[NMLUG] This box runs windows ok but won't run linux

[nmlug@swcp.com (Aaron Birenboim)]

Mike wrote:
> 
> I ran both windows 95 and RedHat 5.2 on this box for over a year,
> recently reinstalled RedHat 6.2 and started having problems. Netscape
> crashes, either stops responding or all netscape windows close. Same
> thing when I tried Mozella. Or the system just locks up.

I have had similar problems with netscape.
Sometimes when my system "locks-up" its really just that netscape
has screwed up X.  Have you tried going to a text console
<alt-f1,f2,f3...> and killing any (hung?) netscape processes?
Or telneting in to do the same?

>  When I do a
> 'shutdown -h now' it shuts down but then I see a full screen of hex
> numbers scrolling by and the system reboots.

That, I never saw.  You may be in more trouble than I.
Is this what LINUX does for a crash dump?

> ... when
> booting, it hangs at the starting system logs message. After a while it
> finishes booting.

This makes things tough.
Perhaps you could try avoiding X for a while (text console login).
Try to see if/why the syslogd didn't start.  Start it by hand
if its dead, and if you can find a way.

Also...  try to look into Linux crash dumps (kernel panics?)
Set up your machine to capture crash dumps.
The most valuable thing to do with these is try to get
a trace of the system stack when it crashes.  This can tell you
whats causing the trouble.  Could be flakey hardware.
-- 
Aaron Birenboim   \ If you must choose between two evils,
Albuquerque, NM    \  pick the one you've never tried  before.
www.swcp.com/~aaron \
aaron@ptree.abq.nm.us\                      -Steven Wright
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