Kernel requires cmov feature - 12.04 LTS install hangs

[martinr]

My XUbuntu 12.04 LTS installation hangs with the message:

This kernel requires the following features not present on the CPU:
cmov
Unable to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.

My CPU is an AMD K6-2 3D 550 MHz (year 2000) on a fast board with 256 MB memory and an ad-on RAID controller. (It's quick!).

Before I bothered to completely rebuild, upgrade and heavily optimize my old rig I tested with XUbuntu 12.04 beta and I could have sworn that it worked! I overwrote the beta version when I downloaded the released version 12.04 LTS (I waited for it). Now I can't even install it. I thought XUbuntu was especially designed to run on older hardware? What's wrong?
How can I fix it.
Are more people experiencing the same problem?

[jadtech]

yup it will not completely sure but I am pretty sure that error is telling you that your CPU does not have on board pae and starting with version 12.04 the 32 bit has to support pae ..

how ever at this time lbuntu xbuntu still work without as I understand it in the near future they will no longer work on older cpu either the only way to run will be upgrades..

they are moving from support for these older processors

check here

http://www.adminreseau.fr/how-to-ins...able-hardware/


also try burning an ISO os version 11.04 or 11.10 and then try to upgrade using your 12.04 cd or an online upgrade

[martinr]

Thanks for you reply.
What is pae and why do you need it?
Is it mandatory in Open Office now?
Will email bounce without it?

Does somebody know where I can get my hands again on:
http://xubuntu.org/news/beta-2-released-new-branding/

I could have sworn that worked.

I can't believe that WinXP runs like a charm out of the box and XUbuntu doesn't even support my rig anymore? Lets scrap the planet with perfectly working hardware.

[jadtech]

pae lets the cpu address morethen 3gb of ram like fake 64bit more of less

pae allows the system to handle a far larger more efective memmory file system , xp I dont believe was true 64bit OS though it could run on 64 bit you could load 20 gb of ram in a machine with xp it would still only address and use 2 gb ...

[martinr]

pae lets the cpu address morethen 3gb of ram like fake 64bit more of less

Great, I don't even need that much SWAP.
You wrote that 12.04 does work without pae. Is there a way around the installer?
Heck, have you ever printed out 1MB of text? It looks like a phone book. Now the basic install entails provisions for 3000000 phone books of text. We're using up too much resources, if you'd ask me (the things that I do with a computer are not that different from 15 years ago). Ah well, lets have a beer.

[jadtech]

Great, I don't even need that much SWAP.
You wrote that 12.04 does work without pae. Is there a way around the installer?
Heck, have you ever printed out 1MB of text? It looks like a phone book. Now the basic install entails provisions for 3000000 phone books of text. We're using up too much resources, if you'd ask me (the things that I do with a computer are not that different from 15 years ago). Ah well, lets have a beer.

yeah the link I posted shows the way to a mini ISO that will install 12.04 on that processor the istall will be text based and void of a lot of things you will have to add from repository after install ..

if all you have a lite duty might try puppy linux

[martinr]

yeah the link I posted shows the way to a mini ISO that will install 12.04 on that processor the istall will be text based and void of a lot of things you will have to add from repository after install ..

if all you have a lite duty might try puppy linux

Thanks for your reply.
I'm a really heavy duty user, hosting repositories, programming, testing and debugging, etc.

I read the link that you posted and it also recommends XUbuntu as a solution . I'm not looking forward to having to handpick what is otherwise a fine distro together myself.
Furthermore according this http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...ht=PAE+XUbuntu thread, XUbuntu 12.04 should also have a non PAE kernel?!

Is there anybody out there, that has a more simple solution? The XUbuntu beta 2 worked as far as I can recall. Why the heck do I get the cmov problem now? Is it really a PAE mandatory problem for XUbuntu of all distros?

[mörgæs]

Two different and unrelated topics are being mixed in this thread.

a) PAE or non-PAE.

L/Xubuntu 12.04 are by default delivered with a non-PAE kernel, which also works on PAE computers. You will only notice a difference if you have a 32 bit system with more than 4 GB of memory. This has nothing to do with your problem, which is

b) CMOV

CMOV is required for all Buntu kernels after 10.04. You can install Lubuntu 10.04 and use it for a little less than a year from now [1], but frankly: A computer without CMOV is hardly usable by today's standards, even if you find a distro which installs. You can buy 4-5 years old hardware for next to nothing, so my advice is to let go of the old iron.

[1] https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lu...Lubuntu#A10.04

[dino99]

http://askubuntu.com/questions/11569...-error-message

[martinr]

b) CMOV

CMOV is required for all Buntu kernels after 10.04. You can install Lubuntu 10.04 and use it for a little less than a year from now [1], but frankly: A computer without CMOV is hardly usable by today's standards, even if you find a distro which installs. You can buy 4-5 years old hardware for next to nothing, so my advice is to let go of the old iron.

Thanks mörgæs for your explanation. I got mixed messages regarding PAE.

The K6-2 has a "CMOV", it's just missing a few addressing modes that of course segfault when and if you run into them.

Is there a way around CMOV (recompiled kernel, etc) or a patch for AMD K6-2 3D?

Is only the kernel dependent on the CMOV features? So if I can fix that all else runs?

I just upgraded and optimized the heck out of my machine. It uses little power and runs quite cool.