Is it possible to bypass the bootloader?

[PlumB]

Hi,

I've noticed when you build a custom kernel that an "otheros.bld" is created in the /arch/powerpc/boot/ dir of the kernel source code. I've been trying to build a kernel that I can flash in as otheros.bld with limited success. I installed the kernel source rpm and used "make oldconfig" to use the config file from the updated ydl 6.2 kernel. The only thing I changed in the config is the default command line.

This is what I used for the command line:

ro video=ps3fb:mode:3 root=/dev/ps3da2

If I flash the resulting otheros.bld and reboot, it will start to load (it loads usb drivers and detects my keyboard and mouse) but I get an "unable to open inital console" warning and it freezes. From what I can tell it doesn't seem to be executing the init script from initrd.img.

If I boot the kernel using petitboot it loads fine. If I erase the initrd line from the petitboot menu and try to boot the kernel it gives me the same results as I get when trying to boot the otheros.bld.

I've tried different command line options but I'm not really sure what I'm doing here.

initrd=(tried some different options here)
init=/sbin/init
init=/init
rdinit=/sbin/init
rdinit=/init

Does anyone know if the ram disk is built into the otheros.bld, and if so how do I get the kernel to load it?
Or maybe my problem is something else?
Is this even possible?

Thanks