Hi,
If install CD properly detects your SATA disk than the only thing that is not working properly is initrd image. During boot time, with grub modified to show entire output ( remove quiet argument from kernel line and vga=xxxxx ), look for the following lines, from initrd image:
Loading ext3 fs module
Loading SCSI layer modules
Loading libATA layer
Probing for Intel SATA Chip
You can leave quiet option on, in this way you will have less output, initrd image output will appear anyway.
Also, look and see if your SATA disk is detected.
Maybe, you are using other disks and your main device is no longer sda1, try editing grub command upon every boot and try using sdb1 sdc1 sdd1 sde1.
Note: Edit grub on the fly
Press ESC during boot and grub menu will appear
Hit E key to enable edit of boot menu.
Go to kernel line and change root=/dev/sdxx line
Don't forget to remove quiet argument and vga= in order to see full kernel details.

Sat, 2007-01-06 11:41
Joined: 2006-12-29
My installation hangs when booting.
Managed to change grub.conf so I could see the output from grub.
3 last lines says:
VFS: Cannot open root device "sda1" or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)
As indicated I have a SATA disk installed as /dev/sda. My motherboard is an VIA EN12000
I have tryed both letting the installation make one big partition and making some smaller partions myself. Same result.
Have googled (and found) a lot about this problem, but haven't found a solution.
currently my guess is that either doesn't the kernel suport my SATA controller (even though the CD image does) or the initrd.img is somehow wrong. Many people suggest build a new usning mkinitrd which unfortunately isn't part of the distro. Any one who has a solution on this problem?