Are there any tools to analyze kernel panics in G4 iMac?

Folks:

As I posted over on the "Suspend from sleep" thread I've got a G4 iMac set up to boot OSX & Xu/Lu 12.04 that has been hit with a plague of kernel panics, first it seemed like they were only happening in Xu/Lu, but then they started happening in OSX as well. I ran the Apple Hardware Test disk several times and it shows OK, I've repaired the disk with Apple's DU, and used Onyx to clean up the system, I've even installed a fresh OSX 10.4.6 on an Ext HD and booted from the Ext HD and the kernel panics continue. I'm thinking "hardware" but so far nothing has shown to clearly show that. Would there be some Ubun/Linux tool that could analyze the system such that it might point out what the problem is? A GUI app might be better for me, but if a CLI app is out there that could be tried with a little help from the forum . . . that would also work. I'd like to keep the iMac going, it's got ten years of data and it serves to check email and get around the web well enough. Any thoughts?

Last post from the other thread from earlier in the month, no replies offered:

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@abtabt:

Appreciate the follow-up, just letting you know the latest situation, looks like my horsie is again pulling up lame and will be a DNF once again. I just tried to boot the Xu 12.0.4 system to check on lsmod and wound up with multiple problems, problems getting Yaboot window to show up, problems getting gdm log in window to stay, problems with once getting passed gdm log in then mouse didn't work and no toolbar, problems then getting passed xubun splash window with subsequent kernel panic, problem with kernel panic before the Yaboot window . . . problem with showing a single user window that wouldn't accept my password to get into CLI . . . went thru 5 cold boots essentially ending in kernel panic. Gave up, when I tried to boot OSX, there also was a kernel panic and had to restart . . . thought it might be the old iMac giving up its life force, but seems like it's OK for now . . . don't know why kernel panics in Xubun would carry over to OSX? But, this has been the history of trying to get anything in the Linux realm to run on the iMac for longer than a few months, seems to be doing OK, then the system seems to start degrading?? kernel panics start and eventually the CLI even goes away. There was something about "starting pbbuttonsd 0.7.9 Unknown powerbook; speech-dispatcher disabled, edit; starting NTP-server-ntpd-kernel panic 3 or 4" on the Xubuntu splash window.

I did do an update/upgrade on Friday night, couple night back using "sudo aptitude" and I rebooted then and everything seemed to be OK, I can't remember if I installed "powerprefs" in the iMac following a comment in the PPC FAQ about either getting suspend to work, but I didn't adjust anything in the GUI powerprefs window when it opened . . . so I don't know if somehow one of the upgrades has messed with my "nv" driver compilation . . . but once again there is a problem. Seemed like Xu/Lu 12.0.4 got me closer to something stable . . . will have to see on another day if I can get it working, if it's a hardware issue, or just try what will be the 6th or 7th re-install . . . . Maybe Tuesday I'll again have a moment to play around . . . the sound issue goes to the back burner for now.

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It could very well be the memory. Don't trust the apple hardware test because it only skims the surface of how to properly test memory. It's a very weak and incapable utility to say the least.

Use Remember to fully test your RAM. It can take 1-2 hours.

Another thing to consider is that you have an iMac and all models from the G4's to the newest Intel machine all sacrifice hardware health and longevity to look pretty. Because of this the iMacs all tend to die after a few years. The G4 towers on the other hand live forever because they don't sacrifice hardware health for design.

You would have been far better off using a tower and printing a high res pic of the pretty computer for your wall. Remember that a computer needs to be a tool before anything else. When you choose impractical computers like an iMac you're then stuck with all the headaches that come with it.

Folks:

The continuing saga . . . I got a hint to try booting the Lubuntu 12 LiveDVD which I was able to do last night and the computer ran for well over an hour . . . I got into DU and ran the "self-test" and it cam eback with "Two bad sectors" . . . . The problem is that the screen resolution is probably at 8 and it's very difficult to read words that are in boxes. Can someone help me out with some boot parameters that might improve the screen resolution, so that I might be able to find where the "Repair bad sector" function might be? I used "videoofonly=0???? (whatever is listed) and "nouveau.modeset=0" . . . . It's interesting that the machine ran OK in the DVD, but doesn't from the int HD, I have SMARTReporter in the OSX side and it still shows OK. Mousing over some of the "Self-test" results in Lubun DU, showed phrase, "Failure means imminent demise of the HD due to old age . . . " . . . something like that . . . but I couldn't tell if that meant that failure was indeed imminent, or if the word "Failure" had to be listed as a result--which it wasn't . . . just two bad sectors. In OSX DU has been run from the clone to "repair disk" . . . would a "bad sector" possibly survive that repair work, or would a bad sector in Xu/Lu "reach" over and cause crashes in the whole computer?

e.e.p.

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Originally Posted by powerpcliberation

It could very well be the memory. Don't trust the apple hardware test because it only skims the surface of how to properly test memory. It's a very weak and incapable utility to say the least.

Use Remember to fully test your RAM. It can take 1-2 hours.

Another thing to consider is that you have an iMac and all models from the G4's to the newest Intel machine all sacrifice hardware health and longevity to look pretty. Because of this the iMacs all tend to die after a few years. The G4 towers on the other hand live forever because they don't sacrifice hardware health for design.

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@powerliberation:

I was in the middle of typing out my last post and missed yours, thanks for your time . . . it might well be RAM, although I did run Rember and could only get thru one round before the computer crashed, but in the LiveDVD last night we lasted over an hour until I got tired. On the "design" . . . right, it was my first foray into computers, but it has lasted ten years, so I can't complain . . . . Any thoughts for the screen rez in the LiveDVD??

e.e.p.

At the yaboot prompt type:

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live video=offb:off nouveau.modeset=0 single

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This will freeze or give you a blank screen. You will have to judge blind when the machine has finished booting which can be longer than you think. Type the command (you won't see what you type):

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modprobe nvidiafb

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Text should now appear on the screen.

If it doesn't reboot (type reboot), but this time use:

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modprobe rivafb

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You can start the desktop with

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start lightdm

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EDIT: In 12.10 you may have to force a higer colour depth. For example "modprobe nvidiafb mode_option=1024x768-16"

@rsavage:

Thanks for your attention to my problem . . . it looks like you are providing a way to run the Lubun LiveDVD in such a way that the screen resolution will be improved???? Rather than giving me a way to somehow analyze or repair the "2 bad sectors"??? Certainly if I can see the screen more clearly it might help, but then are there any tools loaded in the LiveDVD that can "analyze" why the kernel panics are happening in both the internal HD running Xu/Lu 12 and the OSX side? If I could somehow "deep clean" the HD would that fix the kernel panics?

I can certainly try out your commands from the LiveDVD and that might get me to a read-able GUI and then I might find the DU "repair problems" tab??? It's not that I'm looking to run my computer from the install DVD all the time, but how to figure out why it's crashing ????? HD dying or "bad sector"???? Don't know . . . but, thanks for the guidance . . . so far the Xu/Lu has been the best in the iMac G4 . . . but, again, now some issue with kernel panics.

e.e.p.

@rsavage:

Ran those commands using my Lubun 12 install DVD, waited until no more Op drive sounds, entered the "modprobe" . . . nothing happened . . . tried the second modprobe rviafb . . . nothing, no text. Then I typed "start lightdm" the Op drive made a few sounds . . . . I'm looking at a greyish screen with three vert lines, two yellow, one blue on the left third of the screen . . . . Is there a flashing boot prompt? Can't see it.

e.e.p.

Corrected. Forgot to turn off KMS.

@rsavage:

OK, that worked and got me into a clean GUI . . . and I checked DU and ran the "self-test" and it came back with #5 WARNING-reallocated sector count" . . . "2 bad sectors" . . . . But, as originally posted I don't know how to repair the bad sectors if that is possible?? Problem is the partition is split . . . and kernel panics happening on both sides, but is there a way to "repair disk" as there is with OSX, but doing it from the Lubuntu install disc? Interestingly, I tried your edited commands the first time, got to DU and when I clicked on the "self test" button the app crashed and the toolbar fell off the screen . . . . I tried again and got back to DU and was able to run the self test; I tried the Benchmark option but "operation failed."

e.e.p.

et al:

The latest update on the kernel panics . . . is that they seem to have abated . . . for reasons that don't entirely make sense. I was on the track that it is/was a hardware problem, finally got around to unplugging the ethernet while simultaneously running "applejack" from the OSX side, thanks to some help from the Apple discussion forum. That managed to get many hours of run time on the iMac yesterday w/o ethernet, and then plugged it in and had no problems. I even rebooted into Xu/Lu and got an error message telling me that "a crash was detected now or recently" . . . other than that no problems. The only issue was that w/o the ethernet plugged in I couldn't get the wireless to work in either OSX or Linux side.

But, this brings me back to this forum and my question about whether there are any apps that do "deep cleaning" on the Linux side, as perhaps applejack has done from the OSX side? Is there some "fsck" command that would clean cache? I'm not sure if I'm out of the woods on this problem, but previously it was hard to run it longer than 15 mins., but considering that before the kernel panics were happening in both OSX & linux it's not clear why running applejack in OSX will let both sides run?? It's been cooler here and there might have been some problems with hot weather in the previous weeks. I did see how kernel panics do something so that the chances of kernel panics is increased, but how is it that the Linux system seems to have gotten over the problem . . . seemingly w/o any "deep cleaning"???

e.e.p.