Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Fri, 7 Jun 1996 20:43:08 GMT
From:      James Raynard <fqueries@jraynard.demon.co.uk>
To:        root@localhost.nconnect.net
Cc:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Segmentation Fault ??
Message-ID:  <199606072043.UAA13732@jraynard.demon.co.uk>
In-Reply-To: <XFMail.960607002754.root@localhost> (message from Randy DuCharme on Fri, 7 Jun 1996 00:27:54 GMT)

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
>      I keep getting the message "Segmentation fault (core dumped)" message and apps keep crashing in X.  What does this mean and what do I do about it?  I get it repeatedly using the Chimera web browser, and the xdtm s
> hell.

This means that the program tried to access memory that is not
available to it and the kernel killed it. (Unlike certain other
operating systems, Unix will not allow programs to misbehave in this
way).

It can be due to an error in the program - but this is unlikely if
it's a program that's widely used.

A more likely cause is a hardware problem such as a bad SIMM, or
perhaps a faulty motherboard.

The other possibility is an error in the operating system - but this
is *extremely* unlikely unless you're running -current (the
development version).

The first thing I would do is get hold of a couple of spare SIMMs and
try swapping them around. Also check you have the right speed SIMMs
for the CPU, the bus speed is correctly set, etc. (it has been known
for vendors to take short-cuts in these areas). Another thing you can
try is a less aggressive cache setting in the BIOS - but write the
current settings down on a piece of paper first!

Hope this helps.

-- 
James Raynard, Edinburgh, Scotland | http://freefall.freebsd.org/~jraynard/
james@jraynard.demon.co.uk         | jraynard@freebsd.org




Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199606072043.UAA13732>