14.04 LTS won't boot. "Kernel panic"

[TheBigH]

Hi everyone,
I've just installed Ubuntu 14.04 from a USB drive as a dual boot alongside Windows 8, and it will not boot. The first time I tried to boot it just crashed with a blank screen. I waited 45 minutes, then rebooted. Now I get something called "kernel panic". It happens every time I boot up, though I can still get into Win8 without issue. Here is the full set of error messages (laboriously copied off the screen as I can't copy/paste so apologies for any typos):

[1.498534] Kernel panic - not syncing: no init found. Try passing init= option to kernel. See Linux Documentation/init.txt for guidance.
[1.498596] Pid: 1, comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 3.2.0-23-generic #36-Ubuntu
[1.498650] Call trace:
[1.498707] [<c1561d5f>] ? printk+0x2d/0x2f
[1.498761] [<c1561c2d>] panic+0x5c/0x161
[1.498841] [<c155f749>] init_post+0xae/0xae
[1.498870] [<c18338c6>] kernel_init+0x145/0x145
[1.498923] [<c1833781>] ? start_kernel+0x35d/0x35d
[1.498979] [<c157e37e>] kernel_thread_helper+0x6/0x10

The issue is not that the iso was corrupted because the checksum was OK, and I had the same problems with an install of lubuntu 14.04.

I do not have internet access on the affected computer, so anything I do would need to be transferred over via USB drive. Can anyone help me?

[mooreted]

You need to have Internet access in order to download and install all the packages needed to run the operating system. If you tried to install without an Internet connection, you are missing most of the system.

[TheBigH]

I donwloaded the iso on a computer that does have internet, transferred it to USB with unetbootin, then installed it on the other computer. Booting "Live USB" worked fine. The nonfunctional computer doesn't have internet because it doesn't have drivers to run the wireless adaptor. What can I do to get a working OS?

[mooreted]

Well, I have never tried it. But you may still be able to install without an Internet connection. So let's look at the error:

"Kernel panic - not syncing: no init found."

Which basically means Grub could not find anything to run. I would suspect something went wrong during the drive setup during installation.

Also, if you have UEFI you have to install Ubuntu 64bit.

Hmm, let's see, maybe something went wrong with Unetbootin. You could try formatting the thumbdrive and creating a new one. Maybe there were some leftover files or something got corrupted. Also could be a bad ISO download, you could try downloading a fresh one.

[TheBigH]

Thanks for you suggestions.

Well, I have never tried it. But you may still be able to install without an Internet connection.

I just played Sokoban IRL with computer towers so that I could connect this one direct to the modem with ethernet, and got internet access that way. I tried reinstalling, and it downloaded a bunch of stuff during installation, but I still get the same errors.

Also, if you have UEFI you have to install Ubuntu 64bit.

That's all OK. I am using ubuntu-14.04-amd64.iso.

Hmm, let's see, maybe something went wrong with Unetbootin. You could try formatting the thumbdrive and creating a new one.

Just tried that now, still no luck.

Also could be a bad ISO download, you could try downloading a fresh one.

I don't think that's the issue. The checksum was correct, and I have previously tried an install of lubuntu 14.04 with the same problems.




Edit: I spoke too soon. My last install has decided to work; I thought it was going to do the old freeze-then-kernelpanic trick, but after 20 mins of blank screen it's booted properly. I restarted, and it booted properly within a few seconds. Why it took such an inordinately long time to do its initial boot is a mystery.

SUMMARY: Make sure you load your iso onto a freshly formatted USB drive --and-- make sure you wait for the first ever boot of ubuntu to finish; don't assume it's crashed and reboot, even if it takes a stupidly long time.

[sudodus]

Please specify your computer, it makes it easier to give relevant advice.

- Brand name and model
- CPU
- RAM (size)
- graphics chip/card
- wifi chip/card

Can you run a live session in this computer (that is nonfunctional now)? In that case you can also make an installed system work, but there might be problems with a driver for graphics and wifi, a driver that is used automatically in the live system, but is not installed automatically. It may help to make a new installation with the computer connected via wired network. Repairing might be harder than a fresh installation.

Anyway, installations and re-installations are risky. Please check that you have a current backup of your personal files and Windows before continuing.

Edit: I see you edited your post, and that you finally succeeded. Congratulations

And thanks for sharing your solution.

[mooreted]

Awesome, glad you got it sorted. If you run into any further problems, let us know.

[Huw_Price]

SUMMARY: Make sure you load your iso onto a freshly formatted USB drive --and-- make sure you wait for the first ever boot of ubuntu to finish; don't assume it's crashed and reboot, even if it takes a stupidly long time.

+1 for this. I spent the morning installing and reinstalling from a USB live stick that I had made using Universal USB installer and 14_04_1-desktop-amd64.iso, and it kept kernel panicking when I tried to boot. I tried various suggestions using chmod and fdisk but in the end this is the one that worked for me, simply formatting my USB stick before using it. My own fault for being lazy and not giving it a proper format. FYI I formatted in windows using defaults.

Thanks for posting your solution.