Kernel boot problems or is my hard drive failing ?

[Don Quixote de la Mancha]

>> Is anyone else experiencing a problem booting ?   Does this sound like a
>> kernel problem or is my hard drive failing ?

>From the error message, possibly there is a problem with your SATA
controller, or with your SATA cables.

SATA cables are pretty cheap.  Get some new ones and replace them all.

If that doesn't fix your problem, while SATA controllers aren't as
cheap as cables, they are at least affordable.  Buy a new SATA
controller, install it and attach your drive to it.  If your old SATA
controller is removable (ie not integrated with the motherboard), then
also remove it.

And what the other guy said - check your drive health with S.M.A.R.T.

Also, all the drive manufacturers offer free downloads of drive
testing utilities.  These are image files that generate boot floppies
or CD-ROMs.  Download the utility for your drive, make the boot disk,
boot off it, and run the non-destructive tests.

This can be valuable because vendors often add proprietary test code,
that only their own diagnostic tools know how to run.  There is a
possibility that this will detect a drive failure that S.M.A.R.T. may
not yet know about.

But First...

BACK UP ALL YOUR DATA!  RIGHT NOW!

There is a clock ticking, you see.  Can you hear it?  "Tick, Tick, Tick."

Don Quixote
-- 
Don Quixote de la Mancha
quixote at dulcineatech.com
http://www.dulcineatech.com

   Dulcinea Technologies Corporation: Software of Elegance and Beauty.