Fedora 4 trouble...

[aloser]

I downloaded Fedora 4's DVD and sha1summed it (it came back normal), but when I try to install it nothing really happens... Any ideas why??? (i suppose the error message woulda been a good thing to jot down; I will in the morning and post it) I heard that 4 isn't exactly the best choice (apparently this is a common problem?), but after reinstalling Windows my bootloader got messed up and won't reinstall either... If necessary I s'pose I could d/l the cds if necessary, but I much prefer the DVD plan...

 

[EatSpam]

I've installed 2 machines with the Fedora Core 4 DVD... no problems.

 

[kamper]

What do you mean, nothing happens? Where does it go wrong?

 

[The Linuxator]

I have tried a sh!tload of distros and my half full 200 cd holder is my witness, but no distro installs more smoothly for me than Fedora Core 4
Anaconda ( the installer) is perfect it gives you all the choices you need to make in an easy to recognise well laid out GUI.
Here is a tip for testing out Distros :

If a distro like Fedora needs more than two CD-R ( 5 cds) then never download the DVD version if one cd is corrupted that's an easy fix example :

If you try to start the setup by booting from the 1 st CD and it doesn't work you download the 1 st cd again and try to see if it works instead of wasting a dvd, also Fedora Core 4 comes with a CD integrity check utilitty so that you would know before hand which to redownload and which to keep as is and on top of that downloading a 4.5 GB ISO all over again is one hell of a time consuming task.

 

[aloser]

Ok, as promised, here's my error message:

"Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!"

and then my computer locks up. I installed 3 no problem; however, my bootloader got messed up when I reinstalled Windows and Fedora won't reinstall the bootloader separately (it wants me to reinstall the whole OS).

 

[n0cmonkey]

What was going on right before you get that error? Did you check the iso to make sure it wasn't corrupted or anything?

 

[aloser]

I checked (using sha1sum) the iso and it came back normal; the kernel panic pops up almost immediately, so it's hard to pinpoint the exact cause - I just waited for the dvd to load and it says to press enter to install using anaconda or whatever other keys to press for the other methods, so I press enter and then it says "kernel panic..." and locks up.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Try one of those other methods.

 

[The Linuxator]

Eventhough installing windows after installing Linux isn't recommended but you havve messed it up already the fix isn't hard this is what you do, boot from fedora core 3 Media that you used, then select in anaconda update a fedora core system, then select the same options as before , and then at some point you will be prompted for the bootloader entries for GRUB install it to the MBR and it will creat an entry for windows called /other and a Fedora Core entry you can modify which one is the default boot entry from there too.

 

[aloser]

Ok, I'm gonna try the 'other' methods when I get home from work. I already tried the 'update a core system' and it wouldn't reinstall GRUB since nothing else changed.

 

[aloser]

Well......

I tried the text install also (the other choice) and it did the same thing (Kernel panic...) and when I try to install GRUB from my FC3 disk it won't because "no kernel changes were made."

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: The Linuxator
also Fedora Core 4 comes with a CD integrity check utilitty so that you would know before hand which to redownload and which to keep as is and on top of that downloading a 4.5 GB ISO all over again is one hell of a time consuming task.

Did you run the check on your dvd? Since you ran the sha1sum, you know the download is correct, but you should make sure it's burned correctly.

Also, they recommend booting with ACPI off if you run into problems early in the process.

 

[aloser]

I somehow was able to finally get it to work, though I don't know exactly how..... What I did, though, was attempted to trick it into loading - I put the FC3 disk in, when it loaded I opened the drivr door manually and swapped with 4, which made 3 realize something was wrong, so made me reboot, and when it rebooted 4 worked.

 

[timswim78]

I got the same error that you had because I was using the wrong version of Fedora. If you are using a 32 bit processor, you'll need the i386 version. If you're using an Athlon 64, you'll need the X64 version. Ans so on...

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: timswim78
I got the same error that you had because I was using the wrong version of Fedora. If you are using a 32 bit processor, you'll need the i386 version. If you're using an Athlon 64, you'll need the X64 version. Ans so on...

Good point, although you CAN use the i386 version on an Athlon64.

OP, are you certain you downloaded the i386 version?

 

[aloser]

Yep, I have the i386.

 

[Brazen]

Maybe try a BIOS update on your mobo?

 

[aloser]

I have the latest bios too... Like I stated earlier, I finally somehow tricked it into installing, though I still don't know exactly how (or why) it worked (or didn't earlier)...