Kernel Panic (Help me trace it!)

[jsh]

kp.jpg
(Click image for larger version.)

The first kernel panic came about an hour after I plugged in and formatted a hard drive. I checked the drive out using smartctl, and it seemed the drive had some issues. So, I ditched the drive. Thereafter, though, I got a kernel panic every 20 minutes.

I have since booted to a live CD and loaded down the CPU for 1.5 hours straight; I couldn't make it fail. I also ran memtest+ and tried several RAM chips. Anyway: I'm fairly convinced it is not hardware-related.

Any ideas?

Thanks, in advance.

[jayd512]

Hello and Welcome!

After plugging in the hard drive, did you run any updates? Or perform any system changes?
From your screenshot, I see you're running Ubuntu. Which version?
Have you tried booting to recovery mode to see if the kernel panic still occurs?

[jsh]

Hello and Welcome!

After plugging in the hard drive, did you run any updates? Or perform any system changes?
From your screenshot, I see you're running Ubuntu. Which version?
Have you tried booting to recovery mode to see if the kernel panic still occurs?

Thanks for the response, Jay!

It's Ubuntu 9.04 server. I did try updating the kernel, but it gave the same results. In fact, I've tried three different kernels, including those with PAE support and those without; all produce the same result.

I have not tried recovery mode. I don't have physical access to the machine until tomorrow morning. I'll try this tomorrow.

Thanks!

[jsh]

kp2.jpg

The dump is a bit different this time. In case this provides any useful information ...

I have the machine running in recovery mode right now. I'm going to see if it still panics.

Any more ideas?

Thanks!

[jayd512]

To be honest, I'm no pro at diagnosing a kernel panic.
I would start by removing peripherals as an easy first step.
Then you have software... any 3rd party applications installed recently? Questionable scripts being ran?
What about system logs? That may shed a little light on things like where the error is first occurring.
You mentioned a kernel upgrade... did you update any important drivers at that time?

Backing up your important files and re-installing is always an option, too.

[jsh]

I would start by removing peripherals as an easy first step.

I really don't think it's a hardware issue, as it runs fine from a live CD.

Then you have software... any 3rd party applications installed recently? Questionable scripts being ran?
...
You mentioned a kernel upgrade... did you update any important drivers at that time?

I only ran updates as an attempt to fix this problem after it surfaced.

What about system logs? That may shed a little light on things like where the error is first occurring.

The logs show nothing of the kernel panic, unfortunately.

Backing up your important files and re-installing is always an option, too.

Yeah; I have backups, but I'd like to avoid having to do this, obviously.


Thanks for the help.