From: jjsf@gmv.es (Julio Sanchez) Subject: 0.98.1 crashes a lot on my 33MHz 16MB 486DX Date: 26 Oct 1992 10:23:54 GMT
I have bought a new machine to run Linux at home. I have installed
the HJ rootdisk and assorted stuff. The machine hangs soon. Behaviour
is not repeatable. Sometimes it is a general protection error, sometimes
an executable gets corrupted and SIGSEGV's, sometimes it just reboots,
sometimes it does not let me login at all. I get core dumps all over
the place. ls is a favourite core dumper, closely followed by login.
This is to be expected since I rarely get to try anything more
sophisticated.
I have changed the BIOS setup (cache off and on, shadow RAM on and off,
etc.) Does not seem to make any difference. I try to reboot from the
rootdisk (that happens to be a 5 1/4" 0.98, but I have a 3 1/2" 0.98.1)
and fails too when it feels like it. So I know that pl1 is not the
problem. I actually run 0.98 at work on a modest 386SX, 16MHz, 2MB
and I don't see anything like that. I also tried 0.98 at the shop
and was able to install X and have it running. It was a different disk
and only 4MB. X swapped a lot but it worked.
When I got the machine last wednesday I did the same. Last Saturday it
started to fail. My disk got corrupted (/usr/include/sys was a directory
with the same i-node as /usr/include, couldn't get rid of it and fsck
gets into an infinite loop in this situation, lose, lose) and I tried
to reinstall everything. I have been unable to go any further than installing
the HJ rootdisk and basedisk 1. Linux destroyed my basedisk 2. It never
stays up long enough to go very far before the hard disk starts having
real problems.
I have run extensive diagnostics for hours and no problem has been found.
This evening I will try to do the installation from fresh copies of the
HJ disks.
I have no idea of what has happened. Can power surges be causing this?
What are the Linux 0.98.2 16MB patches? Not that I plan to install it
(rather wait till pl3), just curious. I have the feeling that I am
experimenting a massive buffer cache corruption problem. I sometimes
see 12 MB being used as buffers and a corruption there is a scary
thought. Sometimes I have in memory everything I have installed in
disk. The fact that Linux decided to start writing in one of my
floppies rendering it unusable backs this feeling.
I welcome any advice.
Thanks in advance,
Julio
-- Julio Sanchez, GMV SA, Isaac Newton 11, PTM Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid, Spain Ph. +34 1 807 21 85 | jsanchez@gmv.es | Traveller, there is no Fax +34 1 807 21 99 | jsanchez%gmv.es@Spain.EU.net | path; paths are made by Telex 48487 GMEV E | Julio_Sanchez_GMV@EuroKom.ie | walking (A. Machado)