Newbie creates "Kernel Panic"

[Gain Paolo Mureddu]

Nicholas Comino wrote:

> Trying to recompile a kernel to get LAN working (ALi 1689 chipset 
> driver). The instructions I was trying to follow were from 
> http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73436 
> <http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73436> which 
> have worked in the past, and I really don't know what I managed to 
> stuff up this time. Previously I had kernel 2.6.10 working, and was 
> trying to redo the same thing by adding in the correct driver modules 
> into /usr/src/linux-2.6.10/drivers/net/tulip/. I'm starting to think 
> what I did the first time was to leave out a "-" somewhere, the error 
> was "file not found". The second time around I tried to compile 
> straight over the top of the working 2.6.10 kernel.
>  
> The error on reboot:
>  
> Uncompressing Linux... Ok, booting the jernel.
> audit(1106411054.995:0): initialized
> AC'97 1 access is not valid [0xffffffff], removing mixer.
> Unable to initialize codec #1
> Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 
> unknown-block(0,0)
>  
> and the system needs to be rebooted. I still have the original kernel 
> booting. Previously errors flashed by when shutting down and rebooting 
> things were going wrong with IP-Tables.
>  
> On my instructions, the last command "/sbin/grub-install" never works. 
> I wonder if that's an error. The problem might also be being caused by 
> the Nvidia graphics driver, but I can't retrace that problem just at 
> the moment. One last important symptom, when recompiling the kernel 
> there were substantially less modules compiled and even fewer 
> installed (make modules, make modules_install) where previously these 
> took up to 20mins they took less than a minute and seconds respectively.
>  
> I have another shot at making it work, but one more botch and I am 
> likely to have to reinstall the OS. Can I recover the previous 
> compile? Or any idea what I did so I don't stuff it again? It's 
> probably a typo somewhere.
>  
> * feels like the most accident prone linux newbie ever.

Try my guide 
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91503, 
should be quite straight fowrward on FC... Are you using a vanilla 
kernel? If so, I'd suggest you to install the Alan Cox (AC series) 
patchset (since FC and RHEL kernels incorporate them too), then just use 
the FC 2.6.10 config as a template to finish up configuration (I'd 
strongly suggest make gconfig, xconfig or  menuconfig), and build. Nice 
thing about Fedora and Red Hat is that they understand perfectly the 
install-kernel script and as such you won't have to do anything to have 
it listed in GRUB and stuff.
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