My first kernel panic
 

Hi,

I just got kernel panic on booting up my Knoppix HD install.
Half way through the boot procedure, it just hangs.

The error I got was :
Ext2-fs - ide0(0,2) couldn'pt boot because of unsupported options"
FAT bogus sector size
Kernel Panic VFS failed to mount root fs on 03:02

OK, I was messing with the locales earlier. Does this sound like I went and loaded a locale (through dpkg-reconfigure) that the kernel can't recognise?

It's a pity a locale problem can cause kernel panic. I really need a crash course in locales, I find them a real problem.

Any help or people with similar problems, appreciated.

I suppose I'l have to use the Live Knoppix CD to try and cure this now.

Just a package instalation couldn't cause this. Try to boot from the cd and use fsck to check your / partition.

Thanks for reply Mara.

Yes, fsck is the way to go using the live CD.

As with other tools of the group, best not to mount the fs when you check it.

My partition came up clean in fact.

I was reading the man fsck to see what else it could do, but as happens so often, I run out of patience reading the man pages, so I just reboot. Now, I don't like doing that when I've done nothing to solve the problem, but one hgets lazy, you know ....

So, it the boot sequence came up with something about a warning, ext2_read_super, mounting as ext2 (it is actually an ext3), but this time no panicky kernel! I get in and all is well with the world ... except my confidence in my system. Despite the recovery, I'm still no happier, as it soved itself. I would prefer to find out whatg went wrong ...

Could runnning an e2fsck actually solve a troubled kernel panic. Mara, you're right, a pkg install shouldn't cause this. How do I check the journal, would that tell me anything?

BTW I'm going to post a separate question about the whole locale thing ..., it has my brain cells all aflutter!

e2fsck is a tool that can check a partition and fix it if needed. Your kernel panic was about kernel not able to access the root partition, so fixing the partition would fix kernel panic.

Mara,

also correct me if I am wrong, but ext3 is nothing but ext2+journal, so, it is posible to mount a ext3 partition as ext2, and the kernel will do this in case it was unable to mount as ext3.

[edit] typo

Yes ext3 i ext2 with journal, but a tool written for ext2 may overwrite the journal (it doesn't know about it). In such case you may need to add it again.