System panics during reboot

A system ``panic'' may occur when there is a fatal error that the system cannot correct - most often caused by an improperly configured device or device driver. In a panic situation, the system prints a panic message. If the Kernel Debugger (kdb) package is installed, control transfers to the kernel debugger program.

If you have just installed new hardware, there may be an address or interrupt conflict with other hardware on the system. Power down the computer and verify that all controllers are properly seated and jumpered. Use vendor-supplied software to diagnose hardware conflicts and change address or interrupt values as needed.

• If the problem is not hardware-based, you can restore the previous kernel (which includes the previous device configuration):

  1. Press the reset button (or power the computer off, then on again if you have no reset button).

  2. Wait for the Booting UnixWare... prompt; then press <Space> to begin an interactive boot session.

  3. When the [boot] prompt is displayed, enter:
     
     b unix.old

• If the problem is not hardware-based but you think you can correct it by accessing your filesystems, do the following:

  1. If you previously created emergency recovery boot media, follow the instructions in ``Recovering an unusable system''. Otherwise go to Step 2.

  2. If you did not create emergency recovery boot media, use the Install Diskette to repair your system. See ``System with multiple operating systems does not boot UnixWare''.