FW: Initramfs and unable to run or load Ubuntu to my HD

[Andrew Farris]

On Sun, 2009-09-06 at 18:40 -0700, Ken Warwick wrote:
[snip]
> My question is how do I get by this initramfs stage/error/???? and
> continue with loading 9:04?
> What is the problem here?
> Is it a SW or HW problem?
> What is "initramfs" or where can I get a common sense explanation of
> it; i.e., how I move on from here?

initramfs = init(initial) + ram(RAM) + fs(filesystem)
Basically, it's a minimal root environment that the kernel sets up when
booting so it can auto-detect hardware. Here's wikipedia's info on the
subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initrd

As for the boot process stopping at 'initramfs', I assume that you mean
the boot process is dropping you off at a BusyBox Prompt, similar to the
following:

        BusyBox Built-in shell (ash)
        Enter 'help' for a list of built in commands.
        
        (initramfs)_
        
There's a few reasons that this could be happening.
     1. The CD you burned is faulty. I know you said you checked the
        image MD5 sums (even though I snipped that comment...), but that
        doesn't mean that the CD burn process didn't go wonky at some
        point. Check the CD integrity by choosing "Check CD for Defects"
        from the Boot menu. If this returns errors (or also drops to a
        busybox) then try re-burning the CD at a very low speed (I
        always burn my CD's at 4x speed) and try again. If it doesn't
        return any errors, see my other points.
     2. The computer you're installing on could have parts that are
        incompatible with Ubuntu for whatever reason. Not sure what they
        would be, or why, but usually it would be graphics cards or
        other such things. If you continue having issues, please include
        any info on your hardware with your next email. Recommended
        info:
             1. CPU type/model/speed
             2. RAM ammount
             3. HDD Space (could be relevent...)
             4. Graphics Card
             5. Has this computer had any issues previously? could also
                be relevant.
     3. The computer's CD drive could be defective. Unlikely, as you
        said you can boot a PCLinuxOS LiveCD...(a feat my computer could
        never accomplish) but it is still a possibility, as hardware
        failures can manifest themselves through extraordinarily odd
        behavior

This is all I can think of for now. Please check the points above, and
report back. thanks!


-- 
Andrew
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