Help me troubleshoot this problem

[Rick Sewill]

On 07/05/2010 06:15 PM, awrobinson-ml at nc.rr.com wrote:
> 
> ---- Geoffrey Leach <geoff at hughes.net> wrote: 
>> On 07/05/2010 03:28:20 PM, awrobinson-ml at nc.rr.com wrote:
>>>
>>> ---- Geoffrey Leach <geoff at hughes.net> wrote: 
>>>> On 07/05/2010 01:27:01 PM, awrobinson-ml at nc.rr.com wrote:
>>>>> I am trying to install Fedora on a PC I built. I had Windows XP
>>>>> running on it for more than a year without any apparent problems.
>> <snip>
>>>
>>> Hardware:
>>>
>>> Motherboard: BIOSTAR TFORCE TF520-A2 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX 
>>> AMD
>>> Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Brisbane 2.2GHz Socket AM2 65W
>>> Dual-Core Processor
>>> Video Card: MSI NX8400GS-TD256E GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 
>>> PCI
>>> Express
>>> Memory: A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
>>> Dual Channel
>>> Memory: A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
>>> Dual Channel
>>> (6 GB total)
>>> Hard drive: SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 HD103SI 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 
>>> 3.5"
>> <snip>
>> I wasn't able to discover anyything about Fedora compatibility with  
>> your Biostar MB, so you might well be in unexplored territory. It 
>> appears that the hardware compatibility lists for Fedora are no longer 
>> maintained, alas.
>>
>> The Nvidia FOSS driver for X (NV) might be a problem for you. I suggest 
>> you stay at runlevel 3 until your problems are resolved. If R/L 5 
>> causes you a problem after that, try the proprietary driver. I've found 
>> that it works well. 
>>
>> You didn't say where your Fedora came from. Are you sure that it's 
>> clean?
>>
> 
> Pretty sure. I used the netinstall CD for both 13 and 12. I checked the md256sum for the Fedora 13 iso. I downloaded both from the Fedora site, so they came from a Fedora-specific mirror. And there is the fact that I got the same behaviour from both.
> 
> Again, please keep the questions coming. I really want to resolve this.
>  

May I suggest looking at the URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/KernelCommonProblems

It is where I would start when trying to debug Fedora panic/crash problems.

>From this webpage, in the "Crashes/Hangs" section, they seem to suggest
setting kernel boot parameters to try to narrow the problem or work
around the problem.

For more information on kernel boot parameters, the web page says,
"The full list of kernel options is in the file
/usr/share/doc/kernel-doc-<version>/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt,
which is installed with the kernel-doc package"

I assume one can find the correct kernel-parameters.txt file either
looking in the local file system assuming Fedora is usable -or-
searching the internet for "kernel-parameters.txt"
If one finds it with an internet search, please make sure the
kernel-parameters.txt more or less match the correct version of the
Fedora kernel.

Having said the above, if you suspect an acpi or apic problem,
the URL: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/KernelCommonProblems
says,
"acpi=off is a big hammer, and if that works, narrowing down by trying
pci=noacpi instead may yield clues"
It also says, "nolapic and noapic are sometimes useful"

You need to look at kernel-parameters.txt to see what these parameters
do before using them.  Please don't try a parameter just to try it.
Using a kernel boot parameter could make matters worse.

If you suspect a video problem...and I believe they are trying to phase
out support for the kernel boot parameter, "nomodeset"--I believe they
have already phased out support for Intel, but still have some code
support for AMD which you have, I would still try that boot parameter to
see what happens.  You will need to search the internet to find out
about the parameter "nomodeset".  I don't consider using "nomodeset" as
a solution, but rather as a way to gather a data point or work around a
problem.

I would suggest trying one kernel boot parameter at a time, with the
hope of better isolating what is happening if a parameter seems to work.

If you discover a kernel boot parameter that acts as a workaround, it
may or may not provide a clue, to start isolating what is happening.

I would also look at the /var/log/messages for clues what was happening
a little before the failure/panic...you may hate me for suggesting
looking at /var/log/messages, sometimes there is nothing there and
sometimes there is too much there.

If you find a kernel boot parameter that works around the problem,
you will need to decide whether or not to write a bugzilla bug report.
If you do not find a kernel boot parameter, you may still wish to write
a bugzilla bug report.  A bugzilla bug report is the way, I believe,
for communcating problems with the maintainers.  I hope they ask you for
information, and I hope they suggest how to get what they ask for.
I would encourage you to write a bugzilla bug report, unless the problem
is a hardware failure, in which case, I don't know what to do.
Sometimes, if a problem is a hardware failure, nothing can be done.
Sometimes, if a problem is a hardware failure, the software can be more
graceful when the problem happens.

I would also look at other sections of the web page,
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/KernelCommonProblems
in case a section suggests something else worth trying.

Even though I said it before, it is worth repeating, some kernel boot
parameters may make matters worse.  Please be careful.

Another question please: does the Fedora kernel fail during boot -or-
does the Fedora kernel fail after a few hours -or- does the Fedora
kernel fail while something is being done (perhaps specific programs are
running--cron job or program you start?).  If a pattern for the failure
can be identified, it may be easier to isolate the failure.