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Re: Is a hot NIC normal?



Derrick 'dman' Hudson wrote:

On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 12:27:07AM -0600, Kent West wrote:
| I've been having lockups lately; definitely hardware (even Knoppix | locked up).
[...]
| When I laid my hand on the NIC, I was surprised that it was quite
| hot. Not so hot you couldn't hold your palm to it, but anything more
| sensitive than a palm might have been too uncomfortable.
| | So I'm definitely going to try replacing the NIC when I can scrounge one | up, but in the meantime, I'd like to ask, "Is such a hot temperature | normal for a NIC?"

<snip>

Since disconnecting the network "solves" your problem, I'd agree with
your assessment that the NIC is causing your lockups.  While you could
install a better NIC, it's probably a good idea to add some cooling to
the system.  Another fan (blowing out the back of the case) can't
hurt.  Note that 100BaseT uses a 120MHz clock (IIRC), which is faster
than a i486 CPU.

I finally got around to replacing my NIC, and in the several hours (overnight) since, the machine has not locked up (whereas previously it would have locked up within minutes). Apparently a NIC can indeed go bad, the heat from it was abnormal, and when such things happen can cause the machine to freeze. Now we know.

PS. I had already added extra cooling when the lock-ups started; made no difference.

--
Kent




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