?wiki:initramfs-tools is used in Debian to build the initramfs that contains the early userspace and the needed kernel modules to be able to mount any possible root.
Debug Howto
- Check root device existance
ls -l /dev/[hs]da*
- Check root boot argument
- It needs to be the same than aboves root device
cat /proc/cmdline
- Check correct fs recognition
/lib/udev/vol_id -t /dev/sda1 fstype /dev/sda1
If the output of aboves command differ, your partition was not cleanly formated. For example mkfs.ext2 does not clear all sectors when formating a partition.
- Check if the ata/ide/scsi driver is loaded
cat /proc/modules