Dell gx260 pci video panic

[Jim Cornette]

Doug Dressler wrote:
> I am having problems installing Fedora Core 3 on a
> Dell Optiplex GX260 when I have a PCI video card
> installed.
> 
> Once it gets past the initial boot screen, I get a
> Kernel panic.
> This only happens when I have a PCI video card
> installed. I have tried 2 different nvidia cards as
> well as an old S3 Virge card I had lying around with
> the same result.
> 
> Now, I know this isn't a Fedora problem specifically,
> because almost the same thing happens with Suse 9.2
> and Windows 2000 Pro.
> 
> Suse gets through the installer, but panics on the
> first boot. I tried to boot an existing installation
> of windows  after installing the card and it failed to
> boot all the way as well.
> 
> I have also tried it with another Optiplex GX260, and
> the same thing happened there.
> 
> It looks like the panic occurs at different times, but
> usually right after agpgart or USB-UHCI loads.
> 
> Some times, there are pages and pages of errors before
> it locks up, and I don't know how to access that
> information.
> 
> Any thoughts or suggestions?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Doug
> 

I found this link with some specs for your computer. The latest bios was 
2002 and version a06. your video card is said to be an Intel AGP 845G.

Of particular interest was the Graphics section of the below link.

http://is.vmi.edu/Newsletter/gx260_spec.pdf#search='dell%20gx260'

Regarding your troubles with an add on video card, I had a similar 
problem when setting up dual-head, but not on initial boot before 
applying dual-head settings.

The only ideas I have are for you to make sure your bios is the most 
current. Check the settings in BIOS regarding legacy video. You might 
experiment with increasing or decreasing this settings.
Someone else found that they set some setting incorrectly and reverting 
to optimal default settings cleared up his lockup problem.

Just a few ideas, good or bad.

Jim

-- 
Freedom is nothing else but the chance to do better.
		-- Camus