Error installing F12 - unable to handle kernel null pointer dereference

[daviddoria]

I am trying to install F12 on a Dell Latitude E5400 laptop. It got through the whole install process, but when it rebooted i just get a screen that says

"unable to handle kernel null pointer dereference"

and it just hangs there.

Any idea why that would be?

Thanks,

Dave

[LongGone]

I tried to use preupgrade to upgrade from F11 to F12 and got the same error when it boots to "Upgrade to Fedora 12 (Constantine)".

I tried adding the "noprobe" kernel parameter when booting, in which case it does not throw the null pointer dereference error anymore, but it complains about not able to get the kickstart file. I pressed CTRL-ALT-F3 and see the log saying that it cannot mount my boot partition.

Any ideas?

My system:
AMD MP 1800+
Tyan Tiger S2460
2GB Memory
Nvidia FX-5200 Video Card
SATA HD connected to a PCI controller card with Sil3512 chipset

[hm_shurt]

I am having the same problem on a Toshiba L510-016, running Fedora 12 (updated from 11) x86_64. I don't think the problem occurred until I updated from the DVD installation of Fedora 12, but it is intermittent so I can't be certain. It is definitely real, though, and extremely frustrating. It occurs in the first second after grub hands over to linux.

Edit: I should have made this clearer. The installation of Fedora 12 from the DVD as an upgrade to an existing Fedora 11 system proceeded without any problem. It was only after the upgrade, and possibly only after a yum update to the current state from the one that came on the DVD that I have this problem when I boot. The problem is intermittent although it happens on more than half the boot attempts, and never occurred with Fedora 11, which I kept updated regularly. I have no idea why it is intermittent, but if I keep trying I can get the system up eventually. Timing?, a race situation?