Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 12:21:59 -0500 (EST) From: Chuck Robey <chuckr@glue.umd.edu> To: Lars Jonas Olsson <jonas@mcs.net> Cc: hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Re: DX4-100 and sig-11's Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970123121543.25612B-100000@maryann.eng.umd.edu> In-Reply-To: <199701231644.KAA17843@Jupiter.Mcs.Net>
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On Thu, 23 Jan 1997, Lars Jonas Olsson wrote: > I'm testing an older 486DX4-100 computer with FreeBSD. I've run85 > cycles of memtest-86 on it with no problem, but FreeBSD dies when > starting up (after npx probe). > The system has a PVI-486SP3 motherboard, Award BIOS, 3 PCI slots, SiS > 85C496 and 85X497 chipset and Intel DX4 A80486DX4100 SK051. The CPU > has a "TOUCH H9512" (CPU made before Dec. 1995) sticker on it. Any > ideas? The BIOS will let me choose write-thru or write-back for the > caches but no disable. I've tried both options. Point 1: There is NO program whatsoever, under any operating system, that does an even slightly reliable job of testing memory, so disregard the memtest results. Point 2: There IS a reliable memory test method, it involved using a hardware based memory tester. Most vendors of memory either have one or have access to one, so you have to ask them to do your testing. Point 3: Unix operating systems (as a class, not just FreeBSD) push memory much harder than any dos program, and will easily catch problems that are invisible to dos memory checkers. Point 4: Altho they _do_ catch memory problems, Unix OSs are miserable at telling you _where_ the problem is; see Point 2. The FreeBSD OS is solid, so if it's bombing, you have a hardware problem. I'm not saying it's memory, perhaps something else is set up wrong. ----------------------------+----------------------------------------------- Chuck Robey | Interests include any kind of voice or data chuckr@eng.umd.edu | communications topic, C programming, and Unix. 9120 Edmonston Ct #302 | Greenbelt, MD 20770 | I run Journey2 and picnic, both FreeBSD (301) 220-2114 | version 3.0 current -- and great FUN! ----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------
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