Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Re: Changing boot device with 2.6.36

[Alex Schuster]

Dale writes:

> Alan McKinnon wrote:
>> Apparently, though unproven, at 15:18 on Tuesday 04 January 2011, Stroller did
>> opine thusly:
>>
>>> I found numerous references to this syntax going back to 2005 or
>>> so, and some major distros seem to use it as the default way of
>>> describing "root=" to the kernel.
>>>
>>> http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/redhat-fedora-linux-help/23010-root-label-
>>> grub-conf.html
>>> http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/RedHat/2005-01/0026.html
>>>
>>> However:
>>> http://old.nabble.com/Re%3A-Using--%22root%3DLABEL%3Dxxxx%22-in-grub.conf-p
>>> 21909347.html http://tinyurl.com/2u4srg4
>>>
>>> Stroller.
>>
>> All the major distros I've seen it on also use initrds though (rare in gentoo-
>> land). I have no idea how it all works, I just know how to type it on a RHEL
>> box.

I am using an initrd, I need it since my root partition is encrypted.
It's generated and copied to /boot with 'genkernel --install --luks
--lvm all', but you have to have CLEAN="no" in /etc/genkernel.conf or
genkernel will create its own .config.

>> Elsewhere in the thread someone mentioned that this syntax relies on an
>> initrd, and I suspect he may be correct.

And Stroller's 3rd link also does this.

> I tried using labels with the old grub a while back and it didn't work.
> Labels in fstab works fine tho.  We may have to wait on the new grub to
> get finished

I would be surprised if it had this feature. AFAIK grub is already done
at this stage, the kernel has taken over. And I guess it does not know
about the LABEL= syntax, and has no code to scan all devices for file
system labels.
With an initramfs, the kernel runs an init script which can do various
stuff, like probing all devices for file system labels.

	Wonko