apparent kernel segfaults and "failed to write core file" even after putting old kernel back

[David Benfell]

Hi all,

I've got a VPS in a very bad state. Unfortunately, I cannot provide
precise version information beyond that I was attempting to update 10.3
stable.

I had just completed the installkernel step and had rebooted. I'm
getting what appear to be kernel segfaults and if the system boots to
multiuser, I see lots of "failed to write core file" messages. At one
point, I saw a message indicating a required 'authdistd' (auditdistd?)
user did not exist and that I should look at /usr/src/UPDATING, which
says nothing about auditdistd or authdistd. I tried putting the old
kernel back but the symptoms persist.

HELP!!!!! Fortunately, this is a secondary server, not one of my primaries.

This is a place where I have very little experience. In my recollection,
this step has always gone smoothly.

What now?

Thanks!


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