# Can't boot with add-in PCI video card, internal OK [solved]

## Daytona

Hi,

I'm having a problem involving add-in video cards. My new-to-me mobo has built-in i845 graphics, which one only has to do a simple google search to find the many issues this driver currently has.  Trying to bypass that until the drivers are fixed, I grabbed an old PCI video card (the only option for this board other than ISA- it's an industrial board. The same problem happens w/ISA too, btw), installed it, and suddenly I can't boot. Remove it, and all is OK. 

I had the same problem on a different mobo that had no built-in graphics, and thought the mobo was the problem at the time.

Here is the error I am getting (captured via serial connection. sda3 is ext3, fsck says everrything is ok):

```
EXT3-fs error (device sda3): ext3_check_descriptors: Block bitmap for group 1 not in group (block 0)!

EXT3-fs (sda3): error: group descriptors corrupted

List of all partitions:

0800       312571224 sda driver: sd

  0801           40131 sda1

  0802          506047 sda2

  0803       312022462 sda3

0b00         1048575 sr0 driver: sr

No filesystem could mount root, tried:  ext3 ext2

Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,3)

Pid: 1, comm: swapper Not tainted 2.6.34-gentoo #3

Call Trace:

 [<c12bd3e0>] ? panic+0x41/0xab

 [<c1402ba9>] ? mount_block_root+0x241/0x266

 [<c1002933>] ? sysenter_exit+0xf/0x14

 [<c1402c1e>] ? mount_root+0x50/0x81

 [<c1402178>] ? kernel_init+0x0/0x135

 [<c1402d3e>] ? prepare_namespace+0xef/0x168

 [<c107e1d2>] ? sys_access+0x1f/0x23

 [<c1402287>] ? kernel_init+0x10f/0x135

 [<c1002e36>] ? kernel_thread_helper+0x6/0x10

```

Remove the card and all is OK.  Card in question is a Trident TGUI 9680. I also have a 9440 that does the same.

To make things more interesting, if I boot with the Gentoo minimal install CD, I have no problems. So that suggests some issue with how my kernel is configured, but I have no idea what it could be. I'm currently running 2.6.34-gentoo, previously linux-2.6.32-gentoo-r7 with the same problem. I turned on "VGA arbitration", it hasn't helped. System is configured (in BIOS) to initialize PCI video before internal.

This might all disappear with a >16 year old video card, but then again it might not. Before I go buy a modern one, which was my plan anyways, I'd like to know that if this problem comes up again it can be fixed.

Mobo is a Nexcom NEX-716VL2G.Last edited by Daytona on Sat Jun 19, 2010 3:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## chithanh

Have you tried inserting the card into a different PCI slot? Also try pci=nomsi, noapic, acpi=off or similar kernel options.

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## Daytona

Tried different slots, no change. Did pci=nomsi, noapic, acpi=off, pci=noacpi and other pci=xxx options with no change.

Then I started reading all of the kernel options from the top, and did agp=off. That did the trick!

So most likely a new video card will not give problems, but now I know if it does I can work around it. Thanks!

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