[ale] Losing stability

[Matt Kubilus]

memtest86 is only really useful to prove that the memory is bad, not
that the memory is good.

-M

On 10/30/06, J. D. Pearson <jpearson at turbocorp.com> wrote:
>
>
> Charles Shapiro wrote:
> > My main box at home is having Serious Troubles.  On startup it often
> > will hang (no screen output) with the CD light lit steady until I
> > press & hold the "off" switch to retry. Other behaviors include
> > appearing to start up and then emitting random beeps through the
> > speaker with no screen output, or giving random core dumps on various
> > scripts in /etc/init.d.  I've also experienced  spontaneous reboots
> > and random hangs/program failures in X windows.  The "memory speed"
> > number given in the initial startup screen sometimes changes from
> > boot-up to boot-up as well.  The system is a home-brew about 4 years
> > old and lightly used; leadtek WinFast K-series MB, athlon chip, cheap
> > simple video card, single 512 MB DRAM stick. Processor temperatures
> > appear to be within acceptable ranges, at least according to the
> > "syshealth" part of the BIOS. I've enabled the full memory test in the
> > POST, but so far that hasn't picked up any problems.
> >
> > I'm thinking that the problem is either memory or motherboard. I've
> > removed, air-blasted, and re-seated the memory stick in a new slot
> > without change in behavior. At  this point I'm considering getting
> > some new memory and, if that doesn't change the behavior, replacing
> > the motherboard.
> >
> > Does this seem reasonable? The clock appears steady, so I'm assuming
> > the BIOS battery is OK, but perhaps that's a factor?
> >
> > -- CHS
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Ale at ale.org
> > http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> I agree with the other folks that you might try the diagnostic from
> memtest.org. The beep problems are troubling if it wasn't
> an intelligently generated code such as memory or cpu-overheat. On
> hardware that old be sure to check for bad capacitors.
> You can tell they are bad if the tops are bulging and/or there is brown
> electrolyte fluid coming out. Reboots and problems
> that appear memory-like are a classic symptom of bad caps.
>
> Check this website for tips on identifying if your caps are bad.
> http://www.badcaps.net/ident/
>
> Best regards,
>
> J. D.
>
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> Ale at ale.org
> http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>


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