Topic: Kernl paninc - new install can't run

[chrislaurie]

Hi there

I'm a Linux newbie who wants to use SME as a server. Can someone please help me get to base 1. I am trying to install SME 6.5 (it also happened with 6.01). When it boots up, I get a kernel panic (see the bottom of the email for details of the kernel panic).

My hardware is a Elitegroup PM800-M2 motherboard with a P4 processor. According to the manual it uses PM800 Notrthbridge and VT8237 Southbridge chipsets. It has both SATA and Raid capabilities but I have switched that off in the BIOS as well as APIC. It also has 120Mb drive.

When I install ubuntu on the same box it runs and so does Sleuth Linux (Knoppix based).

The screen content of the kernel panic:

CPU: 0
EIP: 0010:[<c0109dbc>] Not tainted
EFLAGS: 00010002
EIP is at disable_irq [kernel] 0x2c (2.4.20-37.7.legacy)
eax: 00000000 ebx:fffff680 ecx:c0378380 edx:ffffffed
esi: 00000283 edi:c0378380 ebp:c0378380 esp:c1823f34
ds: 0018 es:0018 ss:0018
Process swapper (pid: 1, stackpage=c1823000)
Stack: ffffffed c0378380 c1823f84 c01a54ab ffffffed
       00000001 00000002 2b2e42a0 c02f0000 00000000
       c1823f84 c0378380 0008e000 c01a622d c0378380
       00000206 00000001 00000001 00000001 00000001
Call Trace:
[<c01a54ab>] probe_hwif [kernel] 0xcb (0xc1823f40))
[<c01a622d>] ideprobe_init [kernel] 0x5d (0xc1823f78))
[<c0105000>] stext [kernel] 0x0 I0xc1823fd0))
[<c0105039>] init [kernel] 0x9 (0xc1823fdc))
[<c0105000>] stext [kernel] 0x0 (0xc1823fe8))
[<c0107146>] arch_kernel_thread [kernel] 0x26 (0xc1823ff0))
[<c0105030>] init [kernel] 0x0 (0xc1823ff8)

Code: ff 5010 59 56 9d 8b 15 04 88 34 c0 85 d2 75 1c 89 d8 ba 00
<0> Kernel panic: Attempted to kill init!

that's it I get no further (unless I load sleuth linux or ubuntu that is)

[mbachmann]

Check the md5sum of the iso you've downloaded. Is it correct?

[chrislaurie]

I checked the md5sum of the downloaded iso before I burned it.

This also happened with v6.01. I suspect some sort of hardware vs kernel incompatibility but I do not know where to look.

[dmac]

You mentioned the SATA and RAID drive function being disabled.  Is the drive you are trying to run off a SATA or PATA drive?

SME needs some tweeks to work with SATA drives.

[chrislaurie]

Thanx for the response.

No it is not a SATA harddrive just plain 120Mb(though the motherboard comes with the cables and plugpoints). I think it's a hardware issue but cannot seem to gt my hands on the info to determine if it is so.

Ubuntu and Knoppix uses much more recent kernels and maybe that is way I can run them? If so when will SME be built with a newer kernel?

Thanx & Kind regards

Chris Laurie

[alejandro]

When exactly did you get the kernel panic message, in what stage of installation.
you said "boot up"  (boot up from cd? or first boot up after installation?) we can guess wich hardware component is not being well recognized/controlled.

[chrislaurie]

Thanx for the response.

The install completes without a hiccup. When I boot the installed machine, I pick the 'UP SME server' option and then there is a page of stuff being loaded. However when the kernel panic happens I cannot see the what has already happened during boot up, as it has moved off the screen. What I see is shown above.

Is this saved to a log file? Then I can get the log and report that here.

Kind regards

Chris

[alejandro]

Try "/var/log/dmesg" for hardware booting messages, and "/var/log/messages" for events recorded after hardware init

[smeghead]

.. your on the right track.  The prob seems to be the motherboard chipset & the kernel not being overly fond of each other.

As RH7.3 is getting on a bit support for newer hardware can be problematic.

Any chance you have an Intel chipset board that could be pressed into service at least for testing purposes.

HTH

[chrislaurie]

Thanx for the reply Alejandro!

OK - using Linux Sleuth to get into the box I can report as follows: no dmesg file exists in /var/log or elswhere as far as I can see.

There is a messages file in /var/log but is empty.

Does that help?

Cheers

Chris

[CharlieBrady]

The install completes without a hiccup. When I boot the installed machine, I pick the 'UP SME server' option and then there is a page of stuff being loaded. However when the kernel panic happens I cannot see the what has already happened during boot up, as it has moved off the screen. What I see is shown above.

Is this saved to a log file?

Almost certainly not. It likely happens before the root file system is loaded.

I'd concur with other posters and advise you to use older hardware.

[chrislaurie]

Thanx all - I have decided to go back to older hardware for now. I suppose when (if?) SME is based on CentOs then this experience would be different.

Well, my wife will be happy - she's getting an XP box with the new hardware and I'll take her old Celeron box.

Cheers and thanx again to all that replied.

Chris