Trying to install Linux from floppy boot on P133: Kernel Panic

freehunter · 20-05-2006, 11:17 PM

I am trying to load Debian via floppy, as my P133 with 48mb of RAM won't boot from CD. I tried DeLi also, and it always tries to kill the idle process and ends with a kernel panic and freezes. I can't get Smart BootManager to recognize the CD-ROM drive even though the BIOS says there is one. I can get to my CD drive (R

from a DOS boot disk.

I had a game card and modem in ISA ports, and I took them out, but it still stops at a kernel panic. I have a Creative Labs Graphics Blaster MA 202 with 2mb of video memory as my video card. The drives are IDE, and it has Windows 95 on it right now. I tried three different floppies, so I doubt it is the floppy. It may be the floppy drive, but DOS loads on the floppy drive.

The computer ran Windows 95 for 10 years with no errors, but I am getting BSoDs now, so I thought I would throw Linux on it and use it as a print server. I would try Slackware, but I am at a place that only has dial up until I get home Wednesday, that's why I brought a copy of DeLi, as I knew it was based on Slack 7.1 with the 2.2 kernel. Should work with the GUI, they test it on a 486 with 16mb of RAM with the GUI. I just can't get past the first floppy to install. If I still can't get it by the time I get home, I will try Slack, and if that doesn't work, BSD.

Anyone have any advice? I posted this at the GameFAQs Unix/Linux boards, and they recommended here. I was hoping to finally have a dedicated Linux box, my PC used to dual boot, now I just run it in VMware in Windows XP.

Addis · 20-05-2006, 11:28 PM

Are you using a boot disk to do a network install of debian or a debian floppy distro? You won't get enough to make a print server with most floppy distros.

freehunter · 20-05-2006, 11:45 PM

I am trying to boot from a floppy to install from the CD. The CD drive is not bootable, but it can be read from through DOS on the floppy. I just tried Tiny Linux and it stalled. It did not say kernel panic, but it stopped in the same place the other ones do, giving me a big code of two characters grouped together, such as e3 h4 23 0a etc, across the whole screen.

Addis · 21-05-2006, 10:10 AM

That may be a RAM fault, often if that happens withme than one distro part of the RAMs been damaged.

freehunter · 21-05-2006, 01:58 PM

Dang. I don't have any RAM to put in it, I can't take any out and still have a usable computer, and I am not going to spend any money on this piece. Odd that Windows works and Linux doesn't. Makes me sad.

megamaced · 21-05-2006, 02:52 PM

That's not entirely true. I've had Linux running on a computer with 48MB of RAM, although the CD ROM drive was bootable.

I think you should try booting using an older kernel. Chances are that your hardware was written out of the latest kernel long ago. The best distribution you will get working on that computer is Vector Linux 3.2. Note the version number because the newer VL versions will crawl on that computer of yours.

freehunter · 21-05-2006, 03:36 PM

Hmm. I just parted it out, took the HDD and RAM and stuff out, might have to put it back and try VL. Thanks for the tip. I have tried 2.2, 2.4, and 2.6. Damn this dial-up though, gonna take a few hours to download the files.

freehunter · 21-05-2006, 05:25 PM

Okay, I went to boot VL from disk. I have two HDDs in my computer, the 1gb disk is recognized as secondary master (apparently there is no primary master) and the second, the 6gb drive, is the secondary slave. The floppy got to the point where it was doing a partition check on hdc, then stopped with the cursor blinking on a new line. The lights on the keyboard went out, and a red light on the front of my computer came on. The CD-ROM light was on the whole time. I unplugged the slave and retried it, and it got to loading the floppy driver 0.99 ide and the cursor stopped on a new line and blinked. Keyboard was not responsive, couldn't open the CD-ROM drive, and there was no error message. Any ideas?

megamaced · 22-05-2006, 09:21 AM

Well that's strange. I can't see why it would do a partition check on hdc (which is the CD-ROM drive)!

When you boot from the floppy, are you allowed to enter any special boot parameters before it loads the kernel? I suggest you try booting with 'SCSI emulation' which I think you can achieve simply by typing 'scsi'. Don't quote me on that though!

freehunter · 22-05-2006, 05:16 PM

It says hdc is my Maxtor ATA drive, my 1gb hard drive. It freezes at the partition check. I parted it last with format c: from a DOS boot disk, so it is a one partition fat32 disk. scsi did not work, it says it cannot find the kernel image at the boot prompt.

Addis · 22-05-2006, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by megamaced

Well that's strange. I can't see why it would do a partition check on hdc (which is the CD-ROM drive)!

When you boot from the floppy, are you allowed to enter any special boot parameters before it loads the kernel? I suggest you try booting with 'SCSI emulation' which I think you can achieve simply by typing 'scsi'. Don't quote me on that though!

mega, hdc can also be a hard disk. hda, hdb, hdc and hdd all represent drives on the primary master/slave and secondary master/slave.

freehunter · 22-05-2006, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Addis

mega, hdc can also be a hard disk. hda, hdb, hdc and hdd all represent drives on the primary master/slave and secondary master/slave.

Yeah, as I mentioned in my last post, hdc is my hard drive that I am trying to install to.

20-05-2006, 11:17 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Trying to install Linux from floppy boot on P133: Kernel Panic I am trying to load Debian via floppy, as my P133 with 48mb of RAM won't boot from CD. I tried DeLi also, and it always tries to kill the idle process and ends with a kernel panic and freezes. I can't get Smart BootManager to recognize the CD-ROM drive even though the BIOS says there is one. I can get to my CD drive (R from a DOS boot disk. I had a game card and modem in ISA ports, and I took them out, but it still stops at a kernel panic. I have a Creative Labs Graphics Blaster MA 202 with 2mb of video memory as my video card. The drives are IDE, and it has Windows 95 on it right now. I tried three different floppies, so I doubt it is the floppy. It may be the floppy drive, but DOS loads on the floppy drive. The computer ran Windows 95 for 10 years with no errors, but I am getting BSoDs now, so I thought I would throw Linux on it and use it as a print server. I would try Slackware, but I am at a place that only has dial up until I get home Wednesday, that's why I brought a copy of DeLi, as I knew it was based on Slack 7.1 with the 2.2 kernel. Should work with the GUI, they test it on a 486 with 16mb of RAM with the GUI. I just can't get past the first floppy to install. If I still can't get it by the time I get home, I will try Slack, and if that doesn't work, BSD. Anyone have any advice? I posted this at the GameFAQs Unix/Linux boards, and they recommended here. I was hoping to finally have a dedicated Linux box, my PC used to dual boot, now I just run it in VMware in Windows XP.

20-05-2006, 11:28 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
Addis The King Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 18 Male Posts: 5,255 Times Helpful: 403 My Mood: Drunk Status: Offline My Computer	Are you using a boot disk to do a network install of debian or a debian floppy distro? You won't get enough to make a print server with most floppy distros. __________________ Never trust a program you don't have the source code for. My website \| Powerful Desktop Linux \| Linux for human beings \| Linux for power users \| Linux for ricers

21-05-2006, 10:10 AM	#4 (permalink) Top
Addis The King Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 18 Male Posts: 5,255 Times Helpful: 403 My Mood: Drunk Status: Offline My Computer	That may be a RAM fault, often if that happens withme than one distro part of the RAMs been damaged. __________________ Never trust a program you don't have the source code for. My website \| Powerful Desktop Linux \| Linux for human beings \| Linux for power users \| Linux for ricers

21-05-2006, 02:52 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 24 Male Posts: 3,467 Times Helpful: 352 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	That's not entirely true. I've had Linux running on a computer with 48MB of RAM, although the CD ROM drive was bootable. I think you should try booting using an older kernel. Chances are that your hardware was written out of the latest kernel long ago. The best distribution you will get working on that computer is Vector Linux 3.2. Note the version number because the newer VL versions will crawl on that computer of yours. __________________ "A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows". ~Linus Torvalds

21-05-2006, 03:36 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Hmm. I just parted it out, took the HDD and RAM and stuff out, might have to put it back and try VL. Thanks for the tip. I have tried 2.2, 2.4, and 2.6. Damn this dial-up though, gonna take a few hours to download the files. Last edited by freehunter; 21-05-2006 at 03:57 PM.

20-05-2006, 11:45 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	I am trying to boot from a floppy to install from the CD. The CD drive is not bootable, but it can be read from through DOS on the floppy. I just tried Tiny Linux and it stalled. It did not say kernel panic, but it stopped in the same place the other ones do, giving me a big code of two characters grouped together, such as e3 h4 23 0a etc, across the whole screen.

21-05-2006, 01:58 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Dang. I don't have any RAM to put in it, I can't take any out and still have a usable computer, and I am not going to spend any money on this piece. Odd that Windows works and Linux doesn't. Makes me sad.

21-05-2006, 05:25 PM	#8 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Okay, I went to boot VL from disk. I have two HDDs in my computer, the 1gb disk is recognized as secondary master (apparently there is no primary master) and the second, the 6gb drive, is the secondary slave. The floppy got to the point where it was doing a partition check on hdc, then stopped with the cursor blinking on a new line. The lights on the keyboard went out, and a red light on the front of my computer came on. The CD-ROM light was on the whole time. I unplugged the slave and retried it, and it got to loading the floppy driver 0.99 ide and the cursor stopped on a new line and blinked. Keyboard was not responsive, couldn't open the CD-ROM drive, and there was no error message. Any ideas?

22-05-2006, 09:21 AM	#9 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 24 Male Posts: 3,467 Times Helpful: 352 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	Well that's strange. I can't see why it would do a partition check on hdc (which is the CD-ROM drive)! When you boot from the floppy, are you allowed to enter any special boot parameters before it loads the kernel? I suggest you try booting with 'SCSI emulation' which I think you can achieve simply by typing 'scsi'. Don't quote me on that though! __________________ "A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows". ~Linus Torvalds

22-05-2006, 05:16 PM	#10 (permalink) Top
freehunter Geek Trainee Join Date: May 2006 Gender: Posts: 7 Status: Offline	It says hdc is my Maxtor ATA drive, my 1gb hard drive. It freezes at the partition check. I parted it last with format c: from a DOS boot disk, so it is a one partition fat32 disk. scsi did not work, it says it cannot find the kernel image at the boot prompt.

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