I don't know if this will work for you, but I had this same problem a couple months ago trying to install RedHat 7.3 onto a new box. I was having a kernel panic error just minutes into the install. 7.1 would install fine, and the 7.3 cds worked on another machine. My machine was running Duron 950 and I can't remember the manufacture of the motherboard (I will look it up when I get home) with and AMI BIOS. Anyway, I came across a web site that made referance to a BIOS setting. I had to disable some power management feature and that fixed it for me. I have been running the box as a server for over 2 months now, and not a single problem since then. > Hello again, folks. Last week I decided Mandrake 8.1 just wasn't new > enough for me now that I have a cable modem, so I downloaded the 8.2 > CDs, repartitioned my drive, and attempted to install the new version. > Got a kernel panic -- can't mount root partition -- a few seconds into > loading the installer. Here's what I've tried so far: > > * Are the CDs bad? No, I checked them against the images, and checked > the images against the checksums available online. > * Is my drive unsupported? No, it still works with the 8.1 CDs, and > swapping out the drive for another doesn't help. > * Is my K6 processor unsupported? No, it still works with 8.1, and > "expert nopentium" at the boot prompt doesn't help. > * Is the problem with Mandrake? No, I downloaded Red Hat 7.3 and the > same thing happens. > * Would it help to upgrade to 8.2 rather than install directly? That > gets around the kernel panic, but a number of packages don't upgrade > correctly, and the system winds up halfway between 8.1 and 8.2. > > Anyway, I'm realizing that the bigger problem here is that I'm not > enough of a geek to figure out what's going on. I live in Lyn-Lake -- > surely there are other Linux folks nearby who are better at this stuff > than I am. My roommate and I are pretty good cooks, and Uptown Pizza > is only 2 blocks away. So if anybody out there is up for a challenge > and hungry for dinner, please write to me. > > Thanks in advance! --Ben > > _______________________________________________ > Twin Cities Linux Users Group Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, > Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > https://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list