john_tan Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Hi All, This is my first time trying to install Linux on my Compaq Presario 1255(a very old notebook). Please advise me. I have downloaded all 3 CD iso and burned them to CDs. During the installation of the first CD, I encountered this error: cannot load kernel-i586-up-1GB-2.6.12.12mdk-l-mdk.i586. It then asked whether to continue. I type Yes and continued. Then later 2 other packages also cannot be loaded: gnumeric-1.4.3-5mdk.i586 and kdeartwork-3.4.2-3mdk.i586 But when it was trying to install the bootloader, the same error appeared and I cannot continue the installation after that. I thought maybe the iso image was corrupted and downloaded again, but the error still remains. Any experts can advise me? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arctic Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Welcome aboard. :) Two possibilities: 1. You burn the images too fast. Use a low speed and high quality media. Also make sure that the md5sum check is positive (see the FAQ section of this board on how to perform md5sum checks) 2. The CD-drive of the notebook needs to be cleaned. Quite often those errors are due to dirty lenses or a laser that is not running 100% correctly along the CD (= that has e.g. a slight spin to the left or right side). CD-Cleaning is the easy part. If the laser is a bit dislocated, things are more tricky, as you have to remove the drive, open it and readjust it then. Alternative option: If you have broadband, perform a ftp-install. For that you will only need the very first part of the CD (or download the mini-ftp-install iso), the rest will be downloaded directly from the ftp-mirrors. Side note: The error on the kernel you got is a BIG error, as the kernel is the heart and soul of the system. Without a kernel installed, you will never be able to complete the installation. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Are you sure it's Mandrake 10.1? The version of kernel and kde package are from Mandriva 2006! However, sounds like a bad burn, or the iso is corrupted. Did you check the md5sum after downloading it? (as arctic mentioned, do a search on the board for this). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 Thanks to you both. It is Mandriva 2006. Sorry for the mistake. Both of two are right, it was a bad cd burn. After reburning, I am able to install the Mandriva 2006. But I could not start Linux after the reboot. The screen showed: Linux, Linux-nonfb and failsafe. I selected Linux and the screen changed to another screen and froze. I pressed Ctrl, Alt, F2 and I only selected the error messages. mount: error 6 mounting ext3 flags noatime pivotroot: pivot_root(/sysroot,/sysroot/initrd) failed: 2 umount /initrd/sys failed: 2 umount /initrd/proc failed: 2 kernel panic -not syncing: No init found. Try passing init = option to kernel Can I recover from this error or must I restall again? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted September 9, 2006 Report Share Posted September 9, 2006 If you're new to Linux, it's probably best to reinstall, as it only takes 30 minutes. When you reinstall, pay very close attention to the summary screen towards the end of the install. Make sure everything is configured correctly, as this is where you're normally going to expect problems. If you do reinstall, maybe choose reiserfs as your partition types instead of ext3, I find reiserfs more stable - at least for me. However, if you want to try and fix it, it's probably a boot loader problem, so, boot the first cd, and then press F1. When prompted, type: linux rescue you'll need to press esc at the next screen that appears, and you'll have a menu, choose the option to mount your partitions and exit to command prompt. Then do: chroot /mnt /bin/bash source /etc/profile now, we need to reinstall lilo, as this is probably the boot loader you are using, so: /sbin/lilo and check it's installed correctly, if not, post back with the errors so we can see where to go next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 ianw1974, I tried to rescue using your given steps but the error is still the same. I reinstalled using partition type reiserfs as suggested but still cannot boot to the login screen. I installed using the 3CDs burned from the iso images. There is no error during the installation. Below are the messages using Ctrl, Alt and F2. TCP: Hash tables configured (established 8192 bind 8192 NET: Registered protocol family 1 BIOS EDD facility v0.16 2004-Jun-25, 1 devices found devfs_mk_dev: could not append to parent for md/0 md: Autodetecting RAID arrays. md: autorun ... md: ...autorun DONE. RAMDISK: Compressed image found at block 0 input: AT Translated Set 2 keyboard on isa 0060/serio0 VFS: Mounted root (ext 2 filesystem). Red Hat mash version 4.2.17mdk starting Loading reiserfs.ko module Mounting /proc filesystem Mounting sysfs Creating device files Mounting tmpfs on /dev Creating root device Mounting root filesystem /dev/root with flags notail, noatime mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs flags notail well, retrying without the option flags mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs well, retrying read-only without any flags mount: error 6 mounting reiserfs pivotroot: pivot_root (/sysroot,/sysroot/initrd) failed: 2 umount /initrd/sys failed: 2 umount /initrd/proc failed: 2 Initrd finished Freeing unused kernel memory: 244k freed Kernel panic - not syncing: No init found. Trying passing init: option to kernel Any suggestion to solve this problem? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 Try pressing esc at the bootloader screen, then type something like: linux noapic does it work then? If not, add some other options to the end of the above line: nolapic acpi=off ide=nodma so, eg: linux noapic nolapic taking the first as an example from the options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 The steps do not work. I find it strange that I am able to install without any errors but cannot boot up. What is the problem here? Is it because Mandriva 2006 does not support the old hardware? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arctic Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 I thought a bit about this one and it does seem to me that your system has problems with reading/mounting the ReiserFS partitions correctly and thus (logically) cannot read the initrd image, which is needed. Basically, Linux is capable of running on older machines. I would try the following: Install the system with Grub instead of Lilo as bootloader (you can select the bootloader at the end of the install procedure). Maybe that works. I found Lilo to act funny at times with different filesystems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 How do I install Grub? When I was at the part installing the bootloader, there was not a choice to install Grub. These are the choices: 1. First sector of drive (MBR) 2. First sector of the root partition 3. On Floppy 4. Skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Before you get to these options, you have a choice of LILO in text/graphic mode and also grub in text/graphics mode. After this option, is where you get to choose MBR, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 I do not remember seeing the choice or either Grub or Lilo. My installation screens are the same as described in aRTee's Mandriva 2006 installation. Please see under Boot loader in his guide. http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/installmdv2006.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 OK, I thought there was an option to choose, maybe not then. OK, so boot the first CD and then press F1 when prompted. Now type: linux rescue to boot rescue mode. I suggest pressing ESC at the loading screen so you can see what's going on, but also, because the menu appears beneath it, and without pressing ESC, you'll continue looking at this screen and never see the menu beneath it. When in the menu, choose mount my partitions and exit to command prompt. Then type: chroot /mnt /bin/bash source /etc/profile this will chroot your partitions so we can do things with it as if it is booted normally. Now do this: grub-install to get grub installed in place. Alternatively, if you have problems with that, try: mcc and then see if you can configure the boot loader to use grub from within the text-based version of Mandriva Control Centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arctic Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 The selection of Grub / lilo is done at the very end of the installation = at the summary screen. There is one box in the lower part: Bootloader. Here you can select lilo or grub with or without a graphical theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tan Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Still cannot boot up. I use mcc to enter Control Center. Chose Boot loader: GRUB with graphical menu Below this there are: Add, Modify and Remove. I did not select any and just press Finish. Am I doing the right thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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