I am trying to install Slackware 10.2 on a old windows ME box that has totally crashed.

no matter which kernel i choose from the boot screen on the cd (an IDE kernel)
i get the same error message

(0) Kernel panic: Attepted to kill the idle task!
in Idle Task - not syncing

the caps lock and scroll lock lights on the keyboard then flash at me (which also stops me from changing my KVM to the windows box i am writing this on!)

the machine hardware is as follows:
800MHz Intel Celeron processor
128MB SDR RAM
20GB Ide HDD (primaray master)
Benq 16x DVD-rom drive (secondry master)
unbranded 4x4x24 CD-RW (secondery slave)

conected to router via generic 100/10MB PCI network card

have checked on google linux and found this question asked many times but with no userable answers

if anyone has any ideas or has sucessfully solved this problem on their machine please let me know
Dan

Does the CD work on another machine? Perhaps the CD is defective. I find it useful to have a live CD like KNOPPIX or UBUNTU Live to check out a machine before an install. You can get a peek at the hardware, too. Since that other OS quit, perhaps there was some hardware malfunction. Just some ideas...

Maybe an hardware issue ? Try to remove the net card from PCI slot,
any hardware part that is not mandatory to boot a system, also is the
hard drive OK ?

the Cd definatly works as i have used it to install another machine!

mabie if i remove the dinosaur of a CD-RW it may help...
the net card is mandotory as i have had loads of trouble installing one after i have installed any OS
butr they normally auto detect

You want to replace Win ME by Slackware I understand... Correct me if I am wrong.
What could help is:
take a MsDos installation diskette, boot up and issue:
A:> fdisk /MBR
This cleans your Master Boot Record. (for your lilo bootmanager).
use the fdisk from MsDos to destroy all current partitions.
It is better not to use Linux' fdisk to do this. That often gives 'issues'.
Then with a clean hard disk start the installation cdrom, first use fdisk (or cfdisk) to make some partitions (advice: minimal two, one for / and one for /home), and a swap partition. then start setup.
If your hardware is OK, your installation should go well now.
What is a KVM? I don't understand what you are telling us here.

As a last ressort you could try the following:
startup a linux flop, knoppix, Slackware cd # 2 (that one is bootable with a small system, i am told), some other live cd.
don't mount your harddisk /dev/hda
issue :
# dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/hda
This should run a couple of hours, and you get a disk full of $00 bytes, everything is wiped out. Then your disk should be fdisked with linux fdisk and an installation should succeed.
However I never tryed this out myself. Google around for more advice.

Good luck, Douwe

thanks for the advice on using a dos rescue disk to clean up the MBR i will give it a go...

a KVM is short for Keboard Vidieo( monitoir) and Mouse swich
it allwos you to use 2 computers from one set of input and output devices.
therfore savbing desk space.
but the key combanation to change boxes is: scroll lock, scroll lock, up arrow. so when you get a kernel panic and it flashed the scroll lock lights the KVM gets confused

hmmm still the same old problem. nothing has changed thugh ther is no longer a partition on the drive so everything should be clear....
i dont even get far enough to load a kernel with teh install cd before it crashes with a kernel panic!
simaliar thiungs happen with ubuntu and mandrake

i finally forund the problem...
i had 2 ram chips of differet makes installed, one at a time they worked, and with both in one way round they worked... with both the oter way round it caused this kernal panic!