mikeoneil

Thank-you so much. That fixed it!

/etc/modprobe.conf is still there as is /etc/modprobe.devfs modprobe.preload modules modules.conf & modules.conf.mdkgiorig Looking in the syslog file, the first sign of any problem is when modprobe is used to try and load the module snd-intel8x0 the error is "not found" then there are more errors for the network, shorewall and so on, mostly module not found errors. The /lib/modules/2.6.11-6mdk/kernel .... directories seem fully populated with .ko.gz files and the file snd-intel8x0.ko.gz does exist. Is there some sort of path variable or reference to these modules I should check? Or, any more ideas to try? Thanks.

Help! I have installed 2005LE and everything was running perfectly for a few days. Now after attempting to get a tv card working I have somehow managed to make it so no modules at all are loaded during boot. lsmod shows nothing! I can't get anything to work, drakconf can't help, all I can do is login. Just before I messed things up I was trying to get the ivtv driver working using modprobe, insmod etc and also installed from contrib some things to do with ivtv. Then I rebooted and these problems appeared. Is there some simple thing that can edit to restore the module loading capability or do I have to re-install?

I had the same problem. For me the fix was to lauch xmms, open the preferences window, then in the 'Audio I/O plugins' tab under the section 'Output plugins' select Alsa instead of OSS. Maybe this will work for you? Mk.

It seems then you need kernel 2.6.6 or later. I don't know how to go about compiling it yourself, and in any case you need a working Mandrake system before you can do that, in which case you wouldn't need a new kernel in the first place! Mandrake Cooker may be a possibility, again I can't offer much help here, though browsing the ftp mirror reveals it uses kernel 2.6.7rc1 which is available as an RPM as well as a source RPM. I wonder if you could at least get your system to boot eventualy into MDK10 whether you could take the cooker RPM of kernel 2.6.7 and install that? The last option which is not very satisfactory is just to wait a couple of months for MDK10.1 community edition. Cooker page

This kernel bug report may provide a bit of help. It is a long page so scroll down and you will find several different kernel parameters you could try a boot time. Also, it is reported that the nforce2 bug is fixed in kernel 2.6.6 if you could somehow get hold of that. Of course, your problem may be unrelated, but the symptoms are the same. The link in my previous post to the nforce forums should work!

As you still have nforce2 problems you could look in this forum. I don't know if you have found this forum already, but I found it very helpfull. The nforce Linux forum is full of questions and possible answers to your problem. It was from there that I realised I needed to update the BIOS for the Shuttle motherboard.

I had the same type of problems, random freezes, mainly during disk activity. I tried all the noapic, nolapic tricks and leaving usb things unplugged. In the end I updated the motherboard BIOS and have not had a single problem since. I have a shuttle FN41 board (nforce2). If your board is more than a few months old it may be worth checking if there are updates available.

Just a quick update: All my install problems and random freezing appear to have been fixed by a motherboard BIOS update. For those interested, I have a Shuttle SN41G2 and updated the bios from FN41S018 to the latest FN41S025 version. I've also put a message in the hardware forum with a bit more info.

For those having terrible stability problems with nforce2 motherboards the problem may well have been fixed at last! From info in the nforce linux forums here it seems that recent BIOS updates as well the latest 2.6.6 kernel finally solve the problems. 15 attempts to install MDK10-OE on a shuttle SN41G2 resulted in random freezes during the install. I finally decided to flash the BIOS with the latest version and attempted another install, this time with APIC *enabled* and no kernel-parameters such as nolapic etc. The install went perfectly, so far everyting works, ethernet, sound, nvidia drivers installed even a USB mass storage device! If you are having these random freezes you should check if a BIOS update is available from the motherboard manufacturer. You probably will need a MSDOS boot disk which you can get from here if you don't already have one. (Alternatively, try the 2.6.6 kernel which I haven't yet tried myself.) My system has only been running for an hour or so, but that's already a hour longer than it was working for.

the file (linux source)/documentation/kernel-parameters.txt should be what you are looking for. an example is here at the Linux Cross Reference site.

Thanks. I'll remind you again if you forget! :D

Me too I gave upo using Mandrake completely as it kept locking up. How much RAM do you have becuase im using kernel-enterprise (1GB) Its very much improved over 9.2 for me. I can only think its something wrong...in the install. Can you post your /etc/lilo.conf ?? I'm not in front of the machine right now so I'll post the lilo.conf later. My main concern is just how difficult it was to get installed on the SN41G2 with all the random freezes. It does not inspire much confidence compared to the VIA KT400 which installed perfectly from the same install discs. The problem machine has the following specs: Shuttle SN41G2 (nforce2), AMD Athlon 2.6GHz (or thereabouts), 512Mb RAM, HD 120GB, Haupauge PVR350 TV card, BIOS options all "Optimal" i.e. automatically chosen and not overclocked. Unused motherboard devices disabled. apic disabled. Although Mandrake 10 is to some degree installed now, I'd really like to track down the problem and start the install again. I'm going to take out the TV card and restart again. Gowater, do you have an SN41G2? If so, and if you have time, please could you post your BIOS version, and any relevent settings in the BIOS. It seems some people with identical hardware have problems while others do not.

I notice the original poster on this topic has an nforce2 board. I asked about MDK10 and nforce compatibility a while back and most people had good results. I tried yesterday to install MDK10-Official on a Shuttle SN41G2 (nforce2) and had terrible problems. The (fresh) install would freeze at random points, though mostly during disk formatting or package installation from CD1. I tried at least 15 times before getting to the end of the install! (I still have to configure X properly before I can see KDE) I have apic turned off in the BIOS, and typed "linux noapic nolapic" at the install prompt. This helped, but I still had a couple of freezes before it worked. My install CDs are from bittorent, the MD5 sum is fine, and I installed onto a Via KT400 chipset board in a matter of minutes without a single problem. I remember I had bad problems installing 9.2 on the nforce2. I'm concerned that this machine is not going to be stable with MDK10. Is there any reason for these freezes or a definitive solution? I dare not even plug in USB device just yet!

I have just updated my MDK10 to the latest mandrake standard kernel 2.6.3.13 using uprmi. Everything is working, though I have a couple of questions.. 1) Will things compiled against the old kernel continue to work without any changes. I'm thinking mainly of the nvidia graphics driver. 2) I haven't yet installed the source. When I do will the old sources still be kept, and how do I ensure that the new sources are used when compiling. Does changing the link linux in /usr/src to point to the new source directory ensure this? 3) More generally, as I now have two kernels and maybe more in the future, is there anything to be aware of when switching between them. They would all be 2.6.x.x but does this cause problems when compiling against one and running the application under another? Thanks!