newbie install problem - Kernel panic
 

I'm trying to install linux by booting Red Hat 9.0 on CD, but after the install graphics come up, I press <Enter> and it starts to install. Less than 5 seconds later it stops and the screen says:

kernel BUG at page_alloc.c:117
invalid operand: 0000
(some lines of other stuff that appears normal)
<0> Kernel panic: Attempted to kill the idle task!
In idle task - not syncing



-I have no clue as to what this means or how I can fix it. I also tried to install Slackware 9.0, but the same Kernel panic happend.

I appreciate any help, and I think that the nervous kernel would too. Thanks,

Matt

Corrupted download, bad burn, bad cd? Did you try media-check?

How To Check MD5sums On A Linux Iso Image

i just checked the md5 sum and it matched perfectly

the error occurs during the loading phase, when loading initrd.img
the cd appears to be fine and i would be really happy if anyone can help.

Thanks,
Matt Saturley

it's entirely possible that the problem lies with the CD drive itself. I had difficulty installing even a base RH9 system on an older machine, but could install a full SuSE 8.2