[ale] Bad Memory?

[Dow Hurst]

I am not sure about this but isn't the Duron an AMD chip that suffers
from a bug like the Athlon?  So you have to use the mem=nopentium
option?

On the RAM problems, I just read a site (was posted earlier on the list)
about failing RAM where kernel compiles are recommended for discovering
problems.  Random fails are very much stated as probably RAM chip
problems.  Replacing all the memory at once was recommended.
Dow


Danny Cox wrote:
> 
> Okay, here's a stumper:
> 
>         This weekend, I attempted to load RH 7.2 + XFS (from Cheapbytes) onto
> my wife's 1GHz Duron with 768 MB RAM.  I've already loaded this distro
> onto three other computers, a PIII, a 2X Athlon 1.2 GHz, and a 700 MHz
> Athlon, so the distribution has worked before.  Many folks on the xfs
> mailing list have used it too, so I'm confident in the distro.  I also
> tried just straight RH 7.2.  No luck.
> 
>         I found and worked around one problem: when swap space is too large,
> anaconda aborts, overflowing an integer (grr).  Making a smaller swap
> space allowed me to get around this.  However, the kernel, 2.4.9-XFS was
> still oopsing all over the place.  I finally got to a login prompt,
> though, and copied over a 2.4.18-xfs kernel from my 700 MHz Athlon.
> 
>         This kernel seemed much happier, so I copied over the source tree, and
> attempted to compile it.  Whoa!  Segmentation faults, internal compiler
> errors, and "unparsable command", followed by a LISPy looking construct,
> presumably the internal compiler code.  Hmm.  Memory problems, right?
> This is further confirmed by the fact that it would always fail in a
> different place....
> 
>         My quandry: already suspecting trouble, and having rsync die (and take
> gterm with it) during the /home backup previously on SuSE 7.1, I started
> memtest86 2.5, and let it run overnight.  It completed some 17 passes
> with zero errors....  Grr.
> 
>         So, now what?  Assume memtest86 isn't finding the errors, and start
> swapping/removing DIMMs?  I've tried adding 'mem=256M' to the boot line,
> and I still get errors, so I assume it's the "lower" memory, but that
> may or may not be DIMM slot 0, no?
> 
>         Ideas?  Other than, of course, a "boat anchor" sale ;-).
> 
>         Thanks!
> 
>         General stats:
> 
> 1GHz Duron
> 768 MB RAM (3 X 256; rated @ 133, but wouldn't POST, so back to 100)
> DFI motherboard (don't have model, but purchased within last 3 months
> from Monarch Computer) [VIA chipset (hmm)]
> Intel EtherPro 10/100
> USR/whoever they are now PCI modem
> NVidia GForce 2 GTS 64MB (no NVidia drivers, just XFree86)
> 
> --
> kernel, n.: A part of an operating system that preserves the
> medieval traditions of sorcery and black art.
> 
> Danny
> 
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-- 
__________________________________________________________
Dow Hurst                   Office: 770-499-3428
Systems Support Specialist  Fax:    770-423-6744
1000 Chastain Rd.
Chemistry Department SC428  Email:dhurst at kennesaw.edu
Kennesaw State University         Dow.Hurst at mindspring.com
Kennesaw, GA 30144
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*Computational Chemistry is fun!*
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