ERROR: CANNOT UNITE READ-ONLY MEDIA AND INITIAL RAMDISK

**tom_vear** · 07-21-2005, 04:40 PM

ERROR: CANNOT UNITE READ-ONLY MEDIA AND INITIAL RAMDISK -

Hi im having some trouble booting on booting, ive tried safe mode but the above error always shows, is there something stupid i have done? i dont think ive got it horribly wrong - its in the boot process just after '/linuxrc: /bin/mount: I/O error'

i have have an IBM think Pad T30 if that has any effect on the error with 512mb ram - any ideas?

**UnderScore** · 07-21-2005, 05:06 PM

I/O errors usually (not always) indicate that the CDR is either bad or burned too fast (4x or 8x recommended). OR I/O errors can also be caused by ACPI and APIC conflicts.

Knoppix boots with a splash screen. At that splash screen you can enter codes which will force Knoppix to do certain things. Theses codes are known as Cheat Codes.
To test the CDR, use:
knoppix testcd

To disable APCI & APIC:
knoppix acpi=off noapic

**tom_vear** · 07-22-2005, 02:31 PM

your sport on about i/o errors but it give me the same error when a i boot in to testcd adn when i turn off acpi. i just dont understand why, i really want it to work, will try a slower write speed! id that doesnt work any other possible causes you can think of that directly effect acpi

**UnderScore** · 07-22-2005, 03:29 PM

If you are still getting errors you may need to confirm that the Knoppix ISO file you downloaded is indeed unchanged & not corrupt. If you used Bittorrent then you can trust Bittorrent to download a file perfectly because it has error checking & prevention built in. If you downloaded via web or ftp then see the Downloading FAQ question What are these strange MD5 files that accompany the ISO CD images?. See also the other FAQs that descibe buring issues.

**rwcitek** · 07-23-2005, 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by tom_vear

your sport on about i/o errors but it give me the same error when a i boot in to testcd ...

Just to clarify, testcd is not another kernel. It is the same bootup process as the default, except that Knoppix runs the testcd script during boot up.

Originally Posted by tom_vear

... adn when i turn off acpi. i just dont understand why, i really want it to work, will try a slower write speed! id that doesnt work any other possible causes you can think of that directly effect acpi

Assuming that the md5sum checks out, have a look at the Cheatcodes:Tips&Tricks section. Which of the two boot commands did you try, and how far in the boot process you were able to get?

BTW, what Knoppix version are you using?

Regards,
- Robert
http://www.cwelug.org/