From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Mar 12 22:49:22 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DA02B106566C for ; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:49:22 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au) Received: from mail.unitedinsong.com.au (mail.unitedinsong.com.au [150.101.178.33]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 851F28FC14 for ; Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:49:22 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail.unitedinsong.com.au (bell.herveybayaustralia.com.au [192.168.0.40]) by mail.unitedinsong.com.au (Postfix) with ESMTP id 07F545C28 for ; Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:02:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from laptop1.herveybayaustralia.com.au (laptop1.herveybayaustralia.com.au [192.168.0.177]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by mail.unitedinsong.com.au (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 6F5565C22 for ; Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:02:52 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <4F5E7C35.2090807@herveybayaustralia.com.au> Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:44:05 +1000 From: Da Rock User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; FreeBSD amd64; rv:7.0.1) Gecko/20111109 Thunderbird/7.0.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org References: <4F5E031D.5060203@gmail.com> <4F5E2ADB.6020104@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <4F5E2ADB.6020104@FreeBSD.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: Re: 9.0 spontaneously reboots X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:49:22 -0000 On 03/13/12 02:56, Matthew Seaman wrote: > On 12/03/2012 14:07, Volodymyr Kostyrko wrote: >> What should I blame now? Is it some programming error or should I >> continue with testing/changing motherboard and cpu? > Instability that appears spontaneously (and especially if it persists > across system updates) is almost always caused by hardware problems. > So, yes, carry on swapping out components until you can isolate where > the problem is. > > Some common hardware problems which might result in the problems you've > seen: > > * PSU going flakey. If you have the right measuring equipment, this > is pretty easy to detect by looking at the output voltages -- if > they've drifted out of spec, or if you've got mains frequency > jitter leaking through then its no wonder your system crashes. > > * Similarly, if the crashing is associated with system load, > (particularly at startup, when things are happening like disks > spinning up) this can indicate a power supply fading under load. > That can happen due to age, or because you've been adding extra > hardware and haven't considered the power requirements. > > * The other reason for crashing under load is overheating. > Sometimes this can be cured easily by cleaning dust out of vents > and heat-sinks. Check too for fans either seized or running > slowly. > > * You may need to clean off any old heat-sink compound and re-apply > a fresh layer, especially if you've taken CPU coolers off at > some point. > > * There's also the old capacitor problem: electrolytic capacitors > have a failure mode that generates some positive pressure inside > them. This is detectable by the end of the capacitor being bowed > out, rather than slightly concave. (Generally this means a new > motherboard, although I've heard of people being able to solder in > replacements successfully.) Yes, that works (relatively easily); but you need to be good with a soldering iron and be able to remove the cap without breaking tracks or shorting them. If you're not that or confident, I wouldn't try; although if the MB is cactus anyway you may have nothing to lose :) > > Other than that, try disconnecting and reconnecting peripherals like > disks or DVDs and so forth in various combinations to test if that > improves system stability. One faulty component can knock the whole > machine over. > > Cheers, > > Matthew >