modprobe: FATAL: Error running ...binfmt_000 [SOLVED]

[lbohan719]

modprobe: FATAL: Error running install command for binfmt_0000
modprobe: FATAL: Error running install command for binfmt_0000
modprobe: FATAL: Error running install command for binfmt_0000
..ad ininitum ..

[5.408778] request_module: runaway loop modprobe binfmt-0000
[5.913363] Failed to execute /bin/sh (error -8). Attempting defaults...
[5.657974] Failed to execute /init (error -8)
[6.358200] Starting init: /sbin/init exists but couldn't execute it (error -8)
[6.579076] Starting init: /bin/sh exists but couldn't execute it (error -8)
[6.740749] Kernel panic - not syncing: No working init found. [..etc..]


We found we had to capture/edit a cpio listing of the original initram.igz,
in order to regenerate a cpio archive that the busybox cpio in sysrescuecd v4.2.0
would unpack correctly. (Using 'find . ' to feed cpio didn't cut it)

This 10yr post prompted us in the right direction:
"Subject: Re: cpio, empty files, sequence"
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.busybox/2004-04/msg00250.html

Backstory: We're pxe-booting sysrescued, and we were trying to apply
changes to the init script to the v4.2.0 version, to work around download timeouts,
when the attached switch was (still) going through Spanning Tree hysterics. (usu ~30s)

as referenced here, (#9474)
http://www.sysresccd.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3126&p=9474&hilit=wget+sysrcd.dat#p9474