[Techtalk] machine hanging

[kp]

Just a suggestion,
    If the cpu hangs means there is a chance that cpu is getting 
overheated.
One reson might be heatsink paste is gone. Remove the
 heatsink/processor_fan and put heatsink paste on top of cpu and mount
the fan again. Sometimes it works.

kp




R. Daneel Olivaw wrote:
> Hi there,
>
>   
>>> I would rather check Memory chips instead, there is no reason that
>>> an intense operation (scp is not that intense) or even heavy file
>>> manipulation (logrotate) would crash your machine.
>>> Instead, all the operations may use up more RAM, and failing to
>>> allocate memory for some kernel resources (like usb hotplug) may
>>> crash your system ...
>>>       
>> The memory is PC2700 CL2.5 512 M sticks. I feel silly because I don't
>> really have more info then that and I don't know what the CP and CL
>> acronyms mean. :)
>>     
>
> Don't bother, retain mainly the 'PC2700' and the '512Mb' part, the rest
> is less important, unless you're into tuning your motherboard's internal
> clocking ...
>  
>   
>> I have some 256M DDR 266 MHz CL2 ECC sticks (so 512 total) PC
>> 2100U-20221-Z.  I've just swapped them in and tried to scp something
>> off the machine (a scenario, as earlier mentioned, that will hang the
>> machine).  It still hangs.  
>>     
>
> I wonder how you managed to get the memory module working, if it really
> is 'ECC' (stands for Error Checking/Correcting Code), it usually needs
> additional motherboard capabilities. Well ...
>
>   
>> Trouble is, I don't know if I've swapped in appropriate memory for
>> this machine.  Also don't know if I can just put in one stick (I'm
>> used to Supermicro motherboards where you generally need 2 sticks at
>> a time -- standard?). 
>>     
>
> This 'may' be an issue, however, as long as you have just one lonely
> memory module, you should be ok. Actually, having two identical modules
> on a memory bank (grouping of memory modules, from the hardware's
> view), gets you enhanced performance (DDR : Double Data Rate).
>
> As long as the motherboard didn't squeak, you may assume it found out
> how to talk to the memory.
>
>   
>> The motherboard is an ASUS PC-DL 1.05
>>  http://www.ctechnet.com/hardware/Asus/PC-DL/asus_pcdl.htm
>>
>> I've gotten some info from the above site about the memory - so I
>> *think* I'm okay, but... 
>>
>> I'm going to see if I can get a knoppix live cd to work -- but in the
>> mean time, any thoughts on memory? (I'll report back about knoppix
>> soon)
>>     
>
> >From what you mention, the problem seems a bit twisted.
>
>   
>> One more thing -- top tells me I have swap space (313M), but it's not
>> used at all - is that odd?  I just rebooted and ran top. Machine hung,
>> but at least I have some output from it... 
>>     
>
> Very strange.
> First, even if 313Mb swap is an unusual value, there is nothing wrong
> about it. Swap not being used is not odd, it's good news, meaning your
> memory consumption is less than what you have in RAM (memory chips).
> But, having the machine hanging after a reboot on totally common
> operations is highly critical.
>
> This even sounds to me like an old 'CPU fan error' : the processor's
> fan doesn't cool the heatsink enough and the CPU 'freezes' when the
> temperature high watermark is reached.
>
> [...]
>
> 'top' output seems quite correct for such a machine.
>
>   
>> Thanks for your help so far - I feel like I've been set down on a
>> strange planet with this machine.  (I'm used to much newer servers, so
>> this is probably a good learning lesson for me - okay, so this isn't
>> *that* old, but still...).
>>     
>
> No problem, we're here to help ;)
>
> Now, my diagnostic would be : hardware failure.
> I'd say this machine never was stable, be it because of a motherboard
> flaw or some on-board chip not being recognized and crashing
> unexpectedly. 
> Usually, the linux kernel writes some output on the console on a
> software crash or on a hardware triggered kernel crash. That may lead
> you in some direction.
>
> You may test a live cd on it, that should quickly (especially with
> knoppix) tell you if things should be running fine or not.
> If knoppix boots and lets you play, then it's just the Debian setup
> that's outdated and you may try refreshing it so you get the latest
> kernel fixes for the drivers you need.
> If knoppix crashes also, it would confirm a hardware issue.
>
> This may not mean the hardware is 'faulty', it may just be an
> incompatibility, even if I doubt it.
>
> You may try entering the bios and reset all settings to defaults,
> sometimes there even are profiles such as 'safe', 'performance',
> 'extreme' ... 
>
> If there is data you absolutely need on the machine, unmount the hard
> drive, plug it elsewhere (there are some very nice ide/ata-to-usb
> adapters) so you may grab your data and play with other, newer,
> distros.
>
> Now, I'am afraid, unless you're in the Paris/France area, I may not be
> able to diagnose things further ;)
>
> Read you soon,
>
> R. Daneel Olivaw,
> The Human Robot Inside.
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