I updated my kernel yesterday. When trying to boot into the new kernel, the system froze after the line indicating firewire was configured. Booting back into the previous working kernel, the next two lines on the startup screen indicated the system was going to run level 5 and then starting the hardware check.
I suspect the problem is related to the network interfaces. My motherboard is an Asus A7N8X Deluxe. When I install a new kernel, I have to rebuild the network drivers. However, with past kernel upgrades, the system would boot up completely and allow me to rebuild the drivers. Why not this time?
I did find a work-around. I booted into the previous working kernel, changed the default runlevel in the /etc/inittab file to 3, then rebooted into the new kernel. I rebuilt the network driver modules, changed the runlevel back to 5, and was able to boot up completely in the new kernel.
The runlevel change suggest the problem may be related to X-Windows. I know one other package I updated was gdm. Could this be part of my problem? Any suggestions on how I can get a new kernel to boot up the first time?
Thanks!
Andrew Robinson
