It looks like many others are having the same problem with various distros.

When trying to load linux (fedora 4 in my case) the system halts at either install or boot.
with the error: MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to io-apic.

Fedora 5 Fails at install with no message. It just hangs.

After some research, the problem seems to be related to the NVIDIA chip set. (590) in my case.
The NVIDA web site has a patch posted. The web site indicates that this patch will be incorporated in newer kernels. However, I used the latest 2.6.17 kernel with the same results. Thanks to the UP kernel I was able to get the system running with only one processor detected

After surfing the web for an answer, I am still confused. Is it a problem with the NVIDIA chip set, The Motherboard Vendors implementation, the BIOS or what?.

Detail of my setup:

Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Delux - wireless edition
BIOS Version: 0603
NVIDIA 590 Chip Set
AM2 Slot
Processor: AMD +4600
Memory: DDR2 - 2GB (2x1GB)

Anyone have any ideas on how to resolve this problem?
Any advice would be helpful.

If I find the answer, I'll post it here.

Thanks

So it nForce2 chipset correct?
try to use a kernel param. at the 1st Setup command line.
or =2

Thanks to all that looked at my problem.

I have now found a solution that appears to be working!
I added the livna repostitory to my yum config.

Then downloaded the nvidia kernel-modules from livna.org.

kernel-module-nvidia-2.6.17-1.2142_FC4smp-1.0.8762-1.lvn4.i686.rpm


After installing the rpms, I rebooted with the "noapic" kernel paramater.

The system came up and appears to be running in full smp mode.

I don't know enough to know if your solution pertains to me. Here is my experience:

Just built an AM2 dual core 5200+ system with ASUS M2N32 - SLI Deluxe. Ubuntu 6.06 and 6.10 fail repeated install with: " Kernal panic - not syncing; 10-APIC + timer doesn't work."

Google search confirms others with similar problems -- but no solution. Damn! I wasn't expected problems installing Linux on my new system.

SUSE 10.1 installed with some difficulties. Must install Failsafe: "apm off, acpi off, no resume, nosmp, no apic, maxcpu = 0, cdd = off 3"

I can only startx in runlevel 3, not default runlevel 5. I'm up and running with full functionality, BUT if I reboot I lose a lot of my KDE configuration, for example, I run a lot of virtual desktops, and I lose these when I reboot. So my workaround now is to never reboot. I'm running Folding at Home 24/7 anyway. . .

But I'm kind of bummed about this "state of the art" mb and Linux failure/ hiccups . . .

I'd appreciate your opinions, observations . . .

Kurt

I have a brand-new GA-M59SLI-S5 motherboard, with a dual-core Athlon. I'm getting this same bug. Problem is, I can't install any fixes, because there's no OS on the hard drive, and Red Hat 6 won't install until this is fixed. (For that matter, it's not detecting the existence of my hard drive.) What should I do?

I recently installed Fedora core 5 on a Dell E521 and
ran into two problems which seem to be pretty common.

The first was a transparent mouse pointer and
was resolved by modifying the grub/ lilo
boot line ro remove the rhgb clause from the kernel
line.

While I got a mouse pointer, the system would lock
up intermittently. Digging through the boot up stream
I noticed the same 8254 timer complaint I've seen here.

More edits to the boot line /grub.conf appear to resolve
this : I added "acpi=off no acpi" to the kernel line and
the system appears to be stable.

Your mileage ??

ASUS website has a BIOS update available that's supposed to address Linux compatibility. I installed Windows just to use their flash utililty, re-flashed the BIOS, then installed SuSE 10.1. The update failed. I still could not do a normal install.

However, I'm doing the best with SuSE. It has an install based on no apic. This allows me to boot to runlevel 3 rather than 5. I appear to have full functionality, except that when I re-boot I lose some of my configuration. DSL, Ubuntu, and Mepis failed to install.

Thanks for posting your experience. I flashed the Bios to level 0703 and it seems to be working so far.

By the way;

If you are running anything other than Windows Media Edition make sure to disable AMD-Live in the bios.
You get all sorts of weird problems if it is on. AMS-Live is only supported on Windows Media Edition.

Happy New Year.

In the end the boot options I added to the
FC5 startup did NOT resolve my problems.
Must also apologize for typo : acpi <-> apic.

The system became unstable /locked up after
a day and a half.

Looking back at how much time I put into
being stubborn about fixing this I should
have gone to the bonehead solution first :

For $20 get hold of a PCI USB 2 card and install.

When I did, everything worked immediately and
has remained stable for several days. The only
drawback beyond the $20, is that, on the Dell at least,
you can't access the BIOS parameters without moving
the keyboard /mouse back to the supplied USB ports.

A lot of people are saying that "noapic" is the fix for this.
Setting "noapic" drastically impacts your system.
My understanding is that it will run slower, and be much more likely to crash.
Is there a better solution?

What it is:
http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/acpi/

How to fix it:
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Fix_Common_ACPI_Problems

More info:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...o-boot-591891/






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