Date: Tue, 01 Sep 1998 15:41:21 -0500 From: "Steve Friedrich" <SteveFriedrich@Hot-Shot.com> To: "Elliott Miller" <elmo@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> Cc: "FreeBSD Questions" <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: system crash when using 'make' Message-ID: <199809011941.PAA10127@laker.net>
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On Tue, 01 Sep 1998 19:18:16 +0100, Elliott Miller wrote: >Hmm.. I was hoping it wouldnt be a hardware problem > >Does anyone know a good piece of diagnostic software I could run to check? I've been fixing computers for 22 yrs. Diagnostic programs won't find as many problems as Operating Systems, Compilers, etc. I recommend that you spend the money to buy 32MB of RAM. Pull out ALL that you have in there now, and put in the new. If that doesn't solve your problem, at least you can use the 32MB in addition to your old. The diagnostic program, on the other hand, is NOT usuable for anything else. I have problems on a new AMD-K6 233 (ASUS TX-97) when I make buildworld. But never any other time. In an attempt to isolate the problem, I turned off the CPUs internal and external caches. That allowed the buildworld to complete, though it took nearly 48hrs, instead of less than 24. But after make installworld, I turned the caches back on and I am not having any problems. It will be awhile before I can scrounge up the cash to buy new memory, to finish the job. Besides turning off cache, you can try adjusting the motherboard's RAM timing parameters. They usually get set to "auto". Try something slower than your RAM allegedly is, i.e., if it (they) claim it's 60ns, try 70ns settings. You can try some wait states too. If these changes "fix" it, then your memory doesn't meet it's alleged specs. I tried many permutations on my machine, and the only "fix" was to disable both CPU caches. BTW, I also have FreeBSD on an AMD-DX2/66 and it makes buildworld/installworld without problems. The faster CPUs are going to weed out substandard memories. Good luck. BTW, if you buy some new memory, buy a name brand. The way the industry works, is that you make a product, test it to see if it's above spec, if it is, sell it under your good name, if it's below spec, sell it to the next tier below you, who won't put their name on it!! People kid themselves all the time that a Sears TV is just as good as a Sony. Baloney... To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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