Re: [SLUG] Copying and booting linux with a partition with a different filesystem type

From: Matthew Rogers (matt@runithard.com)
Date: Sun Mar 30 2008 - 22:00:27 EST


As long as the FS module is BUILT INTO the kernel it should be able to
boot off ext2 with ease. There's probably something wrong in your fstab
or in your boot loader.

Eben King wrote:
> On Sun, 30 Mar 2008, Donald E Haselwood wrote:
>
>> Can linux, e.g. Suse 10.3, copied and booted up on a partition with a
>> different filesystem from the one it was installed on? My experiments
>> suggest that this cannot be done, but maybe there is something I'm
>> overlooking.
>
> I'd have to say "yes, probably", because at one time I had ext2 on /
> and now I have ext3. Odds are I didn't reinstall to do this as I
> rarely install.
>
>> For example, I have Suse 10.3 installed on a partition with ext3. I
>> copy the
>> whole system to a partition formatted with ext2. I fix fstab and
>> grub. Boot
>> fails early, ending with "Loading ext3"; "Mount: unknown filesystem type
>> ext2"; then," kernel panic...". If I do the same copy/fix-up process
>> to a
>> partition with ext3 it works fine.
>
> I've always used lilo (well, grub is on the laptop but I haven't had
> to futz with it). Maybe your grub doesn't have a handler for ext2?
>
>> I also tried it on a machine with Suse 10.2 installed on an ext2
>> partition and copied to an ext3 partition. Boot fails with "unknown
>> filesystem type ext3" when the filesystem type on the copy is ext3;
>> of course in this case the filesystem types are reversed, i.e.
>> "Loading ext2"; "Mount: unknown filesystem type ext3." And again, it
>> works fine if the partition filesystem type for the copy is the same
>> as the installed type, ext2.
>
> Can you tell what's giving you the "unknown filesystem" message? If
> it's the kernel, you need to make sure the module for ext3 is in the
> initrd or compiled into the kernel.
>
>> This suggests that something in the kernel/initrd images has the
>> filesystem
>> type expected and fails when a different one is encountered. So far, I
>> haven't been able to turn up anything to confirm/refute this on the web.
>
> See if there's some way to reconfigure grub. Maybe there's a process
> where you choose among the valid filesystems for /
> (ext2/ext3/umsdos/reiserfs/etc).
>
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