Kernel Panic! and problems at system boot time.

[bushcat]

I think this should go to the kernel forum, but since i'm a newbie i'm posting it here.

I using VL standard 6 on an AMD athlon 1.8 GHz processor,and 256mb ram.i'm using a dual boot system with windows.when I start my computer sometime the system stops loading at several places,

• sometimes it stops before lilo loads,where the bios information is shown
• sometimes after it boots into linux goes on for awhile,then prints some strange code,and some time prints an error
  message saying "Kernel Panic!not syncing-attempted to kill init"
• and sometimes tho the computer start,the display wont come on to the monitor

there is one more thing,I recompiled the kernel so i can get my modem working,then later on i found a sound blaster live sound card and plugged it in, since I didnt compile the drivers for the sound card into the kernel,i compiled the drivers seperately.wonder if it has got to do something with the errors.I didnt use the computer for long before the kernel recompile,but if im not mistaken these errors didnt occur before the recompile and i didnt get any problem with the windows system,
but now I cant boot into windows because it is corrupted by a virus, .

if you guys have any ideas let me know, thanks in advance.

[rbistolfi]

Hello Bushcat. If the computer hangs before lilo I would say the problem is hardware related. If you opened the case, check that you didnt unplugged the fan accidentally (happened to me  ). Also there is some tests you can run for checking the cpu. Memtest is also handy for checking memory sticks.
I hope I am mistaken and its software related, but the computer is hanging before any software loads besides the bios

[bushcat]

thanks rbistolfi

well since you mentioned the fan,actually I assembled this pc from some parts i got from here and there and there is only the CPU fan but havent got a fan on the case    ,wonder if that is part of the prob.well I think I better run a memtest right?is there anyway I can check the intergrity of the bios because I forgot to mention erlier that sometimes when  I shut down the system it prints message saying, "apm bios not found". 

[rbistolfi]

Ummm from the top of my head I would say that there is a chance that the heat can affect the volts number delivered to the cpu and the system can indeed become unstable if working with a low voltage. If you have doubts about the bios, you should be able to reinstall it following instructions from the manufacturer. Many manufacturers release bios updates for fixing problems or adding features. Memtest is available from many linux recovery live cds.

HTH

[Daniel]

Memtest is available from many linux recovery live cds.

...or from www.memtest86.com

[bushcat]

thanks guys,
 ill do the memtest and let you know wht the result is.

[bushcat]

I did the memtest from a live CD, and after awhile i got an error at test 3 in the first pass,I ran it about 2 passes but got only the same results, the output looked  like  the one below,there might be some mistakes,i just wrote it down to paper

Code:

Tst   Pass      Failing Address       Good          Bad          Err-Bits       count chan
 3       0     0000737f720-115.9    40404040    40004040      00400000          1   

I guess this means im having a memory with defects,well I found out from the memtest86 site that there is a little workaround to this by enabaling  "badram" (http://rick.vanrein.org/linux/badram/) option in the kernel, can anybody please let me know if BadRam is enabled in vector linux kernel  by default or if not wheather I should recompile the whole kernel and how I should get the boot options to lilo.

[Daniel]

To pass boot parameters to lilo, run vliloconf. At the end (or close to the end) it will ask for any boot parameters and you can enter them there. I'm not sure about your other questions.

[bushcat]

thanks daniel and sorry there was a mistake in my typing,well I found out that what i refered to as badram is a kernel patch,
I guess I have to recompile the whole kernel 
but I am not sure how I should apply the patch,because the closest patch to my kernel  given in the site is for kernel 2.6.27 but my kernel is 2.6.27.12.Im not sure if applying the patch directly would work.

and the other problem is how I should take the options for badram from memtest.

p.s:  actually I used memtest86+ not memtest86 ,but guess there is not much of difference.

[lagagnon]

bushcat: fiddling with getting the "badram" kernel facility is probably not worth the effort considering that you can buy a 1GB RAM stick for < $20 these days.

As a computer tech though I can tell you that in 40-50% of cases I get bad RAM working again by removing the stick, cleaning the contacts with a pink eraser and rubbing alcohol and reseating the stick again. Often works. Give that a try first.

[bushcat]

hmmm by the looks of it I think lagagnon is  right,guess Ill run with the ram I have till I buy a new 1, but Ill give a try to that pink eraser and rubbing alchohol solution tho.

[liunx1987]

 ::)i also met with this problem when install VL with the iso intaller rather than a cd rom... but the cd rom work well