No versions of Ubuntu 8.04 will install on HP Pavilion zv5000 Series Laptops

[SickoftheSea]

Hi, I have been discussing this issue on the forums and there is at least one other in the same position. See http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=800220

I get a kernel panic during install with ubuntu desktop, ubuntu alternative, xubuntu desktop, xubuntu alternative in both 32 & 64 bit install disks for 8.04 LTS (that's 8 discs I've tried!!). Everytime I get the same error msg and I'm left with a locked system and a flashing caps lock light:

HARDWARE ERROR
CPU 0: Machine Check Exception 4 Bank 4: b200000000070f0f
TSC 1c82864c2e
This is not a software problem!
Run through mcelog --ascii to decode and contact your hardware vendor.
Kernel panic - not syncing: Machine check
Clocksource tsc unstable (delta = 4687308745 ns)

I think it might possibly be buggy nForce chipsets in these models of laptop from comments gleaned after a damn good Googling session. Other previous ubuntu installs and knoppix live cd's etc have been fine although they sometimes mention something about tsc (whatever that is) during boot but tend to ignore it and carry on. Previously to this install I had xubuntu 7.10 on and it was working fine so the kernel message that this is not a software problem would seem to be erroneous.

Note the live cd install hangs with the same msg above and therefore installation is impossible. The alternative install cds will install xubuntu/ubuntu but upon succesful installation the machine reboots and hangs with the same message above.

I have tried all the usually command line workaround options during boot, disabling splash, etc but all to no avail so far. Hence a bug report.

Hope someone can help as Xubuntu 64 is really the only viable 64bit XFCE based distribution on the planet.

Thanks.

Martin

8th June I added:

Looks like this could be a similar issue to the following bugs: #236273, #208241, #224818 & #223021 (Possibly more?)

9th June I added:

This bug:
 https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/192720

could possibly be the same thing although I have no kernel messages regarding the broadcom driver or chip. I am going to try blacklisting the bcm43xx & bcm43legacy drivers to see what happens. I'm also after searching through other bugs going to try adding clocksource=hpet to the boot kernel command line and removing quiet & splash. Away from home working so won't be able to do the above until I get home 12th/13th June. Will report back.

[Saivann Carignan (oxmosys)]

Thanks for your bug report. Can you try to boot with "clocksource=hpet" added to your Grub boot line? You should have something like :

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=95a125c6-c949-43da-9548-9ed5303070b9 ro single clocksource=hpet

You can edit your Grub boot line by following these steps :

 1. Press Esc during Grub boot delay to access the boot menu.
 2. Select your actual Ubuntu boot line and press "e" to edit it.
 3. Select the "kernel" line and press "e" to edit it.
 4. At the end of the line, add "clocksource=hpet" and press "enter".
 5. Type "b" to boot the custom boot line.

[SickoftheSea (sickofthesea)]

SOLVED/FIXED/YIPPEE:

I'm now typing this on my lappy with a freshly installed Xubuntu 8.04. It was the broadcom drivers. I blacklisted both the b43xx and the b43legacy and it booted straight away. clocksource=hpet did nothing.

Although it's all working now it is still a bit of a showstopper for newbies and experienced users alike. This has been the most difficult 'buntu installation since 'buntu time began.

All the times I have installed linux on this 64bit laptop, I've always installed a 32bit version because of the broadcom wireless chipset. I have never been able to get the bcm43xx drivers to work and always had to resort to ndiswrapper with 32bit Windows drivers to get it working, hence the necessity of a 32bit version of linux.

So for this latest release I purchased (beforehand) a wireless card with a gpl driver available here http://www.thelinuxemporium.co.uk/pr...ess/#pidR26799 for £10, so that I could finally have a 64bit linux installed AND have working wireless. Subsequently I then still had a problem with the broadcom drivers, this time stopping it booting!! Aaargh! How annoying are broadcom?? Thankfully the card from The Linux Emporium worked out of the box (once the machine finally booted!)

Thanks for everyones help, appreciate it.

Martin

[Saivann Carignan (oxmosys)]

Thanks for your fast confirmation!! You identified the problem very well! This bug is actually known as bug 192720 and have high priority so I mark this bug report as a duplicate. Any further discussion should now take place in that bug report. According to that bug report, there is a update in hardy-proposed which should fix this problem. If you want, can you confirm if the bug is fixed with that update? What you need to do is to enable hardy-proposed repository, update all linux packages to 2.6.24-19, set back your broadcom card, remove b42xx & b43legacy from blacklists and confirm if this update fixed your boot problem.