hi,
i have tried installing 4 different distributions but all fail at firstboot. all the distributions report lots of segmentation faults and the errors are different everytime! i thought it must be a RAM problem so i ran memtest86+ from ubuntu 6.06 cd for 4 hrs. passed 9 tests and failed 0. windows runs fine. i'd installed fc6 before on my computer. now i cant install that either. i'm very confused. has anyone faced a similar problem before or knows what could be wrong? How long should i run memtest86 to confirm if my RAM is ok?

note: i have tried SimplyMEPIS 6.0, Ububtu Dapper and Edgy, Fedora Core 6 and OpenSUSE 10.2.

If windows runs, and memtest doesn't show errors, then your ram is fine. Can you boot the ubuntu CD as a live CD? If that works, you do not have a memory error, and most of your system hardware is O.K. Do you have any POST errors? They are generated by the BIOS before any OS tries to load. I suspect 'no' since windows boots.

Did you do a clean install to a partition that had been newly formatted?

Please post the type of error you do get. How far through the boot process does it get?

Windows runs fine and does not give any errors. Occasionally it gives the BSOD after selecting a user at the logon screen and restarts. It works fine after the reboot. I can boot Ubuntu live cd but after the install it fails at first boot the way all the other distros fail. The errors vary with every distro. They are usually segmentation faults. I can provide you with some of my errors(all during firstboot):

ubuntu
1) "Init: Entering runlevel 2" and then nothing happens.
2) "The X server has been disabled. Restart gdm when it is configured correctly."
3) "[17179820.860000] Out of Memory: Kill process 6613 (apport) score 109 and children.
[17179820.860000] Out of Memory: Killed process 6613 (apport)."
4) "-bash: /dev/null: Permission denied" This fills the screen and loops continuously till interrupted by Ctrl+C and then hung!
5) Sometimes when I can get to the login (pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1) i'm prompted for username after I have already entered my username. No password propmt!. Then it asks for username again.

fedora
1) "Kernel panic: Segmentation fault(core dumped)"

suse
1) Reboots after copying files but installation does not continue after reboot.

mepis
1) Gives some misaligned resource error and some segmentation fault.

I have installed FC6 on this computer before and it was working fine, but i'm unable to understand what could be wrong now. I have installed linux several times before on friends' computers, so i know how to install. I haven't made any hardware changes except adding a PCI Express XFX Geforce 7300 GS graphics card. I've removed this card now because I thought that Fedora had worked without the card before and so I tried without the card but no luck!

Have you done the installs to a newly formatted partition? If yes, then I wouldn't think hardware is likely your problem. If not, then I would format a partition, for /boot and / and try again.

If you formatted a new partition for each failure, then were the checksums good for each CD?

It is still possible you have a hardware problem, that shows up on linux only. Is the system over clocked? Have you made any other hardware changes that may make it marginal? Bad power supply possibly?

It would be good at this point if you could find another machine and do a clean install with one distro to confirm the CD's are good. If they are, and it fails on your system, then I would have to believe there is a hardware problem.

Occasionally [Windows] gives the BSOD after selecting a user...

That,too, is considered a boot error. How long did you run Windows "error-free" after it finally finished re-booting?


It is still possible you have a hardware problem... Bad power supply possibly?

I second that motion. It appears to be a hardware stability issue, which is usually caused by either a weakening power supply, or defective cooling fan(s). I strongly suggest shutting it down and checking it out...

camorri >> Yes I have done the installs to formatted partitions only, as I had no previous data to backup. I have verified the checksums for all the ubuntu and mepis cd's using winmd5sum. FC6 and suse are dvd installs. I have installed mepis and suse on two of my friend's computers, both of which work absolutely fine. FC6 has worked previously on my computer. The system isn't overclocked and I have loaded 'optimised defaults' in the bios setup.

dragonslayer48dx >> Windows runs error free for any amount of time after the reboot.

If its a hardware stability issue, windows must be unstable too right? Is there a utility or a program which can check if all the hardware is working fine and possibly generate some kind of log which I can share with others?

It seems that the IRQ is assigned by the OS not by the BIOS. Go in to your BIOS and check if there is any setting that makes the BIOS sets the IRQ instead of the OS. If this does not work, include apci=off noapic at the boot loader. I suggest using fail-safe settings if you have any problems. Optimized defaults should never be used to troubleshoot hardware because it is first steps to take for overclocking the computer.

Though it could be the power supply. If you are using brand that is at the low end (for example Antec), the power supply does not have the power to handle your hardware. All power supplies are not created equal, so buy power supply brands like Eneramax, Power & Cooling, or Seasonic. I have Seasonic power supplies that work well and are very quiet.

Windows runs error free for any amount of time after the reboot.

If it's a hardware stability issue, windows must be unstable too right?

In my own past experience, yes. And it escalated from boot errors to software crashes to not finding hardware (including the floppy and CD-ROM) as components continued to overheat, be it from starving for power or bad fans. I was hoping it would be that simple, since FC6 once worked and now it doesn't.

Is there a utility or a program which can check if all the hardware is working fine...

Under Windows, the best one I'm aware of comes with Norton Utilities from Symantec. It runs performance tests on all installed hardware, including RAM, CPU, and MB.

Also check out Electro's suggestions. And if you changed your BIOS settings after removing the original FC6 installation, that could be the problem. Try changing them back to the original default, then reinstall one of the distros. If that's not the case then I'm stumped. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Try posting the specs for your PC, the version of Windows you're using, etc. It just might help someone solve your problem...

Before this post, there are many of our friends that are trying to help with re-installation Linux Box. Here is a small list of what may help. Change the Power Supply. Check the fans, they may have dust on one side. This slows fans down. Go into the BIOS and set defaults and minimum requirements until after your Distro runs a few times. Set the graphics choices to the graphics adapter that is better suited for your Distro. A high end card may have to wait until YOU have time and experience to configure the requirements. If YOUR motherboard has on-board graphics, see if YOUR Distro supports the chipset when it installs. Otherwise, the VESA, or Generic Drivers may work for YOU. As previously mentioned, try "noapic" and "acpi=off" and possibly "hdc=ide-scsi" or similar adjustment. After setting YOUR hard drive to new partitions, save YOUR "/home" partition. Then reboot for the changes to take effect. Not rebooting will be an installation YOU will have to repeat. If after the install, the graphics need tweaking, there are two major ways. If the screen is blank, try the prompt and as root, use "X -configure". If the screen has a picture, try using the browser first to tweak YOUR settings to YOUR satisfaction. Before trying other cards and drivers. Third choice is ususually the best. Command Line straight to the OS, so YOU know the input and output of all the data YOU need to see, line for line. IMO, try installing with all USB devices umplugged and the same for firewire. Unless YOUR hard drive is one of them. This may make it easier. Setting the BIOS first boot device to CD-ROM to install. Then after the install, set first boot device to hard drive. This will let the BIOS depend on the Distro. This gives YOU control because most of the settings are set by YOU. Check YOUR BIOS, line by line, page by page, YOU may see something important now, that wasn't an issue before choosing a different Distro. Very few Linux Distro's can run all the BIOS choices. They need to be set close to what the Distro requires. Good luck from all of US.