Debian Kernel Problem - Crashing

thepoetwarrior · #1 09-15-2008, 09:26 AM

I've had Debian up for a few months now, but after a power outage, I can't get Debian up and running. It crashes 9 out of 10 times before getting to the Login then Desktop, but even if I make it that far, it crashes the second I try to use the internet, either web browser or starting EQ Server. The PC turning off instantly, no warning message, just instant off.

So, I have a list of Kernel to select during boot up, basically the original that only supports 1 gig ram, and the updated kernel to run over 1 gig ram. The old kernel with 1 gig ram boots up perfectly, and runs the eqemu server too just fine.

I have 2x2Gig Ram in that I want to use, so I thought maybe bad kernel, so I tried to uninstall/reinstall the kernel with these commands after su - root:

dpkg -P kernel-image-2.6-k7
apt-get install kernel-image-2.6-k7

which appeared to be successful, but when rebooting, and choosing that 2.6-7k kernel that I hopefully reinstalled, it still crashes still.

I've tried google searching and haven't found any answers to this problem. Can anyone help please?

Angelox · #2 09-15-2008, 10:45 AM

Here's what I'd do;
I would suspect faulty hardware as the first thing, so I'd have to somehow check it.
-A full, all sector scandisk (bootup might have overlooked something a full scan will not).
-Memory since you have 2x ram chips, put one on, then switch to the other, see of problem goes away.
-Video card, try another one (maybe you got an old one laying around?)
if you still haven't found anything, pull out/disable all possible hardware (LAn, Modem, etc. I've seen a faulty modem create problems like this. If problem goes away, add hardware back one at a time, tell you se the problem again.
Usually I snagged the problem by then.
I suspect you might have bad memory either video or ram, but could be any of the cache.
You can run one gig with the 2 gig kernel, it should be ok for testing

thepoetwarrior · #3 09-15-2008, 11:02 AM

Figured those would be the steps. Was hoping for a simple reinstall kernel would fix it. My old kernel works, which makes me suspect its not hardware, unless its the RAM since the new kernel uses more than 1 gig ram.

Thanks

Angelox · #4 09-15-2008, 01:45 PM

My newest Mandriva came with a memory check utility - pre-install. I guess memory is a big issue with Linux, since it will use all you give it.
You could probably download the Mandriva CD and just use it for memory check; I found numerous problems with wrong or bad memory on mine. (I always by the cheapest memory, and you knwo the rest).

**trevius** · #5 09-15-2008, 04:54 PM

Ya, from reading your first post, I suspected a possible memory issue as well. Power hits on a PC are never a good thing, and on Linux they are even worse lol. Did you remove the kernel properly before you reinstalled it? Is that what the "dpkg -P kernel-image-2.6-k7" command is? I normally just use "apt-get remove kernel-image-2.6-k7" or some very similar command to automatically remove everything.

thepoetwarrior · #6 09-15-2008, 05:05 PM

Yup, I tried the apt-get command too to remove it. Then reinstalled, but still problem. I'll work with the memory first and let ya know if I find out what it was.

thepoetwarrior · #7 09-15-2008, 05:23 PM

Well, I tried the ram sticks 1 at a time, but same thing happens. So its either not the ram, or they are both bad. I still have to ram test it, maybe find a boot CD to do that, or see if Mandriva will do that.

Linux boots up just fine in the old kernel, with only 1 gig ram. Will try to uninstall the kernel again and reinstall, see if that fixes it. Any way to make sure the kernel is completely uninstalled before reinstalling?

Also I do remember fsck happening and finding some errors. I was going to do that again, from terminal after boot up but warned me of SEVER file system damage could occur.

thepoetwarrior · #8 10-25-2008, 10:00 AM

Im still having problems with the linux-image-2.6-k7.

Almost every time before it can even get to the login screen, during the boot up text spam the PC just turns off instantly. Maybe 1 out of 10 attempts I can finally get to the login screen and log in, but within a short time, it just turns off instantly.

I've reinstalled Debian from the install CD, and then did the apt-get install to install that kernel again so I can get over 1 gig of ram, but the PC is still crashing on boot up.

I have 2 rams slots, each with a 2 gig stick. I tried 1 ram stick at a time and 1 slot at a time, but same thing happens. The ram is new, and when booting up with the default kernel that uses only 1 gig of ram it works fine without crashing.

Maybe its a setting in BIOS? I tried setting the BIOS to default values, and it booted up, thought I fixed it, but that just happened to be my 1 out of 10 lucky boot ups, for a short time of course.

Memtest is almost done running now, and so far no errors at all.

The only cards installed is my NIC for the internet. There is no video cards in any slots, just the one built into the mother board. Its a very basic PC that I had put together online.

Im working from a fresh install of Debian, with fresh apt-get kernel, with no other edits to any files. Im out of ideas how to get a kernel working to recognize the dual-core AMD /w 4 gig ram without Crashing.

Maybe try apt-get on another kernel? I dont know what kernels to get for 32bit AMD that recognizes dualcore+ and over 1 gig ram.

Please help. Thanks.

thepoetwarrior · #9 10-25-2008, 11:28 AM

I used kernel-image-2.6-686 and kernel-image-2.6-k7 with a 1 gig stick, and they both still crash during a boot up. Only the default 2.6-486 that has a 1 gig ram max works without cashing. Im trying differnt kernels and rams, running out of ideas.

thepoetwarrior · #10 10-25-2008, 12:51 PM

Devoting my weekend to fixing this problem. I've tried editing my BIOS, and multiple versions of kernels. Been google searching all morning reading everything I can. I have briefly read about problems with SATA drives, maybe thats the problem? Might try to install on another PC to see how that works, just hate to format a perfectly working PC just to test a Linux install. Im really running out of ideas here. Would appreciate at least some reply

thepoetwarrior · #11 10-26-2008, 01:18 AM

I used a differnt PC, a quadcore /w 3 gig ram, and the debian installed from the same CD but used a differnt kernel in the install, and now it works. The PC not working was AMD, and the PC now working is Intel, so maybethat made a differnce? I had a 3rd PC as well that was AMD and did not work, even though I installed the 2.6-k7 kernel. Shrug. Now running on the 686 I think. Server up and running, users are happy.

**trevius** · #12 10-26-2008, 02:30 AM

The kernels I suggested using in the wiki are not the only ones available. If you do an "apt-get search kernel", it will show a long list of different ones. If you are running an AMD, you would want to search for "apt-get search kernel | grep amd" or something like that. Some kernels will work for multiple versions of CPUs, but some won't. It depends on your CPU type, on what will work or not.

You can always try installing different AMD kernels until you find one that works. The k7 one I mentioned in the wiki was just one that should encompass many AMD CPUs. But, I don't know if that works for newer ones or multi-core cpus. The 64bit AMD kernel works well from what I tested if you have a 64 bit CPU.

thepoetwarrior · #13 10-26-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trevius

The kernels I suggested using in the wiki are not the only ones available. If you do an "apt-get search kernel", it will show a long list of different ones. If you are running an AMD, you would want to search for "apt-get search kernel | grep amd" or something like that. Some kernels will work for multiple versions of CPUs, but some won't. It depends on your CPU type, on what will work or not.

You can always try installing different AMD kernels until you find one that works. The k7 one I mentioned in the wiki was just one that should encompass many AMD CPUs. But, I don't know if that works for newer ones or multi-core cpus. The 64bit AMD kernel works well from what I tested if you have a 64 bit CPU.

Ahh good info. Didn't know how to find a kernel except google searching or ideas and kernel names. Thanks Trev!

**trevius** · #14 10-27-2008, 08:19 AM

Sorry, I meant apt-cache for searches. This is directly from the top of the Debian Wiki:

Quote:

apt-get install <package-name>
An example would be "apt-get install cvs". You can find the names of packages by using the following command:

apt-cache search <search string> | grep <second optional search string>
an example is "apt-cache search kernel" or to refine the search "apt-cache search kernel | grep AMD"