Not quite the answer to your question but... In my experience that kind of issue is going to be ram, power or processor. Have you run memtest or inquisitor on the box? Gareth On 07/02/2012 22:13, dave(a)staffslug.org.uk wrote: > Hello all. > > Quick question. What's the best way to diagnose a kernel panic on > start up? > > I've got Ubuntu 11.10 and every so often, I get a kernel panic a few > time in a row, then back to normal without issue for a number of time > (could be a couple of weeks), then it happens again. > > I have tried trying thing in certain sequences, but can't find the > answer, so was just wondering what the best next steps would be? > > Dave > > _______________________________________________ > Staffslug mailing list > Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk > http://www.staffslug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/staffslug

it's a live CD stress test / benchmarking tool. I have been looking for a really good one for some time and that seems to be the most thorough whilst needing little (or no) setup. It does destructive and none destructive hard drive testing as well as memory and processor and a few other bits. On 08/02/2012 08:24, dave(a)staffslug.org.uk wrote: > I've let Memtest run for a few hours and it didn't show any errors. > > Not heard about inquisitor before, what is it? > > On 08.02.2012 08:02, Gareth Westwood wrote: >> Not quite the answer to your question but... >> >> In my experience that kind of issue is going to be ram, power or >> processor. Have you run memtest or inquisitor on the box? >> >> Gareth >> >> On 07/02/2012 22:13, dave(a)staffslug.org.uk wrote: >>> Hello all. >>> >>> Quick question. What's the best way to diagnose a kernel panic on >>> start up? >>> >>> I've got Ubuntu 11.10 and every so often, I get a kernel panic a >>> few time in a row, then back to normal without issue for a number >>> of time (could be a couple of weeks), then it happens again. >>> >>> I have tried trying thing in certain sequences, but can't find the >>> answer, so was just wondering what the best next steps would be? >>> >>> Dave >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Staffslug mailing list >>> Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk >>> http://www.staffslug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/staffslug > > > _______________________________________________ > Staffslug mailing list > Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk > http://www.staffslug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/staffslug

It could be a device or something that isn't loading properly. Have you tried seeing if the machine boots with USB devices, Optical Drive, and PCI devices removed? Sent from my Desire HD On Feb 7, 2012 10:16 PM, <dave(a)staffslug.org.uk&gt; wrote: > Hello all. > > Quick question. What's the best way to diagnose a kernel panic on > start > up? > > I've got Ubuntu 11.10 and every so often, I get a kernel panic a few > time > in a row, then back to normal without issue for a number of time > (could be > a couple of weeks), then it happens again. > > I have tried trying thing in certain sequences, but can't find the > answer, > so was just wondering what the best next steps would be? > > Dave > > ______________________________**_________________ > Staffslug mailing list > Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk > > http://www.staffslug.org.uk/**mailman/listinfo/staffslug<http://www.st... > _______________________________________________ Staffslug mailing list Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk http://www.staffslug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/staffslug

On 8 February 2012 09:51, <dave(a)staffslug.org.uk&gt; wrote: > I don't have any external drives attached. > > I'm not sure if it has something to do with the display as from what > I can > remember, I get a screen flicker as if it's about to display the > Ubuntu > 11.10 logo, which it doesn't then I get the kernel panic. > > When I eventually get it to restart fully the logo has changed into > a very > simple logo (looks like courier font), but I can shut down the > machine, > restart and the normal logo appears and starts without issue.. > That sounds like the display driver. Plymouth drops to a text-style version if there is a problem with graphics. Does your PC have a removable graphics card? If not, have you tried updating the graphics driver? Failing that, it's impossible to rule-out failure of the card.

On 8 February 2012 11:15, <dave(a)staffslug.org.uk&gt; wrote: > Sadly it's a laptop, so can't do much with the graphics. > > I shall have a look on the AMD site to see if there is an update. Sorry, I wrongly assumed there. What model of Laptop is it?

On 08/02/12 11:15, dave(a)staffslug.org.uk wrote: > Sadly it's a laptop, so can't do much with the graphics. > > I shall have a look on the AMD site to see if there is an update. It would help to get the relevant log output from /var/log/kernel.log (or /var/log/messages, whichever gets results!) rather than guessing, but if it is GPU related... Are you sure that you're using the AMD binary driver, as downloaded from AMD.com and/or installed via the 'fglrx' package? If you haven't done that (hint: check the 'Restricted Drivers Manager tool when you do get to login!) then you should probably consider trying a newer kernel, as problems on boot with kernel mode-setting are quite often fixed with each release: even every single RC, there are a *tonne* of fixes made to the radeon DRM code by various persons. Have a go with this: http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.2.5-precise/ You need to download the .deb files then double-click to install (in order -- headers for all archs, headers for your chosen arch and then the image for your chosen arch) alternatively a quick 'sudo dpkg -i linux*.deb from the right path works for me too. :) These work a treat and have been my successful way of testing new kernels with Ubuntu for a long, long time. teh@teh-desktop:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu DISTRIB_RELEASE=11.10 DISTRIB_CODENAME=oneiric DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 11.10" teh@teh-desktop:~$ uname -r 3.3.0-030300rc2-generic (Yes, 3.3-rc2 -- it appears I need to try -rc3 as well now!) ... And if you are using the AMD driver, then I would highly suggest cleanly uninstalling it and having a go with the FOSS driver. 3D support is there even for my HD6850 and it's more than enough to drive gnome-shell, et al. HTH Tom _______________________________________________ Staffslug mailing list Staffslug(a)staffslug.org.uk http://www.staffslug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/staffslug