Fedora 5 on a Medion 2030

Hi, am currently trying to install FC5 on this laptop but it thinks there is something wrong with the config file. When I pass 'vmlinuz' as a boot parameter it starts to install but then come's up with a kernel panic and then freezes. I have tried the Linux Format special CD's and the Linux User and Developer DVD. Both give the same problem, however when I try the disks in my work PC they boot up to the media test screen quite happily. FC4 installs on the Medion with no probs. Does anyone have any ideas or work arounds I could try? I would much appreciate your efforts.
Thanx, Brad

 

um.

What anyone would need to diagnose this issue is

1) your full hardware specs
2) your harddrive partitions and file systems.

Have you checked the FC5 on another pc? maybe its the media thta you burned FC5 to.

thanks

 

Thanx for replying. The laptop is a Medion 2030 MD 95278. P4 3.2GHz 512Mb RAM 80Gb HDD. I have FC4 on the hard drive at present, before that I had Xp on there. I have also tried it with a completely wiped HDD, with the HDD format as ext2, ext3, ntfs, FAT32. Unfortunately I don't think the HDD is the problem, as it doesn't get that far. The install falls over as soon as it tries to read the boot file from the CD/DVD. As explained in my original post The disks, which are magazine distos, seem to work on another PC (can't take it too far since my employers would get a bit ****** off. Luddites!)

 

Hmm, you could try adding "option=noapic" on the kernel boot screen (F2 during boot I think).

 

Thanx for that Ted but unfortunately I can't get that far. As soon as I power on the laptop I get "unknown keyword in config file" and any thing I type it then looks for as a kernel. I do not get this problem with any other PC or laptop.

 

Well, have you tried the "gibberish" workaround. Type anything in the boot params, then press enter, then enter the real boot params. That is the only way fedora would install on my system.

 

Thanx, but have tried that too. And no matter what options I pass, when I eventually tell it to look for vmlinuz it still comes up with a kernel panic. It gets this far...
... .
...
...
md: Autodetecting RAID arrays.
md: autorun...
md: ...autorun done
EXT2-fs: unable to read superblock
isofs_fill_super: bread failed, dev=md1, iso_blknum=16, block=32
Kernel panic - not syncing : VFS : Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(9,1)
[<c011978e>] panic+0x3e/0x16c [<c0393951>] mount_block_root+0x1a4/0x1b3
[<c0393999>]mount_root+0x39/0x4d [<c0393a61>] prepare_namespace+0xb4/0xe4
[<c0100367>]init+0xfe/0x1b4 [<c0100269>]init_0x0/0x1b4
[<c0101005>] kernel_thread_helper+0x5/0xb

and then the unit freezes.

 

Hmm, it obviously doesn't like your drive controller, I'd say. Is it SATA?

 

Nope, it's a standard laptop multi-format dual layer dvd-rw. Now that that's been said I'll see if we have a usb cd-rom lying around here and try that. Thanx Ted.

 

OK Ted, have USB mounted a CD-ROM and FC5 is installing right now. Strange I've never had any probs with this drive, it even tends to read disks no other drive will read. Must be something in FC5 that upsets it, as that is now a CD install and 2 different DVD magazine disks that it fell over with but it happily installs FC4 from the same magazines? Oh well....

Thanx for the help guys. Much appreciated.

Brad.

 

**Update**

FC5 loaded and ran quite happily. Unfortunately I had lots of problems trying to get XMMS with mp3 installed, but eventually got there. However trying to istall Xine, never mind getting it to play encrypted DVD's? Ptcha..what a nightmare. I do not have broadband so trying to run Yum as I've read elsewhere can't be done. Also when trying to run an RPM all I get is a message telling me that it can't be done but not why??? No list of required dependancies or anything. Sorry this isn't for me. I've reverted back to FC4 for the moment but am looking to switch my allegiance, as I think Fedora have finally lost the plot.

 

I think you're going to have a hard time without any package management--even without broadband, I would recommend using a package management tool sparingly.

If you're looking for another distribution, Debian and Ubuntu (based on Debian) will both tell you what the dependencies are. (Probably FC5 will as well, but I'm less familiar with it.) If you get the full Debian distribution (10 CDs, I think), it does include xine and xmms. (I think Red Hat doesn't include such programs for fear of opening themselves to lawsuits.)

 

Fedora Core in my opinion is a very basic linux distro. Its like your first bike with training wheels. You soon see the cools kids with bmx bikes and then you want one too.

Move over to something with a good package management. I think for your level of skill in linux, Ubuntu (gnome) or Kubuntu (KDE) would be good for ya. They are both based off debian, which has the second best package management system in linux.

A lot of distros come totally messed up with no multimedia codecs installed cuz they dont want to get sued or whatever. Thats why I love gentoo. Can have everything from the begining.

 

OK guys, thanx for the feedback. I have tried quite a few distros thanx to live CD's but dont feel any meet all my requirements. I love Knoppix for the hardware detection, and use it at work to repair PC's and laptops. I run Studio To Go ( www.studio-to-go.com) in my recording set-up. I currently have FC4 on my laptop and FC3 as my file server at work, also at work I am running Guadalinex (??? I sure that's what it's called) which is basically a Spanish distro which is mostly games based. Call me crazy, and believe me I know I am, but I am toying with the idea of putting my own distro together. Now if only I could manage to squeeze another two days into every week.....