[elrepo] Question about kernel-ml

[Alan Bartlett]

On 17 March 2012 14:44, Joe Henley <joehenley at kc.rr.com> wrote:
>
> I used yum to install the most recent version of the ml kernel for EL5.
>  It installed 2.6.39-4.... (only) and without any problems.
>
> When I rebooted and attempted to run it, it panicked.  It gave me
> several screens-full of messages, but nothing into /var/log/messages.  I
> tried twice with the same results.
>
> Since this is such unusual behavior with stuff from elrepo, I suspect I
> have missed something very basic.

Hi Joe,

This is a suitable location to discuss your kernel-ml issue.

I'm sorry to read of the panic'ing problem. To be absolutely clear,
was it a true panic (which ended with a line with the word "panic"
therein) or was it an oops? If the latter, then a sequence of oops,
one after the other would account for several screens worth of text
and could account for the kernel being so fatally injured that a panic
was never even possible.

That being said, there could be something "odd" with your hardware
configuration. However, I am more inclined to suspect that for you,
the kernel-ml-2.6.39-4.1.el5.elrepo package is "A Kernel Too Far". [1]
 If my supposition is true, I would be interested to know how the
other kernel-ml package that we have available for EL5 systems
behaves. Perhaps you are unaware that there are two package sets in
the EL5 repository? Obviously without any help or guidance, yum will
pick the newer version . . .

The two package sets available are:

kernel-ml-2.6.35-14.1.el5.elrepo
kernel-ml-2.6.39-4.1.el5.elrepo

[1] http://blog.toracat.org/2011/03/a-kernel-too-far/

A few tips when testing a totally new and different kernel -- Always
perform the first boot into single-user mode, with "rhgb" disabled. If
a "#" prompt is obtained, check that the kernel is still viable by a
"date; sleep 5; date". Quickly grab copies of the logs to the /root/
directory and remember to "sync" straight after the copy has
completed.

Regards,
Alan.