64bit CD Install: Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!
Currently, I am attempting to install SUSE 9.2 64bit on a Dual Opteron 250 Sun v20z 8GB ram. I do not have a dvd-rom drive to boot from. I have an external dvd-rom attached via USB. But the bios is not capable of booting off the dvd-rom, only a floppy usb drive. So, I have opt'd to use the mini-install iso. When I boot off the CD I created, I get the menu for selecting "Installation", "Boot from Hard Disk", etc... and I have the F7 option as "64bit". I choose text-mode install. When I go forward with "Installation" I get a Kernel panic. Keep in mind, I chose text-mode install because I wasn't able to see anything while the system froze. --- BEGIN --- [...] Code: 0f 0b 9c 2f 36 80 ff ff ff ff 6b 00 48 89 e9 48 b8 ff ff ff RIP <ffffffff8012150b>{__change_page_attr+875} RSP <00000100fba81e78> <0>Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! --- END --- Having googled this issue I came across a similar encounter regarding the Kernel panic (though not during an install) and it was attributed to a system that had 8GB memory and a bios related bug: http://www.x86-64.org/lists/discuss/msg05864.html What caught my attention was the use of a boot option "mem=4000M" to get past the bug and have a working SUSE install. This seemed errily similar to what I would have to do in the older linux days of get past the initial installer crashes by setting the amount of memory to be less than what was physically there. I tried the "mem=4000M" and viola, I am able to get past the kernel panic point and can do a real install. I haven't completed the install yet, but I will find it interesting to see if I have to set "mem=4000M" to boot a successfully installed SUSE 9.2 from the hard disk. So, my question to the list is, can this be attributed to a bug in the SUSE installer or should I investigate with Sun as a potential memory bios bug? I will report back later to see how well the install went, and whether I had to use the mem option going forward. Cheers, -.mag
Mark A. Garcia wrote:
Currently, I am attempting to install SUSE 9.2 64bit on a Dual Opteron 250 Sun v20z 8GB ram. I do not have a dvd-rom drive to boot from. I have an external dvd-rom attached via USB. But the bios is not capable of booting off the dvd-rom, only a floppy usb drive. So, I have opt'd to use the mini-install iso. When I boot off the CD I created, I get the menu for selecting "Installation", "Boot from Hard Disk", etc... and I have the F7 option as "64bit". I choose text-mode install. When I go forward with "Installation" I get a Kernel panic. Keep in mind, I chose text-mode install because I wasn't able to see anything while the system froze.
[...]
I will report back later to see how well the install went, and whether I had to use the mem option going forward.
I have successfully installed and rebooted the server. It boots with mem=4000M in the menu.lst config. But when I change it to mem=8000M and reboot it hangs with a blank screen. No kernel panic and no output. Why is it not working with a full 8GB of memory? Cheers, -.mag
Mark A. Garcia wrote:
I have successfully installed and rebooted the server. It boots with mem=4000M in the menu.lst config. But when I change it to mem=8000M and reboot it hangs with a blank screen. No kernel panic and no output.
This sounds like the same problem I had. If you haven't already, do a kernel upgrade via yast. This fixed it for me and I was able to boot up with all 8GB of ram afterwards. Mark
Mark Horton wrote:
Mark A. Garcia wrote:
I have successfully installed and rebooted the server. It boots with mem=4000M in the menu.lst config. But when I change it to mem=8000M and reboot it hangs with a blank screen. No kernel panic and no output.
This sounds like the same problem I had. If you haven't already, do a kernel upgrade via yast. This fixed it for me and I was able to boot up with all 8GB of ram afterwards.
Thanks... that was my next step. And it works now. Reading Suns support forum, I came across thread that suggested to disabled the integrated raid. If and when I have time, I'll test to see if that would have fixed the issue too. Cheers, -.mag
Mark A. Garcia wrote:
Mark Horton wrote:
Mark A. Garcia wrote:
I have successfully installed and rebooted the server. It boots with mem=4000M in the menu.lst config. But when I change it to mem=8000M and reboot it hangs with a blank screen. No kernel panic and no output.
This sounds like the same problem I had. If you haven't already, do a kernel upgrade via yast. This fixed it for me and I was able to boot up with all 8GB of ram afterwards.
Thanks... that was my next step. And it works now.
Reading Suns support forum, I came across thread that suggested to disabled the integrated raid. If and when I have time, I'll test to see if that would have fixed the issue too.
Just a status update to the integrated raid option -> disabled: I received a dvd-rom from Sun and installed it on another v20z that wasn't built yet. Booting off the dvd and attempting an install, the issue was the same with the kernel panic, and the resolution was to use mem=4000M and update the kernel later through yast, then removing the mem=4000M from grub. I decided to also disable the RAID feature in the LSI adapter prior to using the mem=4000M. The kernel panic still existed. I decided to disable the LSI adapter itself. The kernel panic still existed. Just some info for folks who might see other options listed on some differing threads on booting with the v20z 64bit and through my fact finding in the archive. Cheers, -.mag
participants (2)
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Mark A. Garcia -
Mark Horton