diff -r 0ff86a7f0dc1 -r 359b870645cc src/arch/x86/system.cc
--- a/src/arch/x86/system.cc	Sat Oct 09 15:51:00 2010 -0700
+++ b/src/arch/x86/system.cc	Sun Oct 10 01:11:51 2010 -0700
@@ -60,7 +60,10 @@
     mpFloatingPointer(p->intel_mp_pointer),
     mpConfigTable(p->intel_mp_table),
     rsdp(p->acpi_description_table_pointer)
-{}
+{
+    if (kernel->getArch() == ObjectFile::I386)
+        panic("Loading a 32 bit x86 kernel is not supported.\n");
+}
 
 static void
 installSegDesc(ThreadContext *tc, SegmentRegIndex seg,