Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 21:02:27 -0500 From: Kevin Kinsey <kdk@daleco.biz> To: gabpaul@melbpc.org.au Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: difficulty installing 5.3-R i386 - how to check RAM Message-ID: <425737B3.4090709@daleco.biz> In-Reply-To: <opsoxu52sorokg8m@a2-40.melbpc.org.au> References: <opsos56oa0rokg8m@a2-6.melbpc.org.au> <20050406113401.GA33178@falcon.midgard.homeip.net> <op.sos61itcuxkvrk@asu-reaper> <20050406122721.GA33679@falcon.midgard.homeip.net> <op.sos9oygduxkvrk@asu-reaper> <4253F42F.5010105@daleco.biz> <opsoxu52sorokg8m@a2-40.melbpc.org.au>
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Gabrielle Harrison & Paul van den Bergen wrote: > OK, thanks for the info... now for the solution... > > I have more than 16 MB of ram available but it does nto seem to > play well together or there is a problem with some of the chips. > > How do I trouble shoot my RAM chips? for instance, if I swap the > 2 SIMMs I have in there atm it does not want to do the POST. is > POST success sufficient to conclude that the chips are OK? > is there a BSD utility to check or diagnose RAM condition or errors? > > (ahhh the joys of old hardware...) > *g*, Yeah. I've got piles of it. Some of them are my primary DNS/web machines, :-p As to the question -- Hmm, what should I say? (1st, a parenthetical observation --- the FBSD list doesn't like "top posting" much, and you forgot to cc: the list: many people request that you keep all this discussion _on_ the list for a couple of reasons. However, you're probably new to all this; consider forgiveness extended, but try to play nicer next time? Nothing personal, you understand ... just a "heads up" for the future....) The standard answer for "RAM issues" is to download the program "memtest86", which is available for most any computing platform. (e.g., it's OS independent once you create the floppy disk). Running this program will create a bootable floppy disk that you stick in the box, boot into, and it runs tests all day long until you shut it down. I believe you want http://www.memtest.org IIRC, you may be able to get a log/report from it, so you don't have to sit there through $n iterations of the test and watch the screen for errors, but YMMV. As for mixing chips, it's been a long, long time, and I was more like a "hobbyist" then (maybe still am), but I do seem to remember it was a "no no" to mix EDO and FP chips, or some such, blah blah.... HTH, Kevin Kinsey
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