Re: When is /etc/fstab called?

[Joseph A Knapka <jknapka@earthlink.net>]

Allen Curtis wrote:
> I was wondering if someone could clarify this behavior.
> 
> Recently I created a custom kernel which calls a custom "init" script. While
> debugging the "strange" behavior I discovered that Linux processed
> /etc/fstab and mounted the root file-system specified before "init" was
> called. This was unfortunate since I was trying to reformat the device that
> was now mysteriously mounted.

Well, consider that the kernel has to be able to *find* /etc/fstab
in the first place, which means the filesystem containing /etc
must be mounted for the kernel to fully boot.

The root device is hard-coded in the kernel image; man rdev to
see how to change it. Also, all the popular bootloaders permit
you to specify a root device in the bootloader configuration.
See the LILO or GRUB docs, depending on which (if any) you use.

Cheers,

-- Joe

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