Trouble shoot Linux-Kernel Panic
 

Hello all,
when i booted a Linux(Centos 4.3) system today morning, i got the below messages.
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Uncompressing Linux . OK,boot kernel
Redhat nash version 4.2.1.6 starting
mkrootdev:label / not found
mount:error 2 mounting ext3
mount:error 2 mounting none
switchroot:mount failed :22
umount /initrd/dev failed:2
Kernel panic not syncing:
Attempted to kill init!!
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To solve this i made a reboot. it works fine that time.
but again when i start the system after the lunch,sees the same problem.
i made another reboot. it works fine.
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may i know what is the cause of this problem and how to solve it permanently..
i am only using centos 4.3 distro in my pc.Grub is installed in it.
GNU GRUB version 0.95.
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It seems like a filesystem error to begin with. Let's hope that it is not related to a disk hardware error. I'd suggest to boot with a live cd, ubuntu for instance and from there run a fsck check to
your root drive. With fsck you can correct file system errors, that might prevent proper access to
the disk/filesystem.

However, I am afraid that since the error is not consistent, meaning that it is not happening in
every reboot, it might be related to a hard disk error. To check for hardware errors you can check
UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD), a bootable CD with which you can boot-check your system for various
errors.

However, you should first backup your data, since in such situations you may not know what might be lost during the
"healing" process.

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Thank u dear friend... may i know how i can backup my data with rescue CD..i heard about knoppix .For checking and repairing file system integrity with fsck may i need knoppix or rescue cd is enough. also how to check my hard disk error using command prompt.
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Hmmm, what I would try to do in that situation is not to force too much the hard disk with a backup utility. I would boot from a live cd and then copy all my data by hand from the places where I know it should be. A good live cd that you can try is ubuntu live cd