kernel panic: no init found

[enig_o_matic]

Hi, I'm sorta new to linux, and I keep running into this problem without a clue as to what to do about it. When I try to boot backtrack 2 from my live cd i get this message:

Warning: Unable to open an initial console

Kernel panic- not syncing: No init found. Try passing init= option to kernel

What can I do about this?


--------------------------------------------------------------------
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. --Douglas Adams

[The Leprechaun]

I'm fairly new to linux as well, so my answer could be way off base but here goes....

First of all what are you running it on? A laptop? If so, you might check the wiki to see if your laptop is listed in the compatibility section.

Secondly, you might try burning another iso. I have heard of a way to verify that your image is not corrupt, but i'm not sure how. Anyone else know?

[enig_o_matic]

I have a Toshiba Satellite A75 laptop. While it isn't listed in the compatibility section, some other similar (i think) models are. I did an md5 check on my iso and it turned out ok. This is not my first cd and the others had the same problem. The error popped up when the bootup finished messing with my windows partition. Just to see what would happen, I unplugged my hard drive and got a different message.

Please append a correct root= boot option

Kernel panic Not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown block (3,1)

I'm really confused as to why this isn't working, since auditor has always run fine in my comp.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. --Douglas Adams

[crweedon]

alright from my limited knowledge i gather that the computer is basically saying to you that it can't figure out where it is supposed to boot from and is asking you to specify the location ie /bin/boot/ or something of that nature trying re-DLing the iso and checking the MD5 before you burn it, cause from my experience toshiba are usually pretty good with linux in general.