Red Hat LINUX ES 2.1 -, Installation Manual

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Appendix C.
Troubleshooting Your Installation of Red Hat
Enterprise Linux ES
This appendix discusses some common installation problems and their solutions.
C.1. You are Unable to Boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES
C.1.1. Is Your System Displaying Signal 11 Errors?
If you receive a fatal signal 11 during your installation, it is probably due to a hardware error in
memory on your system’s bus. A hardware error in memory can be caused by problems in executables
or with the system’s hardware. Like other operating systems, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES places its
own demands on your system’s hardware. Some of this hardware may not be able to meet those
demands, even if they work properly under another OS.
Check to see if you have the latest installation and supplemental boot diskettes from Red Hat. Review
the online errata to see if newer versions are available. If the latest images still fail, it may be due to a
problem with your hardware. Commonly, these errors are in your memory or CPU-cache. A possible
solution for this error is turning off the CPU-cache in the BIOS. You could also try to swap your
memory around in the motherboard slots to see if the problem is either slot or memory related.
For more information concerning signal 11 errors, refer to http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/.
C.1.2. Are You Unable to Boot from a Network Boot Disk?
If you are experiencing difficulties in getting the network boot disk you made to boot your system
correctly, you may need an updated boot disk.
Check the online errata for updated diskette images (if available) and follow the instructions provided
to make an updated boot disk for your system.
C.1.3. Are You Unable to Boot With Your RAID Card?
If you have performed an installation and cannot boot your system properly, you may need to reinstall
and create your partitions differently.
Some BIOSes do not support booting from RAID cards. At the end of an installation, a text-based
screen showing the boot loader prompt (for example,
GRUB:
) and a flashing cursor may be all that
appears. If this is the case, you will need to repartition your system.
Whether you choose automatic or manual partitioning, you will need to install your
/boot
partition
outside of the RAID array, such as on a separate hard drive. An internal hard drive is necessary to use
for partition creation with problematic RAID cards.
You must also install your preferred boot loader (GRUB or LILO) outside of the RAID array — not
on the MBR. The boot loader should be installed on the MBR of the same drive as the
/boot
partition
was created.
Once these changes have been made, you should be able to finish your installation and boot the system
properly.