on Mon, Jun 18, 2001 at 09:06:35AM +0900, Olaf Meeuwissen (olaf@epkowa.co.jp) wrote: > "Karsten M. Self" <kmself@ix.netcom.com> writes: > > > on Fri, Jun 15, 2001 at 04:51:35PM +0900, Olaf Meeuwissen (olaf@epkowa.co.jp) wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > > > I'm running mostly testing with some unstable under linux 2.2.19 > > > (hand rolled, of course) on an IBM ThinkPad i1476 (Type 2611). > > > Since a few weeks, my machine completely locks up at unpredictable > > > moments. The screen is no longer updated, I can't switch to a > > > virtual terminal, even the three finger salute doesn't do a thing. > > > Pinging from another machine results in 100% lost packets but the > > > PCMCIA network card keeps signalling traffic. Just about the only > > > thing that keeps on going is CD audio. <...> > > > I've checked the logs but apart from occasional blocks of nulls just > > > before a lock up, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. Note, > > > those null blocks only appear before _some_ lock ups, not all. > > > > Look for power-change events under apmd. > > I doubt that has anything to do with it because the machine is on AC > 99% of the time. [Goes checking the logs now ...] No correlation > between power change events and crash times. There may or may not be a correlation. The question is whether or not you're seeing power change events, particularly numerous or unexplained ones. In my case, a flaky onboard power port is leading to frequent changes. The detachable base/docking unit with my laptop works better, it's what I'm using at the moment. > > > Because I haven't experienced any lock up when using the console, I'm > > > wondering if my graphics card (probed as Neomagic NM2200 according to > > > XFree86 log, NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV according to hardware spec) has > > > gone bad. Are there any tools a la memtest to test my graphics card? > > > > Possible, but the card's pretty well supported in recent XF86 v.3 and > > v.4 drivers. > > > > It's not clear how long you're leaving your system in console mode to > > establish whether or not this is a problem. Might make a practice of > > doing this on long breaks (lunch, overnight), and seeing what the > > results are. > > Sorry, should have mentioned that; somewhere around 5, 6 hours. Have > only done that once though. Could try leaving it in console mode > overnight. I'd try that for a few days, or some perioid commensurate with the frequency with which you're having system lockups. If you can go for a period of 2-3 times the typical interval between graphic screen lockups, you might consider the issue to be related to your graphics card. <...> > > I had similar problems associated with apmd and Speedstep (aka > > Geyserville) on my TuxTops Amethyst 20U, exacerbated by a flaky > > onboard power port (it breaks circuit when jiggled, resulting in APM > > mode changes). In system BIOS, I disabled speedstep functionality > > -- my CPU is always running in full-speed mode (600 MHz), resulting > > in shorter battery life, but longer uptime ;-). I've had no > > problems since changing this setting about two months ago. > > I believe I've disabled BIOS power savings settings but will double > check at the next crash, er, reboot. I believe the Speedstep settings are somewhat seperated from other energy saving settings, though I may be wrong on this, and results will vary by BIOS. -- Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? There is no K5 cabal http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/ http://www.kuro5hin.org Are these opinions my employer's? Hah! I don't believe them myself!
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