Kernal Panic after update to 10.4.6/Missing HD Space/Won't Startup from DVD

Question

Sorry to lump three problems together, but they may all be related.
First - I was getting random Kernal Panics while at 10.4.5, so I attempted to update to 10.4.6. The computer wouldn't even come close to starting up. I got a screen full of Kernal Panic info. I reinstalled Tiger 10.4.3, and that's where the system stands now. It's running fine.
Second - My computer suddenly announced that the startup drive was out of disk space. I looked and the window said 30g. I closed the window and opened it again only to see it at zero k. I dumped some items to get some disk space, but now I can't get my 30g back.
Third - I want to startup from the Tiger disk like I did when I reinstalled, but it won't startup from the DVD. I'd like to run Disk Repair on the main hard drive. It showed some errors when I ran a Test using the Disk Utility.
I'm hoping this is all related. The computer seems to be running fine, but I can't update or find my missing space. Any advice I can get on these issues would be appreciated. Thanks.
Jon

Answer 1

Is your computer saving a panic.log after each of the kernel panics? You can see by opening Console (in /Applications/Utilities) and looking for it. I'm not at my Mac now, so I can't tell you under what section to look for that log.
When you try to boot from the CD, are you holding down the 'C' key as the computer reboots? You can also try rebooting with the Option key pressed, which will present you with a list of bootable volumes. It will also give you access to the Apple Hardware Test (if this is the DVD that came with the computer). If you can select the Apple Hardware Test, I'd recommend doing the Extended Test, which will test the hardware, including the RAM.
For the disappearing disk space, you could have some process that is going bezerk and filling up the log files. In any event, to see where you disk space is being used, download and run Omni DiskSweeper.