Dear ZenWalkers:

Over the last few weeks or so I've been unable to update the kernel files in my otherwise up-to-date ZW distribution without invariably inducing kernel panic at boot. This happens regardless of the update method (i.e. in init 2 via netpkg or using xnetpkg from Xfce) and whether I perform a bulk OS package upgrade or just leave the kernel files last to be upgraded after successfully rebooting.

The kernel my machine is able to run on is the one included in the latest (mid-December) OS .iso: that is version 4.19.8. The latest one available at this time is version 4.19.28. Is anyone else having the same issue?

Many thanks in advance for any insight you can shed.

All the best,

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sconti555

Do you have any idea whereabouts the panic occurs? If it's not too early in the boot process, the panic messages might give somebody a clue. Try to photograph or transcribe them and post the result. Has anything else changed on your system apart from installing a new kernel?

I certainly wouldn't expect a thing like that to vary with the update method. It's more likely that there is an incompatibility between the kernel itself and your hardware. I had a similar problem with my last computer which wouldn't boot any kernels later than 4.13. In the end I had to download the kernel git tree and bisect it to find the change in the code that caused all the trouble. Once I had done that, I could reverse the change with a patch.

Hi hazel:

Thank you for your follow-up.

At present I circumvented the problem by downgrading the kernel files to their mid-December .iso version. Prior to that, an upgrade would break the kernel at boot pretty immediately; I haven't thought of taking a picture of the screen at that point: next time I try an upgrade I will post one though.

The kernel files are the most likely responsible in that, after re-imaging my computer, I have first upgraded all installed packages through netpkg so that, following a successful reboot, the only files needing upgrade where the 3 kernel-related files in the .iso. Upgrading them whether through xnetpkg or from init 2 led to exactly the same kernel panic at reboot (following lilo -c -v of course).

My limited Linux knowledge prevents me from bisecting the latest kernel source as you did; I do however appreciate that this would be the most informative way forward (barring the aforementioned pic).

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sconti555

I thought much the same when someone first suggested it! But it turned out not to be difficult at all, just rather laborious. Here is the account of what I did.

It actually turns out that I read through your blog entry on bisecting the kernel a few minutes after posting my previous message!

At present I'm afraid I have to defer following your instructions; not so much out of laziness, but rather having to prioritise using my pc rather than 'playing' with it. It's a bit of a shame as I'm aware I'd be learning lots from that kind of work; however, for the time being I just have to make do with a blacklisted set of kernel files.

Many thanks nevertheless, hazel!