noob needing help with 7.10 install

[Guest]

When i try to install Kubuntu 7.10 from standard disk or alt disk in standard or live cd option i get the following error

Kernel panic - not syncing :vfs: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (104,1)

and then it loads a shell but no desktop

i have verified chksum via windows but the check cd option in the kubuntu install process also crashes. the burn process verified the cds accuracy and have even tried iso's from multiple mirrors.

when i run noapic nolapic i get a text install interface, but it will not reconize either of my optical drives to continue the install. i do not have a floppy in the machine and have no idea how to do a network install.

my system:
AMD athlon 1ghz
2gb ram
30gb quantum fireball hd 12gb free 1partion which currently has my xp os on it.
samsung cdrw
memorex dvd-rw dl

found similar post and tried the suggestion
"sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg"
and got the response "sudo" not found

any suggestions?

[dacap06]

Re: noob needing help with 7.10 install

For future reference, you need to post 7.10 questions in the Gutsy Gibbon forum. This one (Dapper Drake) is the 6.06 forum.

Stealing shamelessly from a post in Linux Questions at http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...lock00-458751/,
I'd say the following is germane:

Here's an explanation of the problem, step by step:

"Kernel panic - " The computer has reached a point where it is unable to continue; it has no choice but to halt.

"- not syncing" Technically means it is not able to synchronize its file system cache with the root file system. In this case, that is misleading because it hasn't read or written anything to the root file system. This is just fallout from not being able to mount the root file system.

"Unable to mount root filesystem" One of the first things that the kernel must do is to "mount" (make available) the "root" (that is, "/") file system. It could not do that.

"On unknown block(104,0)" This is the device-number (104) and the partition-number (0) of the device where the kernel expects the root file system to be.

I looked up block device 104 and found the following:

104 block Compaq Next Generation Drive Array, first controller
0 = /dev/cciss/c0d0 First logical drive, whole disk
16 = /dev/cciss/c0d1 Second logical drive, whole disk
...
240 = /dev/cciss/c0d15 16th logical drive, whole disk

This means it was trying to mount the root file system using your first CD/DVD drive and it couldn't find the root file system there. Again, stealing from Linux Questions:

Probable causes: (in order)

1. The most likely cause is that the root= parameter, which must be specified in the boot-loader's kernel command line, is incorrect or specifies the wrong device. You're supposed to be able to identify the device by label; I've never gotten that to work. I use something like root=/dev/hda1.
2. Boot-loaders like Grub may count partitions starting from #0; Linux counts them from #1.
3. Some distros use a complicated "initrd" mechanism to load disk drivers. If this process isn't working for your particular device, there can be grief.


So the bottom line is try adding the boot parameter root=/dev/scd0 (or /dev/scd1) to point to your CD/DVD drive. Do you understand Linux device naming conventions? scd is the code for a CD ROM or DVD ROM that is accessed through the Linux SCSI software (as almost all CDs/DVDs are, even when they have an EIDE interface).

Once you have the root file system problem whipped, you should be able to boot normally. If you get past this stage and still encounter problems with your display, try adding the boot parameter vga=ask and then choose one of the displays on the menu. You can investigate more boot parameters here: http://redsymbol.net/linux_boot_parameters/ and here: http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO...mpt-HOWTO.html.

Good luck!

[Guest]

Re: noob needing help with 7.10 install

thank you, but a friend suggested a different distro, which has only had problems with my wireless card so far. if i can't get that working i will re-try following your advice.

as a noob to linux i greatly appreciate you explaining what the code acctually meant in terms i could understand.

[Snowhog]

Re: noob needing help with 7.10 install

A bit of clarification will be helpful.

With the LiveCD:
Are you actually able to boot from it: yes/no
If yes, are you able to actually run *ubuntu, i.e., get to the actual desktop: yes/no
If yes, you are running into trouble when you choose to Install: yes/no