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Re: kernel panic on ze4101

 
Mike Kelland
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Ok - I'm sitting in the warm afterglow of actually getting something working before the realisation that there's so much left to do.

I used a really nifty installation package of my favorite distro (Debian) call knoppix to get Linux onto my ze4115. Knoppix is amazing - it'll run linux (with 3 GB worth of installed packages) off of a CD and I have yet to see it fail to auto detect pretty much everything on pretty much any computer. (www.knopper.net/knoppix).

I used a boot option I found here to get it going: nomce. I also found that it would not boot with PCMCIA enabled (or at least with the card plugged in). So I had to either pop the card out or use the nopcmcia boot option.

Now I have a full featured KDE 3.0 desktop going off CD (with the option to write it to the hard drive) but no forseeable way to get PCMCIA running. If anyone finds out anything about that, I'd love to hear it.

Previous experimentation and knoppix's autodetection have shown me that with this laptop, vesa is the x driver to use. So if you haven't tried that yet, give 'er a go :)

Mike
Jacek Pliszka
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

OK, do we all have O2Micro 6192 ? Or the problem is also for notebooks with TI controller ?

Ken: I am talking about ZE4101
which has two submodels:
KA - with O2Micro and Athlon CPU
and which has problems and
KB - with TI and Intel CPU and
which may work.

Regarding returns - you may
try 'not compatible with your
software'. Ask - maybe this
will help avoiding restocking fee.

Regarding Windows - MS products
are known for a lot of hacks
and fixes in them. Just
look at IE which renders
fine pages which are completly
incomaptible with any standards. And uneducated
people claim it means IE
is better ...

Jacek
John Kohler
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I had a total failure completing the Red Hat 7.3 installation on my ze4101 until I passed the parameter to the installation kernel:

boot: linux nopcmcia

After installation, when I tried to boot from the laptop hard disk, I got the Kernel Panic as you all have. I found that I can use the LILO loader (I don't understand GRUB), and pass this parameter to the kernel each and every time I boot up now:

boot: linux nomce

I understand that this parameter works because the kernel panic is not a fatal error.

Now, I need to figure out why the DHCP ethernet configuration doesn't work at all and why the static configuration works only half way.

John Kohler
Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut?
Jacek Pliszka
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

OK. I returned ZE4101 KA and got ZE4100 insread. Cardbus works!!!! Not perfectly as I have to run 'service pcmcia restart' when I enter the card but works!!

Red Hat 7.3 installation hints: 'linux nopcmcia' on the first screen and then VESA generic 1280x1024 resolution (1400x1050 does not work).

So for all you folks with Athlon ZE4101 I suggest replacing it due to 'hardware and software incompatibility' by ZE4100 (and probably ZE4101 KB).

I am done with this discussion.

BR,

Jacek
Tuomas Wiste
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Hi, I'm here because I'm shopping around for a laptop to run linux on. The ze4101 looked great because it has amd thoroughbred + radeon = most efficient (x86) combo available in terms of heat disipation/battery life (much better than p4 -- dont let the marketing fool you).

Anyway, is it final then that there is a bios bug so forget getting the ze4101? Anyone happen to know if the Compaq Presario 906 (almost identical specs and very cool design) has the same bios?

I haven't seen the ze4101 in person. There seems to be a lot of talk about people trading back in for Intel version. Are the ze4xxx that great, or is getting Intel version only option because of rules or something on return? I'd be pissed and take my business to company that made working laptops and/or didn't say "we don't support LINUX".

However, someone at my school is sell a used ze4101 cheap, so please give final word on whether linux problems fixed or not.
John Kohler
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I will just summarize my experience. With my ze4101 I could neither install Red Hat 7.3 or 8.0 with all defaults out of the box.

To the installer boot loader I had to add:

boot: linux nopcmcia

To the hard disk boot loader I had to add :

boot: linux nomce

Red Hat Incident Help Desk (@$39 per incident) instructed me how to remove the pcmcia option permanently from the "I" interactive part of the installation routine, and to add the "nomce" option to the file that starts the boot process (append="nomce" in the lilo.conf file with the "vi" editor.

I still have an ethernet card (NIC) issue with the National Semiconductor DP83815, in that it will not ping my router correctly and any outside IP address at all.

The internal modem in the ze4101 is a software driven modem that will operate under Windows.(called a WinModem and unusuable with linux) I got a used external modem and serial cable to the ze4101 and could configure it under Linux.

I am planning to return the ze4101 to Staples Office supply tomorrow.

John Kohler
Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut?
ne he
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Hi,

My experience is that RH 7.1 is pretty good. I met several cases when RH7.3 can not be installed correctly, but 7.1 can.

why don't you guys try RH 7.1
? When I installed it, there was no kernel panic(But 7.3 or 8.0 had). And it went very smoothly. While the problem is that the X-win did not work well. I was lazy and did not figure out how to configure it.

The big problem for me is that I the sound card is not driven corretly. When I mis-operate the keyboard, it beeps too lound. And the fan is always on high pitch.

So I delete all the RH stuff.

Do you guys also have this problem?


Mike Kelland
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

The issue with the built in NIC (the Nat Semi one) is easily fixable using the mii-tool program that should come with the natsemi driver (or from www.scyld.com). And I had good results with the trident sound driver. However the PCMCIA problem seems to be the real kicker on this laptop and so I hope that can be fixed and soon :)
Dick Miller
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I'm trying to install Mandrake 9.0 and/or Red Hat 8.0 Linux on a Compaq Presario 906US laptop, and am experiencing the same "kernel panic" problem at the PCMCIA install point.

I also wonder whether I should bail out of this computer, or await some total solution.

This has been the best-fit search hit to date. Further clues much appreciated!

FWIW, Mandrake 9.0 on a prior Compaq Presario 700US was a generally automatic install. (Still not working: Belkin wireless PC LAN Card, and dual-boot restart into WinXP. But the built-in wired LAN runs fine, and I can power down, then restart into WinXP without problem.)

--Dick Miller
Jacek Pliszka
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Correction to my earlier post:
1400x1050 works great. Hints:
http://www.fuw.edu.pl/~pliszka/hints/notebooks/ZE4100.html

Martin Tzanov
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Hi,

For those of you who still have ze4101.

I was able to install RedHat 8.0.

One has to install it in the same way as 7.3 installation, with a small addition "nousb" (Don't worry!!! after installation USB works just fine). So at boot one needs to start the installation with "linux nopcmcia nousb". It will tell later on that it doesn't recognize the mouse(touchpad) and gives an option to be configured. I chose MS IntelliMouse(PS/2). Then one needs the option "nomce" as in the case with 7.3.
You will probably need a USB mouse handy, because after all files are copied and before or during X setup the touchpad and the keyboard might freeze. Plug in the USB mouse to be able to complete the installation.

Even modem works under Linux. Go to Conexant website and follow the links, then choose the appropriate driver rpm.

PC Card is still the problem, but that is most probably faulty BIOS.

Best,

Martin
Dennis Poehls
Occasional Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Well, everyone...in one of the older postings there was a comment made about "if this is a BIOS problem, whay are we not seeing it on Win XP machines??". I happen to have a ze4115 running WinXP and I have a SIMILAR problem with the 02Micro Cardbus. 16 bit PCMCIA cards work OK (although I have a heck of a time maintaining a connection to my wireless access point). 32bit CardBus cards, however will not allow installation because they freeze the computer or bring the speed to a crawl...very slow crawl at that. If the card is removed, the computer recovers and goes back to full speed (unless you slip the card BACk in and then it simply freezes and you have to do a hard re-boot). Obviously, it seems there is something wrong with the BIOS or HP's implementation of 02Micro's Cardbus subsystem.
Thomas Bell_1
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I have an hp pavilion ze4125 and got the answer 'linux is not support'. after reading this string of comments about the cardbus, im pissed my return policy has already run out. i am going to try the http://www.knopper.net/knoppix distro running in readonly mode, how fun. its sad, maybe an upcoming distro from some flava might correct all the problems with this.

-Tom
Thomas Bell_1
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I just downloaded and loaded that cd readable version of debian i posted before, it detected my cardbus without pc cards in there, detected my cdrw/dvd, sound and everything. I'm wondering if mandrake 9.0 will work fine if i just dont keep any pcmcia cards in there. hrm, maybe i'll just install it onto my hard drive? :) lil more happy now

-Tom
John Kohler
Advisor

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I have solved the problem with my ze4101. I sold it and bought a Dell Inspiron 4150 which does not provoke a "Kernel Panic" so does not require any boot loader commands to bypass:

boot: linux nomce.

John Kohler
Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut?
John Gardner_2
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

I've got a Compaq Evo N1015v and get the same problem...

Enabling PCMCIA extension cards...
Bank 3: b40000000000083b at 00000001fc0003c8
Kernel panic: Unable to continue

Just thought i'd add another to the list!

John
bruce pool_1
New Member

Re: kernel panic on ze4101

Hi - I used this page when I was having kernel panic errors and found the
boot: linux nomce

worked perfectly - only started using Linux today and so far so good

thanks everyone