Kernel panic while trying to boot PL431 frugally...

[benny7440]

I can' t be completely sure of this, but think I' ve booted up PL431 a couple of times in the past.

I saw on the screen the following messages:

Loading drivers ... done
Searching for puppy ... done
Loading the 'pup-431.sfs' main file... done
Setting up the layered filesystem... done
Performing a 'switch_root' to the ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init

My menu.lst entry for this pup is shown below:

Code: Select all

grub version 0.97

# 3) Linux bootable partition config begins
  title Puppy Linux 431 frugal in sda2 dir puppy431
  rootnoverify (hd0,1)
  kernel /puppy431/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy431
  initrd /puppy431/initrd.gz
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Any ideas as to what might be happening here?

PS. While trying to boot DSL received the following:

"Error 23: Error while parsing number
Press any key to continue..."

[RetroTechGuy]

I can' t be completely sure of this, but think I' ve booted up PL431 a couple of times in the past.

I saw on the screen the following messages:

Loading drivers ... done
Searching for puppy ... done
Loading the 'pup-431.sfs' main file... done
Setting up the layered filesystem... done
Performing a 'switch_root' to the ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init

My menu.lst entry for this pup is shown below:

Code: Select all

grub version 0.97

# 3) Linux bootable partition config begins
  title Puppy Linux 431 frugal in sda2 dir puppy431
  rootnoverify (hd0,1)
  kernel /puppy431/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy431
  initrd /puppy431/initrd.gz
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Any ideas as to what might be happening here?

PS. While trying to boot DSL received the following:

"Error 23: Error while parsing number
Press any key to continue..."

Corrupt file system? Failing media? (the fact that 2 different systems are acting up, could point to the latter)

[benny7440]

Thanks for replying RetroTechGuy!

The first of your ideas (corrupt file system) seems to me closer to the real thing that's happenning. This make me think of doing (probably) all of the following:
1) re-download PL431, 2) verify its md5sum, 3) extracting the necessary files, 4) deleting the whole folder where PL431 files now reside in & 5) re-make that folder & putting those files in there.

Notice that I'm not mentioning editing the menu.lst file, but if file(s) corruption is working in here that too might be necessary (I'm considering it as an alternative after trying those 5 steps)...

Now that I've paused for a moment thinking of that chain of events, I'll do first the last step (rewriting the menu.lst file), just in case. I'm considering that in that latter case the solution would be much more simpler because I already have the necessary files in place.

In relation to booting up DSL with this method in this VAIO I must state that never have been able to use this method to boot it up; have tried about >6 different menu.lst entries as suggested by some members of this as well as other forums.

[RetroTechGuy]

Thanks for replying RetroTechGuy!

The first of your ideas (corrupt file system) seems to me closer to the real thing that's happenning. This make me think of doing (probably) all of the following:
1) re-download PL431, 2) verify its md5sum, 3) extracting the necessary files, 4) deleting the whole folder where PL431 files now reside in & 5) re-make that folder & putting those files in there.

Notice that I'm not mentioning editing the menu.lst file, but if file(s) corruption is working in here that too might be necessary (I'm considering it as an alternative after trying those 5 steps)...

Now that I've paused for a moment thinking of that chain of events, I'll do first the last step (rewriting the menu.lst file), just in case. I'm considering that in that latter case the solution would be much more simpler because I already have the necessary files in place.

In relation to booting up DSL with this method in this VAIO I must state that never have been able to use this method to boot it up; have tried about >6 different menu.lst entries as suggested by some members of this as well as other forums.

Is the partition where DSL and Puppy are located a ext2 (or similar Linux file system)?

If so, you might also want to live boot a CD, then:

Code: Select all

fsck /dev/sda1

(assuming that partition 1 is where the systems are located)

This will perform a file system check, which might clear up the problem (you may still have corrupted files after this, but the partition itself would be "clean").

[benny7440]

Thanks RetroTechGuy for replying!

The 6.2GB partition where all my necessary files for booting up all my linux OSs is an ext3 filesystem one.

My 'booting' partition in the HD (only one disk at this computer) I have is the second one, so, I must check what's the starting count number for that command at the man pages first because I remember that in some moments I must start to count from cero (0) & in other circumstances from one (1). I do have a question though, probably the only live cd that I have around right now is a DSL one that, BTW, boots at the VAIO but not at the HP; can I assume that I can run that command from DSL? Tentatively, I'm assuming the answer is YES. I'm also assuming that you suggest to run the command from a system that hasn't mounted any partition because it needs to run on an unmounted partition.

PS. I have been trying to update my FF version from 14.* to 22.0 & even though the autmatic update worked well the Menu entry (and probably other system entries as well) showed the old version. While trying to fix that SMALL issue I damaged certain things and finally, in a bersercked move I deleted the FF entry at /root/mozilla (I guess) crowning my previous mistakes. So, I'm now running with Seamonkey (a recent version but not necessarily the last one) that I had around for a while. While trying to fix this new situation someone at this forum suggested to update my OS to Slacko 5.5, which already comes with FF 22 built-in. After trying to fix the FF thing for a few days I was still considering it &, finally, decided to give Slacko a trial period but I discovered that I needed more space for Slacko to fit in my partition for puppies. For making room for it I had to delete/move some big folders that were there & one of those was PL431. After giving some thought to it I think it's going to be very hard for me to go back to use PL431 again, so its deletion probably is going to be permanent.

PSS. Slacko hasn't boot yet, giving me a "File not found error #15". But, after changing some entries at the DSL section at menu.lst file it gave me a rather long list of messages while trying to boot (wondering if I can give some boot option to save those messages at some file for further examination), some of which I copied (those that comes out last) & have at hand if you want me to upload them.

Thanks for reading this rather long post up to here!

[RetroTechGuy]

Thanks RetroTechGuy for replying!

The 6.2GB partition where all my necessary files for booting up all my linux OSs is an ext3 filesystem one.

My 'booting' partition in the HD (only one disk at this computer) ...

I think that I forgot this...

When you look in the lower left corner, is you drive called "sda1" or "hda1" (IIRC, PL4.31 still uses "hda1" notation).

In which case, you boot to RAM from CD (don't let Puppy mount hda1), then

Code: Select all

fsck /dev/hda1

That will scan your partition for file system errors and corruption. IIRC, ext3 is known for running corrupted, and eventually breaking itself. I prefer to do the scan, to protect the data integrity.

[benny7440]

I managed to find & boot from a live cd (pfix=ram) PL511. After running that command the output shown is:

Code: Select all

# fsck /dev/sda2
e2fsck 1.41.11 (14-Mar-2010)
/dev/sda2: recovering journal
/dev/sda2 has been mounted 504 times without being checked, check forced.
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information
/dev/sda2: 46791/408000 files (0.2% non-contiguous), 1609313/1631488 blocks
# 

After reading some info at the man pages around this command I hope I ran it OK & the output is showing something useful.

[Karl Godt]

/dev/sda2 has been mounted 504 times without being checked,

504 times is pretty much

Output shows that everything is OK .

The kernel configuration of 431 and 511 are mostly similar . One feature at least is different :

Automatic ACPI support .

2.6.30.5 : CONFIG_ACPI_BLACKLIST_YEAR=2002
2.6.33.2 : CONFIG_ACPI_BLACKLIST_YEAR=2001

See : Though 2.6.33.2 is younger, it supports older acpi boards by default.

So if your puter's bios is around 2000/2003 , you might need to boot with the boot parameter acpi=force ( or acpi=off )

Code: Select all

kernel /puppy431/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy431 acpi=force

.

I was always using the pdev1=sda2 instead of the pmedia boot parameter

Code: Select all

kernel /puppy431/vmlinuz pdev1=sda2 psubdir=puppy431

.

[RetroTechGuy]

I managed to find & boot from a live cd (pfix=ram) PL511. After running that command the output shown is:

Code: Select all

# fsck /dev/sda2
e2fsck 1.41.11 (14-Mar-2010)
/dev/sda2: recovering journal
/dev/sda2 has been mounted 504 times without being checked, check forced.
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information
/dev/sda2: 46791/408000 files (0.2% non-contiguous), 1609313/1631488 blocks
# 

After reading some info at the man pages around this command I hope I ran it OK & the output is showing something useful.

It should prompt you for action, if it had sector errors. That looks good (not a bad idea to do a fsck on the physical drive periodically).

I have my boot process do a fsck on my lupusave on every boot (the save file is also a ext2 or similar format). It doesn't take very long, and saves a world of hurts if it does get corrupted.

I'll turn you over to Karl now... Not sure where else to go from my knowledge base...

[benny7440]

Thanks to both of you, Karl Godt and RetroTechGuy, for your precise info & help!

I'll take note of booting with the "acpi=[force | off]" when trying again. Also, I'll put that of "pdev=sda2" at an extra line but commented because want to try one thing at a time.

To RetroTechGuy: I must admit that I don't know how to do a 'fsck lupusave.3fs' automatically at boot time. Do you mean something like this: fsck [sda2/puppy528-005/lupusave.3fs | sda2/puppy528-005 | sda2}? Which one would do? At what step within the menu.lst section you do it? Do you save the output to a predetermined file?

Thanks again to both of you guys!

[RetroTechGuy]

Thanks to both of you, Karl Godt and RetroTechGuy, for your precise info & help!

I'll take note of booting with the "acpi=[force | off]" when trying again. Also, I'll put that of "pdev=sda2" at an extra line but commented because want to try one thing at a time.

To RetroTechGuy: I must admit that I don't know how to do a 'fsck lupusave.3fs' automatically at boot time. Do you mean something like this: fsck [sda2/puppy528-005/lupusave.3fs | sda2/puppy528-005 | sda2}? Which one would do? At what step within the menu.lst section you do it? Do you save the output to a predetermined file?

Thanks again to both of you guys!

My menu.lst file looks like:

Code: Select all

title Puppy Linux 528 frugal
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /puppy528/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy528 pfix=noram,fsck
initrd /puppy528/initrd.gz

The "pfix" bit tells it to scan the save file before loading... (the "noram" tells it to not load the .sfs into RAM)

I've always thought that this should be default behavior (and the experts would certainly be able to turn it off -- whereas teaching newbies to turn it on is harder).

[benny7440]

Thanks, RetroTechGuy, for your code! I already changed the entry in mine but will wait to test it until next time I boot up my system.

Sorry for taking so long to reply but I was far from this computer for a few days. I'm not sure what implications not loading the sfs file to ram will have for me, I'll test it first &, if it's a problem, will take it out of the parameter & re-check it.

[RetroTechGuy]

Thanks, RetroTechGuy, for your code! I already changed the entry in mine but will wait to test it until next time I boot up my system.

Sorry for taking so long to reply but I was far from this computer for a few days. I'm not sure what implications not loading the sfs file to ram will have for me, I'll test it first &, if it's a problem, will take it out of the parameter & re-check it.

If the save file has been corrupted, it takes a little time to scan and repair it -- but this is something that you really want to do. When it is undamaged, it takes almost no time. I've always felt that this should be the default operation, starting from the boot CD (thus one could launch from CD, and there savefile would always be scanned -- even if they don't have grub installed).

I find that my internet use regularly runs me out of RAM (Firefox is an absolute pig about memory usage), so not loading the SFS helps me save RAM. I suspect that I pay a minor performance price, as any program launch reads from the HDD -- by my hardware is fast enough that I don't notice an issue there.

[benny7440]

Thank you guys for your kind help on this!

I'm making a PAUSE in relation to insist in booting up PL431 until I manage to boot both, DSL AWA Slacko-5.5.4G in this machine. The pause is necessary because of partition size & I don't want to introduce another variable to the equation. I can (I think) put PL431 at another location & try it from there; I'm still thinking of it but too many targets in the same room is a little daunting for me.

I'll come back to this issue as soon as I'm less pressed on other issues.

[benny7440]

I'm posting today that I already boot PL431 after crreating an ext2 partition, creating a pl431 folder, putting in there all the OS files for booting up & reconfiguring menu.lst accordingly.

BTW, I also saw a folder created a long time ago named pl431-backup at another partition. I suspect that about a year ago I tried to make a CFCard to contain & boot pl431 by means of grub4dos. I might flush its contents back to the CFCard & keep trying that route but it won't be early this week; maybe in the weekend. For this last issue I'll start a whole new thread.

Thanks to all!

[RetroTechGuy]

I'm posting today that I already boot PL431 after crreating an ext2 partition, creating a pl431 folder, putting in there all the OS files for booting up & reconfiguring menu.lst accordingly.

BTW, I also saw a folder created a long time ago named pl431-backup at another partition. I suspect that about a year ago I tried to make a CFCard to contain & boot pl431 by means of grub4dos. I might flush its contents back to the CFCard & keep trying that route but it won't be early this week; maybe in the weekend. For this last issue I'll start a whole new thread.

Thanks to all!

If it's not painful to put in on the HDD, I would run it there. It will be a lot faster on shutdown.

I am running 5.28.005 on my new (used) laptop, and have it installed on a 4 GB SD. It is fairly slow to save and shut down. I will eventually look into putting it on the HDD. (need to examine if, and how much of the Lin'N'Win instructions will transfer -- they were geared for XP and Win98).

[benny7440]

I don't understand the statement: "If it's not painful to put in on the HDD, I would run it there."

Are you talking about a full HDD installation (not frugal)? What I like of the frugal installations is that it's so flexible in terms of upgrading, moving around &, specially, it avoid conflicts with other systems that might be present giving the user so much flexibility.

You mentioned that you're running 5.28.005 installed at a CFCard & I'm remembering that once far back in time I ran a puppy from a CFCard also at this VAIO & it was a painful experience to see its' slow execution; I uninstalled. Curious though, you mentioned also the first method for me to experience a linux (Puppy 411 or 421) distribution: Lin'N'Win. At that time I was running XP. I'm not that sure of it but I think that there're methods to intervene with the booting process of other microsoft products as well to achieve the same results...

Good luck in your endeavours!

[RetroTechGuy]

I don't understand the statement: "If it's not painful to put in on the HDD, I would run it there."

Are you talking about a full HDD installation (not frugal)? What I like of the frugal installations is that it's so flexible in terms of upgrading, moving around &, specially, it avoid conflicts with other systems that might be present giving the user so much flexibility.

I run only frugal installs. I like 'em as it's easy to do "backups". But I usually install them on the HDD, which has much fast read-write speeds.

You mentioned that you're running 5.28.005 installed at a CFCard & I'm remembering that once far back in time I ran a puppy from a CFCard also at this VAIO & it was a painful experience to see its' slow execution; I uninstalled. Curious though, you mentioned also the first method for me to experience a linux (Puppy 411 or 421) distribution: Lin'N'Win. At that time I was running XP. I'm not that sure of it but I think that there're methods to intervene with the booting process of other microsoft products as well to achieve the same results...

Good luck in your endeavours!

Mine is pretty snappy operating -- a fast machine, with lots of RAM. It's just the shutdown that is slow. It takes a fair amount of time to write 500 MB of data onto a slow-ish SD card (I suppose that I could buy one of the fast cards, which should help)..

Lin'N'Win allows one to add other boot options into the Windows boot sequence, with minimal invasion (i.e. you don't need to overwrite the boot sector, just modify some of the Windows files)