Re: Erratic Crashes at Boot (Was Power Supply Cause of Crashes? )

From: W. Watson (wolf_tracks_at_invalid.inv)
Date: 03/20/05 

Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 15:12:58 GMT

Floyd L. Davidson wrote:

> "W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.inv> wrote:
>
>>Floyd L. Davidson wrote:
>>
...
> The best course is probably to boot off a CD, save your data
> files from the hard disk, and then re-install.
>
> How to save your files depends on what you have. If you write
> them all to some given partition, and then *do not* do anything
> to that partition during the installation process, you'll have
> them. The problem though is that while a person very familiar
> with Linux might well be able to pull that off without error,
> your chances are not as good. So I'd suggest finding a way to
> write them off to some storage that is not at risk while you
> re-install. A network connection to another host is one obvious
> way, but you'll have to work that out.
Good idea. I can probably mount my zip drive and save the important data to it.
>
>
>>The trail is this. I'm an end user of an application that
>
>
>>works, and generally how Linux works. Debugging this problem is
...
> Well, one way to look at this is as an opportunity to learn a
> bit about how it all works! Save whatever data you can, get
> a book on Linux, and don't just simply re-install it... *play*
> with it for awhile! Install it different ways, try anything
> you've ever wanted to but where afraid to crash the system.
I've had a little too much practice with what I've got. :-)
>
> And above all, practice at emergency proceedures. Figure out
> how to login single user, and see what you can do going back and
> forth between multi-usr and single-user.
BTW, I have another Linux box running nearly the identical motherboard, and
software. It uses an ABIT KDA-7 (I think that's pretty close to it), AMD 2100MHz
XP CPU. It runs the same RHL 9 software, and I've created a working rt linux
kernel that is virtually the same as the one on the operational machine. The op
machine is a little ahead of it on the rt side, since I installed modules on it
to allow me to mount my zip drive and a floppy. It also has chrony.

Where I got off the beaten trail on the op machine is when I tried to push
chrony harder. The rtc clock on the op machine wasn't even close to keeping good
time. My rt application needs reliable time, if not accurate. Maybe falling
behind 60 sec per day. Chrony helped, but would be even better if it had access
to the rtc. I tried configuring for the enhanced rtc, and the kernel build
started to go awry. I was in the process of tracking down the problem after a rt
kernel recompile, when my little hardware hiccup occurred during a reboot to get
to regular linux.

Nevertheless, I agree that re-installing Linux and rebuilding the rt kernel is
the way out of this. I'd rather be working with the application, including
adding new features.
>
> Maybe even do that while you have this old system still on it
> (but after you've backed up your data files) and learn about
> booting to single user or backing off to single user. Read up
> on runlevels, how the /init/ program works, and what is in
> your _/etc/inittab_ file.
>
>
>>There's one thing I really know how to do. I can wipe out that
>>primary disk and reinstall RHL 9 and begin again as though none
>>of this happened. Perhaps the only reason I haven't done that
>>yet is that I find the erratic powering down of the machine
>>puzzling. If I can figure out why that happens, I'll be better
>>off.
>
>
> It appears that some configuration files have been corrupted.
> You might, with a lot of effort, be able to fix every one of
> them, but even for someone who knows what they are doing that is
> just drudgery and not easy. Reinstalling is both easier and
> safer. Just make sure your data files are safely backed up.
Yep.
>
>
>>I think the crux of the matter is to discover why the erratic
>>shutdown.
>
>
> I'm not sure, but given what you've said it now has something
> again corrupted in the filesystem, and the automatic fsck run at
> boot up is not fixing it (it is run in a way that only
> relatively safe changes are made, so anything serious requires
> manual intervention).
I still find it odd that Knoppix gives the fsck thumbs up, but no the RHL 9
fsck. Well, just a matter of file corruption in the boot that Knoppix might not
have to deal with.
>
>
>>Maybe a smart thing to do regarding heat is just to bring up the
>>box with Knoppix and wait a few hours, bring it down, and look
>>at BIOS to see what temps it's running at? I did leave the
>>machine on in this mode yesterday for 4 hours without anything
>>falling apart.
>
>
> I'd say 4 hours is long enough to know that it isn't something
> that happens every time. Of course if you didn't do much with
> it, it wouldn't heat up much anyway.
I suppose I could find some application in Knoppix to push the CPU and various
devices for a few hours and see what happens to the temp.
>
> I'd save the data files, and re-install.
>
Well, much later this afternoon I'll re-install.

What do you do up in Barrow? I guess the Iditarod is still going on. I've been
trying to think of ways to get back up to Alaska to watch the aurora. Last fall
I gave some serious consideration to try some kayaking in S. Alaska. I think
there's a good canoe/kayak water trail in the Tongass. 

-- 
              Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
                  (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
                   Obz Site:  39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
              "I know that defies the law of gravity, but, you see, I never
               studied the law of gravity." -- Bugs Bunny
                         Web Page: <home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews>

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