CentOS Server hangs after installing KVM

Question

I just received a Supermicro server back from factory repair. Installed CentOS 6.3 x86_64 fresh from DVD (tried with 6.4, same result). Everything goes fine until i install Virtualization* yum groups. Virtualization is enabled in BIOS. Server boots, CentOS loads and i have even a login prompt. If i'm fast enough to enter login name and password, shell works for about 10 sec. Then, it seems to hang. Pressing CTRL-C seems to work as i see it on screen (CTRL-C text).

I'm used to Xen in CentOS 5 where we can choose a non-Xen kernel at boot time. With CentOS 6 and KVM, i'm kinda lost! I Googled a lot and didn't find anything to disable KVM / select a a non-KVM kernel a boot up time. The server has been repaired but i'm not sure if there is still other problems that prevent KVM to work. I know that they installed the last BIOS version. I have other identical servers that works well with KVM. I tried to disable all i saw for virtualization support in BIOS, result is the same. I did memtest86 tests without problem.

Here are the specs:

Supermicro 6026T-3RF (mainboard X8DT3-S)
BIOS 03/17/12 15:50:21 Ver 2.1
Xeon E5520
Kingston 12 Gig RAM (Triple Channel)
LSI 9240-8i

What should i do to debug this? Any pointers, URL, etc would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

The "choose a kernel" is the grub menu, and unless you've disabled it, you can still do it. Try hitting any key as soon as you see the "about to boot ... in x sec"

I'd boot to single usermode (s at the end of the kernel line), and check the logs.

And I really, *REALLY* don't like Supermicro. We've got a large bunch of servers from Penguin, who's all Supermicro, and we've sent a ton back for repair, as well as doing things here, *and* several of those sent back were sent back more than once.