Cannot boot... Kernel problems? [SOLVED]

[jerryjensen]

Hi!

When i try to start up my laptop it almost everytime fails. I have to retry 3-6 times and then MAYBE i can log on...

I use Mint 8, and this is the messages i get:

[ 1.581686] init[1]: segfault at 4 ip 00b7a19d sp bfd52174 error 4 in id-(something i cant read on my photo of the screen)
x.so.2[b740008+1b000]
[ 1.581858] kernel panic - not syncing: attempted to kill init!


And:

[ 1.722035] kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root on unknowm wn-block(0,0)

So, i try to start the recoverymode, and it doesńt work, and i start the memtest (this works). When i have run the memtest for a minute or two i press reboot and it seems to work then... But not always...

is there anybody who has an idea about this? What the problem may be and how i fix it.
Please remember that i am a complete beginner with Linux. Mint 8 is my first contact ever with Linux.

[Husse]

Seems like a bad live CD - there can be errors even if you manage to install
Check the md5sum of the ISO - in Windows you need a third party program to do that
If OK try to reinstall, if that fails try to burn again at the lowest speed possible
There is possibly an error in the filesystem but the tools to check have changed so I can't tell you how to check

[jerryjensen]

Ok, i have been thinking about reinstall it... But how do i check the md5sum?
And what will the sum tell me?

Jerry

[Husse]

Here is a link to a md5 checker for Windows
Install (I think - but it can be an application that does not need installing) and run it on the downloaded ISO
Compare the md5sum, or hash, with the one on the Linux Mint download page
If they are not the same your download is corrupted
Sadly this is not used much in the Windows world but it's more or less standard in the *nix world

[jerryjensen]

Hi.

I did what you (Husse) suggested, checked the MD%sum and it was a match. I burned a new copy and made a new install.
But i still have the same problem with this error:

[ 1.722035] kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root on unknowm wn-block(0,0)

I have to restart my laptop a series of times before it works... And i can´t find out what the problem is...
It´s sad, cause i really really like Linux Mint 8, and i really really want to keep it...

[kansasnoob]

IMHO both Ubuntu Karmic and Mint Helena are quite simply unstable!

They present problems ranging from grub2 not playing well on initial installation to X crashing and smaller things like Brasero burning coasters to printer malfunctioning.

I recommend trying Gloria or even Elyssa. That said I don't blame Clem or the rest of the Mint team, or for that matter even Ubuntu! This was a bold move, many things are changing but if you want stability this is a bad release!

Both Ubuntu and Mint are great distros but this release is far too buggy!

[jerryjensen]

IMHO both Ubuntu Karmic and Mint Helena are quite simply unstable!

I recommend trying Gloria or even Elyssa. That said I don't blame Clem or the rest of the Mint team, or for that matter even Ubuntu! This was a bold move, many things are changing but if you want stability this is a bad release!

Both Ubuntu and Mint are great distros but this release is far too buggy!

Well, so you think that my problem might be gone if i install Gloria instead of Helena?
I´m willing to try everything, i refuse to go back to Microsoft... I´m so f****** tired of all the big brother things they are doing all the time.
I was hoping that i would get this version of Mint to work, so i´ll wait for some more days berfore i try to install Gloria. hopefully someone knows how to fix my problem...

Jerry

[Husse]

Helena is a fine release for those not experiencing bugs, no doubt about that
But it is buggy and there is so much new in "the machinery" that I can't answer quite a lot of questions about Helena - I have yet to learn myself
Gloria has on the other hand worked Gloriously for me

[jerryjensen]

Ok, so maybe Gloria is the right choice for me then...
Helena is so new, and there is always things to fix with new releases/programs/things.

So if this problem is "fixed" (kind of), i only have one more problem. I have posted about in another section of the forum, and i hope i can get some help with that aswell. But perhaps that problem will fix itself when i change to Gloria?
It is the problem of getting the connection laptop/tv to work...
But that´s another topic...

Jerry

[jerryjensen]

Just wanted to let u know that changing to Gloria fixed it for me. I can now boot properly, and it works every time