Out of ideas - opensuse 11 crashing / freezing

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Hello,

I have been using suse casually from 7.x off and on. I wanted to start using it more and getting myself off of that other OS. I have had a dual boot set up for a while but never use it because its a hassle to log out and swap over. I decided to grab an older box of mine and run linux only on it and xp on my main pc for gaming and use synergy to hop back and forth.

on to the problem…

The box:
Asus k8v se deluxe
1001 bios

  • alt 1007 bios
    amd 64 3200+ 754 chip set
    ATI 9600 xt
  • alt old geforce card
    2x512 ddr400 ram
    160g ata segate drive
  • alt 120g western
    antec 450w power supply
    openSUSE-11.0-DVD-x86_64-iso
  • alt suse 9.1_64 dvd
  • alt opensuse 10.3_64 dvd

The over all problem is that opensuse 11 crashes / freezes during install and after install for no apparent reason, I did get it to install 2 times. When I did get it installed and was setting up things sometimes it would go an hour before locking up and others it would still be loading. I have had it lockup at all different parts of the install. I cant recall any before the kernel is loaded though. Most of the time it does fine until it is actually installing but not always.

I have tried all sorts of apic acpi acpi=off apic=off settings, safe mode, test mode, and turned apic / acpi off in the bios all with bad results. Of the 2 successful installs one was with safe mode on and one was with no kernel settings but default, both on 800x600 vid. Both would crash after install at random times. If you think it might be a apic / acpi issue let me know how I can test / narrow it down better as I am not very familiar with this.

I was running xp on this box and playing some graphical heavy games on it about 6 months ago no problems. I installed 9.2 on it today and it ran fine even with lots of load on it. Also tried a version of knoppix and no lock up with load. It got a little slow when I opened up about 10 programs and turned on a heavy 3d screen saver but never could get it to lock up. I did download 10.3 last night and it froze up on me during install about 3 times as well, I never got a successful install.

I tested the RAM a few different ways; removing one at a time, trying different slots with each, and the memory test on the suse disk. The memory test passed and no matter what RAM was in what slot or not in it locked up. I tried the install on both hard drives, both locking up. I tried an old nvidia card I had laying around because I know ati cards don’t always play well, that card had no better results. I do have a agp 8x geforce 6600 gt that will be here Monday.

I did try to upgrade the bios to the most current non beta, 1007. When I did this it would freeze up at loading USB devices every time. So I unplugged the usb keyboard and mouse and plugged in a ps2 keyboard. It loaded fine and let me go through the set up with the ps2 keyboard ok but sure enough froze during the actual install still. I took it back to 1001 bios.

I did check the download md5 and all was ok. I then checked the dvd I burned with the option on the disk and it failed to pass. I reburned it at 2x on a sony dvd-r single layer disk. This disk did pass the test but didn’t have any better results.

I did install, with a different dvd that I did not burn, opensuse 11 on my work pc, p4 2g ram nvidia fx card, with no problems. But one is 32 and one is 64 so i can’t swap the disks to test.

Anyone got some ideas?

I am down to the thought that its a kernel issue with my mobo maybe? Anyone have 11 installed with this board? if so what bios version/settings and kernel settings are you using? The fact that 11 and 10.3 did not work but 9.1 did makes me think its something new in the kernel. Should I try 10.2? On the hardware compatibility page my mobo has a check for 10.2 but a ? for 10.3 and 11. Was there a change in 10.3 from 10.2 that would cause this? If it is a mobo compatibility issue I would maybe be ok with buying a new one provided it would work with my current cpu, the new card I have on order, my current RAM, maybe the room to put another gig in, and for sure going to work with opensuse 11. I tried looking up socket 754 boards and not many sites sell them still. If the mobo being replaced is the fix recommendations on a site and board would be welcomed.

I do have an old p4 at home I could try my graphics card and hard drive with a 32bit install on if that might help conclude anything but id rather not use this box for my linux set up.

Thanks for the help! :confused:
Chris

#2

Oh I forgot on the installs that did work I tried kde 3.5 and 4 same results.

#3

Just a thought, but have you tried 32bit?
You have no real benefit from using _64

#4

I would concentrate on the kernel module for the chipset disk controller. Via chipsets are, well, they’re Via. Yours is the K8T800. Do an install with the older working SuSE version, and check what’s been built into the initrd (listed in /etc/sysconfig/kernel). Recently helping another guy we discovered that the module being detected was the generic Via, while his chipset required another module specific to that chipset. Also, the Via modules have been changed in the last couple of years; if your Knoppix CD is relatively recent, also check the modules it is loading and compare. (You can explicity request specific kernel modules to be included by the installer; at the license screen, Abort and it will take you to the linuxrc; on it’s menu is a selection for hardware driver modules, follow that to the disk controller category and you’ll see a number of them for Via.) Also, I agree with @caf4926 - I would try the 32-bit kernel.

#5

I solved my crashing and freezing problems on my laptop by compiling kernel 2.6.26, u may want to try that

#6

well another day of testing :mad:
again thanks for the help and input

I would love to and be more than willing to try that if I knew how to :smiley: Not really sure where to start on that. Is there a how to on getting that kernel and 11 installed?

I tried these today. the full 11.0 32 dvd just doesn’t seem to want to download for me yet… seems to be taking a while for some reason. at 70% now started it last night. The others have all seemed to download fine. All through torrent. As soon as it does I will try and let you know.

11 live cd 64
crashed in under 5 mins 3 times each in safe mode and normal

11 live cd 32
crashed in under 5 mins 3 times in normal
made it to about 10-15 in safe mode 3 times

10.2gm_64
In non safe mode it crashed 2 times on install
3rd try installed fine and i was on for a good 30mins before it crashed
it then crashed on me 2 times quickly

10.2 is supposed to be compatible with my mobo so this is just confusing :confused:

I grabbed the kernel 10.2 was using, before it started crashing :(, but I’m not to the point of knowing what its talking about yet :wink: so here it is. Should I install 9.2 and get the kernel from it?

Path: System/Kernel

Description:

Type: string

Command: /sbin/mkinitrd

This variable contains the list of modules to be added to the initial

ramdisk by calling the script “mkinitrd”

(like drivers for scsi-controllers, for lvm or reiserfs)

INITRD_MODULES=“processor thermal sata_promise sata_via via82cxxx fan jbd ext3
edd”

Type: string

Command: /sbin/mkinitrd

This variable contains the list of modules to be added to the initial

ramdisk that is created for unprivilegd Xen domains (domU); you may need

drivers for virtual block and network devices in addition to filesystem

and device-mapper modules.

DOMU_INITRD_MODULES=“xennet xenblk”

Type: string

ServiceRestart: boot.loadmodules

This variable contains the list of modules to be loaded

once the main filesystem is active

You will find a few default modules for hardware which

can not be detected automatically.

MODULES_LOADED_ON_BOOT=""

Type: string

Default: “”

The file name of a binary ACPI Differentiated System Description Table

(DSDT). This table is appended to the initial ram disk (initrd) that

the mkinitrd script creates. If the kernel finds that its initrd

contains a DSDT, this table replaces the DSDT of the bios. If the file

specified in ACPI_DSDT is not found or ACPI_DSDT is empty/not specified,

no DSDT will be appended to the initrd.

Example path /etc/acpi/dsdt

ACPI_DSDT=""

Type: integer(1000:50000)

Default: 1000

Length of the shortest timeslice a process (with lowest priority / maximum

niceness) will be running on a CPU. Time is given in microseconds (us).

This time should be much shorter than SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE to keep the

nice values meaningful. The values can only be specified up to a accuracy

of 1/HZ s, i.e. 10000us on a HZ=100 system, 1000us if HZ=1000.

Note that the boot script (boot.sched) does scale the values if the

MINTIMESLICE is below the minimum for the timer interrupt frequency (HZ

value) of the booted kernel.

For interactive desktop use, SCHED_MINTIMESLICE/SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE values

of 1000 and 30000 are recommended. For non-interactive use, multiply both

values by 10 or 20.

SCHED_MINTIMESLICE=""

Type: integer(20000:1000000)

Default: 40000

Length of the longest timeslice a process (with highest priority / minimum

niceness) will be running on a CPU. Time is given in microseconds (us).

This time should be much longer than SCHED_MINTIMESLICE to keep the

nice values meaningful. (The boot.sched script will not accept the value

if there’s less than a factor of three in between them, default is 30.)

For interactive desktop use, SCHED_MINTIMESLICE/SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE values

of 1000 and 30000 are recommended. For non-interactive use, multiply both

values by 10 or 20.

SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE=""

Type: string(yes)

Default: “”

Skip doing a minimal preparation of the /usr/src/linux source tree so

that most header files can be directly included. If set, /usr/src/linux

will not be touched.

SKIP_RUNNING_KERNEL=""

#7

I recently compiled my own kernel and wrote a how to on my blog here

How to compile your own linux kernel for openSUSE « Snakeeyes Weblog

#8

wow great write up! I will for sure use it. Thank you.

Question, this write up is assuming you can write the kernel on the box with the opensuse on it. No way I can write it this way with mine. I can try building it with my work pc, opensuse 11.0, or install 9.1 and build it. Will either of those work and will it make a diff? Can I then use this kernel for the install or do I need to pray that it can install on its own copy the kernel over and then try and set up grub to boot with the new one?

#9

If you have a problem with a kernel module, recompiling the kernel won’t make any difference. So these are two different possible solutions.

The config you posted, which if I understood correctly was in a version that worked, has 3 relevant modules: sata_promise - sata_via - via82cxxx

The first is for a Promise SATA device, which means you have either an on-board Promise controller or you have a Promise PCI card. sata-via is for a SATA disk controller in the Via chipset or it is for a discrete device on the board; Via makes those too. And the via82cxxx is the chipset module which provides the IDE interface for the SATA controller. One of these is for your RAID array, but you do need all 3. What you need to determine is whether all 3 of these modules are being loaded by openSUSE. An easy way to test this would be to just get into the kernel modules list at the front of the install, as I described above, and select all 3 to load, and then proceed with the installation. You may run into a glitch with grub, but that can be worked around. If this doesn’t resolve the problem, then look to the kernel.

#10

like others have said if u do have a problem with a module then compiling won’t help unless u know its the kernel, the problem is that with the method of compiling I use u can’t transfer the kernel to another machine :frowning:

#11

First thing I would do is try another distro.

Most others run an older kernel, and it might narrow it down a bit.

Try a liveCD, maybe Ubuntu or PClos.

Does it sometimes not turn on properly? As in you have to press reset to get it to post, or other odd behaviour.

If so, maybe look at hardware, especially the mainboard power capacitors, check the power supply, and if you are able, maybe change the memory or remove one module (if possible), or even swap them around in their sockets.

#12

I was trying to play with this a bit yesterday but it kept crashing in this menu very quickly.

I will try a live cd of another distro. Great idea thanks.

Yes it boots fine. I have not yet had a crash or freeze that was not after the 10.2/3 or 11.0 kernel was loaded. I have tested the memory quite a bit. And the pc will run fine on old suse distro and win xp.

#13

Hi, there is one way to find out if its the kernel for sure, try the fedora 9 live cd, its got kernel 2.6.25 as well, just like suse :slight_smile:

Fedora Project

#14

This could be an important clue. If the ncurses linuxrc crashes then there is a good chance it is indeed the kernel - because that’s all linuxrc essentially is; a minimalist kernel wrapped in a shell. It initializes only the barest minimum hardware and bios parameters - the cpu incl the built-in functions of acpi (power mgmt), apci (interrupt), IRQ assignment, DMA, SMP if present, the AGP and PCI bus, and of course RAM, the controller for which on an AMD machine is in the cpu itself. The disk controller modules are loaded at a later step.

Again, I would be using the 32-bit at this point. Boot that live-CD and immediately open a terminal and do a “dmesg | more” to see the initialization - you may see the problem there.

#15

tried opensuse 11.0 32 bit again 3 runs lasted about 20 mins each before it fell over, safemode. Default 3 quick crashes.

Got these out 1st from the safe mode runs.

Path: System/Kernel

Description:

Type: string

Command: /sbin/mkinitrd

This variable contains the list of modules to be added to the initial

ramdisk by calling the script “mkinitrd”

(like drivers for scsi-controllers, for lvm or reiserfs)

INITRD_MODULES=""

Type: string

Command: /sbin/mkinitrd

This variable contains the list of modules to be added to the initial

ramdisk that is created for unprivilegd Xen domains (domU); you may need

drivers for virtual block and network devices in addition to filesystem

and device-mapper modules.

DOMU_INITRD_MODULES=“xennet xenblk”

Type: string

ServiceRestart: boot.loadmodules

This variable contains the list of modules to be loaded

once the main filesystem is active

You will find a few default modules for hardware which

can not be detected automatically.

MODULES_LOADED_ON_BOOT=""

Type: string

Default: “”

The file name of a binary ACPI Differentiated System Description Table

(DSDT). This table is appended to the initial ram disk (initrd) that

the mkinitrd script creates. If the kernel finds that its initrd

contains a DSDT, this table replaces the DSDT of the bios. If the file

specified in ACPI_DSDT is not found or ACPI_DSDT is empty/not specified,

no DSDT will be appended to the initrd.

Example path /etc/acpi/DSDT.aml

You can also override Secondary System Description Tables (SSDTs).

Add DSDT and SSDT files separated by spaces, e.g. “DSDT.aml SSDT1.aml”

The files must be named DSDT.aml and/or SSDT[1-9]*.aml.

For compatiblity reasons, if only one file is added it is assumed it is

the DSDT and will be used as such, in future the above naming scheme

will be enforce.

Be aware that overriding these tables can harm your system.

Only do this if you know what you are doing and file a bug on

bugzilla.kernel.org so that the root cause of the issue will get fixed.

ACPI_DSDT=""

Type: integer(1000:50000)

Default: 1000

Length of the shortest timeslice a process (with lowest priority / maximum

niceness) will be running on a CPU. Time is given in microseconds (us).

This time should be much shorter than SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE to keep the

nice values meaningful. The values can only be specified up to a accuracy

of 1/HZ s, i.e. 10000us on a HZ=100 system, 1000us if HZ=1000.

Note that the boot script (boot.sched) does scale the values if the

MINTIMESLICE is below the minimum for the timer interrupt frequency (HZ

value) of the booted kernel.

For interactive desktop use, SCHED_MINTIMESLICE/SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE values

of 1000 and 30000 are recommended. For non-interactive use, multiply both

values by 10 or 20.

SCHED_MINTIMESLICE=""

Type: integer(20000:1000000)

Default: 40000

Length of the longest timeslice a process (with highest priority / minimum

niceness) will be running on a CPU. Time is given in microseconds (us).

This time should be much longer than SCHED_MINTIMESLICE to keep the

nice values meaningful. (The boot.sched script will not accept the value

if there’s less than a factor of three in between them, default is 30.)

For interactive desktop use, SCHED_MINTIMESLICE/SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE values

of 1000 and 30000 are recommended. For non-interactive use, multiply both

values by 10 or 20.

SCHED_MAXTIMESLICE=""

Type: string(yes)

Default: “”

Skip doing a minimal preparation of the /usr/src/linux source tree so

that most header files can be directly included. If set, /usr/src/linux

will not be touched.

SKIP_RUNNING_KERNEL=""

linux@linux:~> dmesg | more
Linux version 2.6.25.5-1.1-default (geeko@buildhost) (gcc version 4.3.1 20080
507 (prerelease) [gcc-4_3-branch revision 135036] (SUSE Linux) ) #1 SMP 2008-
06-07 01:55:22 +0200
BIOS-provided physical RAM map:
BIOS-e820: 0000000000000000 - 000000000009fc00 (usable)
BIOS-e820: 000000000009fc00 - 00000000000a0000 (reserved)
BIOS-e820: 00000000000e4000 - 0000000000100000 (reserved)
BIOS-e820: 0000000000100000 - 000000003ff30000 (usable)
BIOS-e820: 000000003ff30000 - 000000003ff40000 (ACPI data)
BIOS-e820: 000000003ff40000 - 000000003fff0000 (ACPI NVS)
BIOS-e820: 000000003fff0000 - 0000000040000000 (reserved)
BIOS-e820: 00000000fff80000 - 0000000100000000 (reserved)
127MB HIGHMEM available.
896MB LOWMEM available.
Scan SMP from c0000000 for 1024 bytes.
Scan SMP from c009fc00 for 1024 bytes.
Scan SMP from c00f0000 for 65536 bytes.
Scan SMP from c009fc00 for 1024 bytes.
Entering add_active_range(0, 0, 261936) 0 entries of 256 used
Zone PFN ranges:
DMA 0 -> 4096
Normal 4096 -> 229376
HighMem 229376 -> 261936
Movable zone start PFN for each node
early_node_map[1] active PFN ranges
0: 0 -> 261936
On node 0 totalpages: 261936
DMA zone: 32 pages used for memmap
DMA zone: 0 pages reserved
DMA zone: 4064 pages, LIFO batch:0
Normal zone: 1760 pages used for memmap
Normal zone: 223520 pages, LIFO batch:31
HighMem zone: 254 pages used for memmap
HighMem zone: 32306 pages, LIFO batch:7
Movable zone: 0 pages used for memmap

Not sure really what they mean :smiley: hope they help

I am writing you now from ubuntu 8.04.1 32 bit live cd, default load settings, (2.24.x kernel I think)been going for a good 30mins and still strong. I am going to let it run for a bit and see. I could not find the /etc/sysconfig folder, guessing ubuntu uses a diff file system for it, so I dont know where the kernel is to compare or post it. But i gladly will if someone can direct me to it.

I have a fedora 9 32 bit live cd sitting here to try next. I will let the results be known after a few attempts at it. Where will i find any info, like kernel, that I should pull out while I am in there.

as always THANKS!
~Chris

#16

ubuntu run for a good hour perfectly

fedora 9 32bit crashed in under 5 mins.

:confused::confused:

#17

if ubuntu works - use it

#18

the problem is the kernel

ubuntu uses 2.6.24 and suse uses 2.6.25

u can either upgrade suse to 2.6.26 or use another distro, u might also want to try Mandriva spring 2008, its got 2.6.24 in it as well.

#19

Thats what I am thinking I may have to do. I just love and am used to suse. It could be good to learn a new distro lol

Thats what i was thinking but 10.2 and 10.3 dont use the 2.6.25 kernel and crapped out just the same for me. That puzzled me :smiley:

#20

@scacs -

The dmesg wasn’t long enough to see all the initialization. But I did notice that in post #15 the /etc/sysconfig/kernel file on the initrd line shows no modules. Now, I wasn’t clear on where you pulled that file from; it would either need to be the file to be used for the subsequent initrd creation or what is on disk from an installation attempt. But compare that to what I thought was a working sysconfig file in post#6; all those initrd modules are missing. That would suggest that something is amiss in the hardware detection, because clearly you would need modules loaded. I wonder what might happen if you Aborted out, got into linuxrc, and loaded all those modules manually.

Also, you will not see sysconfig in Ubuntu. /etc/sysconfig are the files written to in the YaST sysconfig module, and the kernel file is written to by the detection routine. This is a Red Hat subsystem. Ubuntu is based on Debian, IIRC there is no equivalent; the modules are always determined on the fly by Debian’s detection routine at kernel/initrd build.