Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:12:15 +0100 From: Roland Smith <rsmith@xs4all.nl> To: Ralf Folkerts <ralf.folkerts@gmx.de> Cc: freebsd-amd64@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Random reboots with FreeBSD-7 STABLE Message-ID: <20090310211215.GB34271@slackbox.xs4all.nl> In-Reply-To: <49B6BA83.4030308@gmx.de> References: <49B69763.3040108@gmx.de> <20090310171842.GB28789@slackbox.xs4all.nl> <49B6BA83.4030308@gmx.de>
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--hQiwHBbRI9kgIhsi Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 08:07:47PM +0100, Ralf Folkerts wrote: > Roland Smith wrote: >=20 > Hi Roland, >=20 > thanks for your reply! >=20 > [...] > >> It *always* happens when I'm "in" X; usually while using firefox3. It= =20 > >> may not happen 7 days but then three days in a row. > >> =20 > > [...] > > Sounds like hardware trouble. > > =20 > > It could be a dying powersupply, or a loose cable. If you have a spare > > powersupply, swap it out. Or have it tested instead. Sometimes checking > > if all the cables are connected properly might help. > > =20 > Well, when the System crashed the 2nd or 3rd time I did reset all=20 > Connectors and RAM. I might try another PS, though. >=20 > However, as mentioned, the same machine runs nicely with Kubuntu=20 > 8.10/amd64. Now, I do know this is is everything but a "proof" that the= =20 > Hardware is OK; however, to me this is is kind of "indicator" that the=20 > problem might be lying "more" on the FreeBSD-side than on the=20 > Hardware-side.=20 Different operating systems sometimes stress the hardware in different ways. In my experience both FreeBSD and Linux have a way of exposing flaky hardware. And remember that correlation doesn't imply causation! > Thanks again; as mentioned I will swap PSs (have an identical one in=20 > another machine) - however, I'm afraid this won't solve the=20 > crashes/reboots :-( In my limited experience with them it seems to me that kernel programming errors are more prone to result in a kernel panic than in a straight reboot or hang. The latter are more an indication of e.g. unstable voltages or excessive temperatures. Another avenue of investigation might be to install a system monitor like mbmon(1) and have log temperatures and especially voltages to another machine or synchronously written logfile every second. So you _might_ catch it if the PSU is flaky. Then again, a flaky PSU will likely die on you in the not too distant future anyway. One thing to look out for is environmental contaminants in the PSU. I work for a company that makes carbon fiber reinforced products. We loose several PSU's (and some electric motors) each year, probably due to filaments of (conductive) carbon fiber getting into them and causing shorts. Last week my CAD workstation died with an impressive bang. Luckily the damage was limited to the PSU, and it didn't fry the motherboard.=20 Roland --=20 R.F.Smith http://www.xs4all.nl/~rsmith/ [plain text _non-HTML_ PGP/GnuPG encrypted/signed email much appreciated] pgp: 1A2B 477F 9970 BA3C 2914 B7CE 1277 EFB0 C321 A725 (KeyID: C321A725) --hQiwHBbRI9kgIhsi Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.11 (FreeBSD) iEYEARECAAYFAkm2168ACgkQEnfvsMMhpyUotACeMSAnghRI01arNCzSFEGI0Ws/ NWoAn1ppQGBfTx4x2SLIeT10DaRCJdhn =X5EF -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --hQiwHBbRI9kgIhsi--
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