Slackware 12.2 fails to install
 

When installing Slackware (full install) on to my computer from CD-ROM it fails about 5 minutes into the process. It looks at if everything is going fine one minute, then 'Killed' appears at the bottom of the screen and I'm dumped to a command prompt. Looking in /var/log/messages shows out of memory errors. I'd like to display the file here but any attempts to mount another HDD patition just get 'Killed'. Actually, once the inataller fails, pretty much everything I try to do is instantly 'Killed'. Installing from the same set of discs will work ok on another computer.

I have 768MB of RAM. If I remove a stick from the motherboard and reduce it to 512MB the installation process will fail sooner.

I don't know what I can do to troubleshoot this further.

Hi,

Welcome to LQ & Slackware!

Where did you get your iso? If downloaded then did you do a md5sum check to confirm the iso image is valid?

If you downloaded the cd/dvd iso then be sure to check the md5sum for the original iso. From the cli;

If the iso md5 is ok then you should try 'CdromMd5sumsAfterBurning''.

This way you will know if the burn was OK!

If you do have issue then try lowering the burn rate for the creation of the image. Be sure that things are valid or the install will not work for you.

What the specs on the computer? If it is an older model, perhaps you should use the single processor kernel.

Just to emphasize so that this valuable part of this mans post does not go unnoticed.

Discs would seem to be OK.

Maybe the disks are okay, but maybe the cdrom in one computer can not read them right because they are burned at just too high a speed. Or maybe something is wrong with the cdrom drive.

The speed part is what I tried to emphasize, earlier.

Hi,

Not really a true gauge of the disc set. Your assuming the install was OK. I would not rely on that as fact of verify of the disc(s). Test the md5sum for the ISO image and then after the burn you should check the hash/md5sum for that media to confirm a valid copy. Once those are valid then other methods of reasoning to troubleshoot can be tried.

maybe there are bad blocks
 

If the md5's check out on the isoz, and if starting the boot cd from the single processor kernel (huge.s) didn't solve it,then, perhaps it is possible that your hard disk is failing or has bad sectors on it. If you have the time to rule that out, you could say yes in the installation procedure, when it asks you if you want it to check for bad blocks while formatting, though it takes ages of course.

As far as getting a copy of the error messages to the forum gurus,I am uncertain with the slackware kernel, but it may be possible to connect the machine to another with a serial cable (provided both machines have serial ports) and append console=ttyS0,9600n8 to the boot line, so that you can use a remote serial console like minicom to perform the installation, and then when it crashes, you would at least still have the error log to copy and paste. Maybe someone could verify that, before embarking on the age old trial-and-error verification that I'm used to.

Checking md5sums is always a good first step. :)

One possibility is a wacky CD drive. I had a flaky drive in an older box. After a few minutes the drive stopped reading disks. Always.

Another possible problem that once happened to me is a faulty ribbon cable. Or a loose cable. Sometimes oxidation occurs and simply reinserting the connectors a few times will solve the problem.

Another possibility is to verify the partition(s) to which you are installing are empty and contain sufficient space. Once long ago I installed Slackware on a test box and thought I had emptied/reformatted the partitions. The installation went goofy, although I no longer remember the details.

I have found the problem... It's quite embarrassing.

I checked the destination partition with a live CD distro and found no files in the destination partition. Where are all the files being coppied to then? They must be going into the RAM! That's why I'm running out of memory.

So I tried the installer again and paid a bit more attention to what I was doing. On the "Select Linux installation path" screen I was pressing "continue" when I sholud have pressed "select".

And I installed this on to another computer just the other week... Best no to install Linux after midnight I would say.


Thanks everybody for your help!