IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc

If possible can you boot without quiet and see what is happening? You might just need to regenerate your initrd.

Thanks
chuck

Still testing with:
ii linux-image-2.6.22-8-powerpc 2.6.22-8.18

Rebootet without splash and quiet

--- bootmsg : snip ---
Waiting for root file system ...
/dev/hda3 does not exist
--- snap ---

indeed... /dev/hda3 does not exists

--- fstab : snip ---
# /dev/hda3 -- converted during upgrade to edgy
UUID=1b66d100-a240-4d7f-aa74-d169a04669dd / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
--- snap ---

I regenerated the initrd right now ...
root@sovereign:~# update-initramfs -v -c -k 2.6.22-8-powerpc
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-8-powerpc
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/core/usbcore.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/host/ehci-hcd.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/host/ohci-hcd.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/host/uhci-hcd.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/hid/hid.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/hid/usbhid/usbhid.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/ide/ide-core.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/libusual.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/scsi/scsi_mod.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/usb-storage.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/mbcache.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/ext2/ext2.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/jbd/jbd.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/ext3/ext3.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/isofs/isofs.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/jfs/jfs.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/net/sunrpc/sunrpc.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/lockd/lockd.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/nfs/nfs.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/reiserfs/reiserfs.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/udf/udf.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/fs/xfs/xfs.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/net/packet/af_packet.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/mii.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/3c59x.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/8139cp.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/8139too.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/8390.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/b44.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/bmac.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/bnx2.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/defxx.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/dl2k.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/e1000/e1000.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/e100.ko
Adding module /lib/modules/2.6.22-8-powerpc/kernel/drivers/net/epic100.ko
Adding module...

I think I found the problem...

The error says that hda3 cannot be found which is correct. /dev/hda3 does not exist.
This is correct because ide-core and ide-disk does not get loaded in bootup.

When I do modprobe ide-disk from the initramfs console the harddrive gets detected correctly.

I can confirm this is still happening with 2.6.22-9-powerpc. Exact same error.

Thanks

I added a script to scripts/init-premount in the initrd file that added ide-disk and that seems to work.
I've attached a file that can be put in /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/init-premount that should solve this
then run update-initramfs

Happens here too on a PowerBook5,8. with 2.6.22-11

modprob'ing ide-disk fixes it here too.

The kernel package needs to be fixed to do that by default on all powerpc Apple machines at least. I suspect G5's will have a similar problem with the CD drive which is on the same type of controller which doesn't autoload properly.

Could that be fixed before the beta ? That doesn't sound like a hard fix :-)

problem confirmed on 1998 iMac Rev.A (EIDE drive), and modprobe ide_core at busybox fixes it first time, then adding ide_core to /usr/share/initramfs-tools/module and running

update-initramfs -u

fixes it for future reboots. There seems to be a trend in this kernel with ignoring older NewWorld hardware specs (IDE, pre-AltiVec cpus) that wasn't in Feisty.

This bug should have importance "high" or "critical" since it is a show stopper for non-technical users.

Regards,
Niels Kristian

going by https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Importance i'd say it fits the high description quite well

Doing a system upgrade to Gutsy yesterday returned the system to this problematic state. Since the updater doesn't see any updates between yesterday and today, I doubt the official Oct. 18 Gutsy release today has this fixed.

same problem and solution here, Apple PowerMac G4 500Mhz Titanium.
I cannot understand why this fix was not included for the final release, I tested through all Tribes and this problem was there all the time, and reported. What is up with the kernel team at Ubuntu? It took an entire release-cycle to fix the SANE/USB-issue and the trend seems to continue:-((

In my case, ide_core must also be added to the /etc/initramfs-tools/modules file.

I'm also very surprised that this bug exist on the final release of Gutsy... It's a High priority bug that hang installation of Ubuntu on all PowerPc computers.

The Hardy Heron kernel was recently uploaded for testing. We'd really appreciate it if you could try testing with this newer kernel and verify if this issue still exists. Unfortunately, the Hardy Heron Alpha1 LiveCD was released with the older 2.6.22 kernel. You'll have to manually install the newer Hardy Heron kernel in order to test. This should not be the case for Alpha2. However, here are the instructions to install (if you choose to do so):

1) edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list and add the following line:

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted

2) sudo apt-get update
3) sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic
4) reboot and select the new kernel from the grub menu

After you've tested, please feel free to revert back - ie boot into the old kernel, sudo apt-get remove linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic, and remove the line from
/etc/apt/sources.list . Please update this report with your results. Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I'd be happy to give this a try but as of the update I just did there is
no 2.6.24 kernel for powerpc.

On Tue, 2007-12-04 at 16:25 +0000, Leann Ogasawara wrote:

...

> 1) edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list and add the following line:
>
> deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted
>
> 2) sudo apt-get update
> 3) sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic

Powerpc doesn't use linux-image-*-generic. I just did an update with
hardy and there is no linux-image-2.6.24-*-powerpc

> 4) reboot and select the new kernel from the grub menu
>

Unless things have changed in hardy, powerpc uses yaboot

digger

Leann: Thanks for tackling this problem. See my comments below, please.

On Dec 4, 2007 11:25 AM, Leann Ogasawara <email address hidden> wrote:
> The Hardy Heron kernel was recently uploaded for testing. We'd really
> appreciate it if you could try testing with this newer kernel and verify
> if this issue still exists. Unfortunately, the Hardy Heron Alpha1
> LiveCD was released with the older 2.6.22 kernel. You'll have to
> manually install the newer Hardy Heron kernel in order to test. This
> should not be the case for Alpha2. However, here are the instructions
> to install (if you choose to do so):
>
> 1) edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list and add the following line:
>
> deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted

done.
>
> 2) sudo apt-get update

It chunks for a while, then gives the message:
GPG error: http://www.getautomatix.com edgy Release: The following
signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not
available: NO_PUBKEY CC919A31E23C5FC5 W: You may want to run apt-get
update to correct these problems.

So I did try and run apt-get update, but it failed saying it was
unable to lock the list directory. (Is this because I'm booted on
edgy eft?)

undaunted by these apparent errors, I forged ahead with:
> 3) sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic

got a small response, then:
E: Couldn't find package linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic

Thats where I stopped, unedited the sources.list and am passing this
back to you. Hope this helps.

> 4) reboot and select the new kernel from the grub menu
>
> After you've tested, please feel free to revert back - ie boot into the old kernel, sudo apt-get remove linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic, and remove the line from
> /etc/apt/sources.list . Please update this report with your results. Thanks in advance!
>
> ** Changed in: linux (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided => High
> Status: New => Incomplete
>
>
> --
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

hi,

Run all of the apt-get commands with sudo.

On Wed, 2007-12-05 at 03:37 +0000, Quixwallah wrote:
> Leann: Thanks for tackling this problem. See my comments below,
> please.
>
> On Dec 4, 2007 11:25 AM, Leann Ogasawara <email address hidden> wrote:
> > The Hardy Heron kernel was recently uploaded for testing. We'd really
> > appreciate it if you could try testing with this newer kernel and verify
> > if this issue still exists. Unfortunately, the Hardy Heron Alpha1
> > LiveCD was released with the older 2.6.22 kernel. You'll have to
> > manually install the newer Hardy Heron kernel in order to test. This
> > should not be the case for Alpha2. However, here are the instructions
> > to install (if you choose to do so):
> >
> > 1) edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list and add the following line:
> >
> > deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted
>
> done.
> >
> > 2) sudo apt-get update
>
> It chunks for a while, then gives the message:
> GPG error: http://www.getautomatix.com edgy Release: The following
> signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not
> available: NO_PUBKEY CC919A31E23C5FC5 W: You may want to run apt-get
> update to correct these problems.
>
> So I did try and run apt-get update, but it failed saying it was
> unable to lock the list directory. (Is this because I'm booted on
> edgy eft?)
>
> undaunted by these apparent errors, I forged ahead with:
> > 3) sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic
>
> got a small response, then:
> E: Couldn't find package linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic
>
> Thats where I stopped, unedited the sources.list and am passing this
> back to you. Hope this helps.
>
> > 4) reboot and select the new kernel from the grub menu
> >
> > After you've tested, please feel free to revert back - ie boot into the old kernel, sudo apt-get remove linux-image-2.6.24-1-generic, and remove the line from
> > /etc/apt/sources.list . Please update this report with your results. Thanks in advance!
> >
> > ** Changed in: linux (Ubuntu)
> > Importance: Undecided => High
> > Status: New => Incomplete
> >
> >
> > --
> > IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> > You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> > of a duplicate bug.
> >
>

Quixwallah: It sounds like you have one or more automatix repositories in your sources.list -- if commenting out that line doesn't work, you may want to try a fresh installation to rule out any problems with non-official Ubuntu packages. (Makes it much harder to track down when the software might be different.)

ALSO according to the getautomatix.com site there is NO support for PowerPC after Ubuntu 6.10 Dapper, so there's no reason to use it anyway.

So why then do they release a PPC version of Linux 7.10? I thought
that support was extended because of this release. If not Ubuntu,
then what is good for PPC?

Thx.

On Dec 5, 2007 9:48 AM, Tommy Trussell <email address hidden> wrote:
> Quixwallah: It sounds like you have one or more automatix repositories
> in your sources.list -- if commenting out that line doesn't work, you
> may want to try a fresh installation to rule out any problems with non-
> official Ubuntu packages. (Makes it much harder to track down when the
> software might be different.)
>
> ALSO according to the getautomatix.com site there is NO support for
> PowerPC after Ubuntu 6.10 Dapper, so there's no reason to use it anyway.
>
> --
>
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

Leann: I have been a bad boy. I reloaded the alt version of 7.10,
but this time using the whole disk. I was planning to reedit as you
prescribe, but now cannot boot far enough to get an editor. Will a
"fixed" version of 7.10 be released? By the way, if there is no
support anymore for PPC, why teh 7.10 release?

Thanks,

Ed

On Dec 4, 2007 8:16 PM, Leann Ogasawara <email address hidden> wrote:
> ** Tags removed: hardy-kernel-candidate
>
>
> --
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

Bah, my apologies all. It seems the powerpc image is not yet available for the Hardy release. I'll try to update this report when it's ready.

Also for those interested, please see the section "The PowerPC Architecture" in the following link regarding powerpc support:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2007-February/000098.html

> It seems the powerpc image is not yet available for the Hardy release. I'll try to update this report when it's ready.

I believe the current daily build is always at this url:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/daily/current/

(But this is the alternate CD and maybe you are looking for the live CD image....)

Leann: I don't know much about what's lacking, but it looks like a
pointer needs to be redirected, so the thing boots. How come it is
such a big deal?

Thx.

Ed

On 12/14/07, Leann Ogasawara <email address hidden> wrote:
> ** Tags added: hardy-alpha2
>
> --
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>

Seconded. Is this considered unimportant, or is it actually complex? I have an
iMac I'd like to gift with Gutsy on it, but it's a no-go until it actually
boots.

>===== Original Message From Bug 126337 <email address hidden> =====
>Leann: I don't know much about what's lacking, but it looks like a
>pointer needs to be redirected, so the thing boots. How come it is
>such a big deal?

Hi.

On 12/20/2007 01:36 PM, Andrew Roazen wrote:
> Seconded. Is this considered unimportant, or is it actually complex? I have an
> iMac I'd like to gift with Gutsy on it, but it's a no-go until it actually
> boots.

I'm on the same boat: I have an iBook G3 that is a fine computer and is running
proprietary software right now, but I would love to have the flexibility of
using Free Software, as an enthusiast.

I think that, in this case, using Debian proper would be a good compromise. I
would miss the Ubuntu-ness and all the convenience of an end-user distribution,
but if Ubuntu doesn't work, what can exactly I do?

Changing the initrd so that it can boot on all those machines that were
"orphaned" by Apple in their latest Operating System is a priority that I
thought that would be taken into consideration for the Gutsy release (here, the
installed distribution didn't work since Feisty).

Anyway, if there are proposals from the Ubuntu developers to have powerpc become
a non-port again, I think that many people would contribute with the core team
to have one very good distribution working with machines that were ignored
otherwise.

Regards,

--
Rogério Brito : rbrito@{mackenzie,ime.usp}.br : GPG key 1024D/7C2CAEB8
http://www.ime.usp.br/~rbrito : http://meusite.mackenzie.com.br/rbrito
Projects: algorithms.berlios.de : lame.sf.net : vrms.alioth.debian.org

If powerpc were actually getting that type of testing, these bugs
wouldn't be showing up. There's nothing about being a port that makes
it any harder to support. Community members are able to contribute to
the toolchain, the kernel, etc., as well as doing the testing.

What we really need on ppc is folks who are brave enough to run the
bleeding edge distros from nearly the beginning of the cycle and the
willingness to try and fix problems like these. The last set of us
doing this have largely switched from x86.

2007/12/20, Rogério Brito <email address hidden>:
> Hi.
>
> On 12/20/2007 01:36 PM, Andrew Roazen wrote:
> > Seconded. Is this considered unimportant, or is it actually complex? I have an
> > iMac I'd like to gift with Gutsy on it, but it's a no-go until it actually
> > boots.
>
> I'm on the same boat: I have an iBook G3 that is a fine computer and is running
> proprietary software right now, but I would love to have the flexibility of
> using Free Software, as an enthusiast.
>
> I think that, in this case, using Debian proper would be a good compromise. I
> would miss the Ubuntu-ness and all the convenience of an end-user distribution,
> but if Ubuntu doesn't work, what can exactly I do?
>
> Changing the initrd so that it can boot on all those machines that were
> "orphaned" by Apple in their latest Operating System is a priority that I
> thought that would be taken into consideration for the Gutsy release (here, the
> installed distribution didn't work since Feisty).
>
> Anyway, if there are proposals from the Ubuntu developers to have powerpc become
> a non-port again, I think that many people would contribute with the core team
> to have one very good distribution working with machines that were ignored
> otherwise.
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Rogério Brito : rbrito@{mackenzie,ime.usp}.br : GPG key 1024D/7C2CAEB8
> http://www.ime.usp.br/~rbrito : http://meusite.mackenzie.com.br/rbrito
> Projects: algorithms.berlios.de : lame.sf.net : vrms.alioth.debian.org
>
> --
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
> PowerPC Architecture Team, which is a bug assignee.
>

--
Jeff Bailey - http://www.raspberryginger.com/jbailey/

"If powerpc were actually getting that type of testing, these bugs
wouldn't be showing up."

there are people testing powerpc

this was reported 3 months before the gutsy release.

there were no alpha/tribe releases for powerpc during the gutsy cycle Bug #131311, and there are currently not even daily live cds for powerpc Bug #175529. this makes casual testing much harder.

there is a good crowd of people using ubuntu on powerpc (mostly conversing in the forum). and there are pages of work-arounds in the wiki. but none of these people are kernel hackers.

</rant>

I'm running Hardy now on a powerbook G4 and the situation is worse with the 2.6.24 kernels.

Booting with break=premount at the prompt I've tried 'modprobe ide-core' and get:

Uniform Multi-Platform E-IDE driver Revision: 7.00alpha2
ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for PIO modes; override with idebus=xx

i DON'T get the bits ....
ide0: Found Apple KeyLargo ATA-4 controller, bus ID 2, irq 19
..... and so on

 I also tried modprobe 'ide-disk' but it didn't help.

What other modules might i try? Or is this now a different problem?

Fortunately I've kept a 2.6.22 image that i can boot.

I have the same problem with hardy 2.6.24 on my ibook g4. couldn't find any module that would allow the boot to continue...

the issue with 2.6.24 seems to be a new problem, Bug #185862

Going back to the original poster's messages, I see that something in his computer is referencing /dev/hda3. Partially with Gutsy, and more completely with Hardy, we have migrated over to a different way of referencing drives. The most reliable way to reference all drives in Hardy, Gutsy, or even Feisty, is to use UUID's.

Although it appears that Michael's /etc/fstab correctly uses UUID's, I would hazard a guess that his /boot/grub/menu.lst still uses the /dev paths to reference drives.

Please see the following material:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingUUID

Cheers!

I can confirm this bug on a b/w G3 which was upgraded from Gustsy 7.10 (kernel 2.6.22).

Interestingly, the 2.6.24 kernel can be booted by specifying "Linux root=/dev/hda3" at the yaboot prompt. The system functions OK but without a CDROM.

This lead me to consider that it was the secondary IDE controller that isn't being detected. I confirmed this by downloading the 28-Jan-08 build of the Kubuntu 8.04 install CD which gets as far as configuring the keyboard but then fails to detect the CD - even though it's just booted from it :-)

Confirmed on a white "icebook" g3, hardy alpha 3 fails to recognize the cdrom...

unfortunately, i've tried all these and have had no success on my G4 powermac (circa 2000, w/ DVD-rom and Zip drive)
if someone could recommend a course of action, that would be amazing. i'm a bit of a Linux newbie (1 year with Ubuntu) and a total PPC novice.
i'm able to get to the Yaboot prompt after doing nothing or 4-6 cycles of;

<terminal>
First Stage Ubuntu Bootstrap
Press l for GNU/Linux,
Press c for cd-rom.

Stage 1 Boot: c
Booting CDROM ...
</terminal>

then;

<terminal>
Welcome to Yaboot version 1.3.13
Enter "Help" to get some basic usage information
boot: <tab>
     Linux old
boot: _
</terminal>

both "Linux" and "old" boot to a working Gnome GUI, except that there is no ethernet connection, no audio, and no CD-Rom recognition.
i've tried holding C while booting, but that doesn't seem to work either. i also understand that PPC does not use a BIOS and i cannot seem to get to the OpenFirmware terminal. once i get to the GUI the system monitor tells me i'm using kernel 2.6.22-14 on Gutsy. the terminal seems to work properly so i can open, edit and save text files. however, modprobe ide-disk and modprobe ide-core seem to have no affect.

if i could just get a CD to boot, i'd downgrade to feisty and be fine with that.
thanks in advance.

A kernel compiled with a defconfig ('make pmac32_defconfig' in the kernel source directory) works fine on my 867Mhz G4 Tibook. Who creates the Ubuntu PowerPC kernel images? Why not start with a solid defconfig which is configured for all G4 machines, then go from there to make Ubuntu specific changes if needed? That is the purpose of those defconfigs in the first place. Then you know all hardware support is enabled for all macs.

I'll start testing Hardy on my Tibook.

A workaround for my Rev-B 20" 1.8ghz G5 iMac which doesn't get cd detection, involved the use of two cdrom/dvd drives to get Hardy Alpha installed.

I attached a firewire cdrom and burnt two copies of the install iso and placed them in each drive. I booted from the internal drive by holding down the "C" key, and the installer starts. Once hardy gets to the point of not being able to detect the internal drive, install picks right up from the firewire drive which also has a copy of the alpha in it.

In the end, I have no internal cdrom detection, but at least the alpha is installed. Note that I couldn't actually just boot from the external firewire cdrom drive, so I had to do this tricky dual-disk setup initially.

Unfortunately for me, it doesn't seem like G5 thermal support is working, so the exhaust fans just scream making alpha testing unbearable. Bug filed - maybe no g5_defconfig? Anyway, that's a different bug post.

I'll try the modprobe techniques to see if I can get the cdrom detected post-install.

i was able to boot the 20080223 live cd today with no work arounds on a powerBook3,5. so i think this is fixed.

Yeah, seems to be fixed as the daily build from today (20080223) boots again on iBook G4 (PowerBook6,3) and PowerBook G4 Titanium (PowerBook3,2). Thanks for fixing this!

I'd like to unsubscribe form this list...please provide info to do so
 thanks

On Thu, Dec 20, 2007 at 11:13 AM, Launchpad Bug Tracker <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> You have been subscribed to a public bug:
>
> Binary package hint: linux-image-2.6.22-8-powerpc
>
> Running Gutsy on Apple Powerbook (TiBook) G4 1Ghz
> Bootsplash stops at 1 pixel progress. After a 1 Minute Pause I'm ending up
> at initramfs with the error message /bin/sh: can't access tty
>
> This seems to apply to all 2.6.22 kernels
> ii linux-image-2.6.22-6-powerpc 2.6.22-6.13
> Linux kernel image for version 2.6.22 on 32-
> ii linux-image-2.6.22-7-powerpc 2.6.22-7.14
> Linux kernel image for version 2.6.22 on 32-
> ii linux-image-2.6.22-8-powerpc 2.6.22-8.18
> Linux kernel image for version 2.6.22 on 32-
>
> The last working kernel is from feisty
> ii linux-image-2.6.20-16-powerpc 2.6.20-16.29
> Linux kernel image for version 2.6.20 on 32
>
> Please contact me how I can supply you with more informations - if
> needed.
>
> ** Affects: linux (Ubuntu)
> Importance: High
> Assignee: Ubuntu PowerPC Architecture Team (ubuntu-powerpc)
> Status: Triaged
>
> ** Affects: linux-source-2.6.22 (Ubuntu)
> Importance: High
> Assignee: Ubuntu Kernel Team (ubuntu-kernel-team)
> Status: Confirmed
>
>
> ** Tags: hardy-alpha2
> --
> IDE drivers not loaded at boot with powerpc
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/126337
> You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
> PowerPC Architecture Team, which is a bug assignee.
>

I have just upgraded my system to ubuntu hardy with kernel 2.6.24-11-powerpc and i can confirm that the harddrive is detected during boot.
However /dev/hda3 was not created and i had to create it manually with "mknod /dev/hda3 b 3 3" when dropped to initramfs shell. After exiting initramfs shell booting proceeded as normal.

Closing 2.6.22 task.

Per a decision made by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, bugs will longer be assigned to the ubuntu-kernel-team in Launchpad as part of the bug triage process. The ubuntu-kernel-team is being unassigned from this bug report. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies for more information. Thanks.