A better way to do this is to boot once using the root=/dev/hdb1 (or whatever) and then use the "rdev" command to change the root device in your kernel. I think you use it like: rdev /dev/hdb1 /boot/vmlinuz that will change /boot/vmlinuz to use /dev/hdb1 as its root device.
Andre > It is possible to change this on an existing installation, even if you > can't connect it to the original install place. > > First step is to pass the kernel your new root filesystem location. This > is done via the kernel command line, in LILO just append whatever > options you want after your image name. (I don't recall how to do the > same thing in GRUB, but it will be possible..) > > The option you need to pass in this instance is `root=<fulldev>` > (without quotes), where <fulldev> is either the major:minor numbers of > your new root filesystem, or the full device path (ie, /dev/hda1). > > You'll also need to pass an option to shortcut the boot process and just > give us a root shell. This option is `init=/bin/sh` (without quotes). > > The kernel should boot, and where you'd normally see init load, you'll > be dumped out to a prompt like such: "(none):#". > > Before you can fix up the remounting of filesystems, you need to remount > the root filesystem as read-write. This is because the kernel always > mounts the root filesystem read-only. You can remount it with: > > mount -o remount -w / > > Once remounted, make sure you've mounted any other critical filesystems, > you'll need /boot, and /etc. Make sure you mount those read-write as > well. For example, if my /boot is on /dev/hda1, mount it like: > > mount -w /dev/hda1 /boot > > Now, you'll need to fix up the bootloader's configuration. For LILO, > edit/etc/lilo.conf and change "boot=" and "root=" as appropriate. Re-run > LILO once you're done. > > Lastly, you'll need to change the table used to mount file systems, > /etc/fstab. Edit each line there to suit the new drive location. > > Finally, ensure all your changes are written to disk by typing: > > sync > > YOU MUST SYNC THE FILESYSTEM BEFORE REBOOTING or your changes will not > hit the media. Hit Control-Alt-Del, and things should boot normally.
