernel boot messages carefully might be able
> to
> show if the controller is OK or not; or just plug in a different HD and
> see
> if you can boot that.
>
> Regards,
>
> Brian.
>


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You can either enjoy the benefits of your FAITH or suffer the consequences
of your DOUBT (Hebrew 11)

James 1:6-8 (amplified bible)

... it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering [no HESITATING, no
DOUBTING]. For the one who wavers [HESITATES, DOUBTS] is like the
billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by
the wind. (7) For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will
receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, (8) [For being as he is] a
man of two minds [HESITATING, DUBIOUS, IRRESOLUTE], [he is] UNSTABLE and
UNRELIABLE and UNCERTAIN about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
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