On Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:24:40 +0000 (GMT), John Bradford <john@grabjohn.com>
wrote:
>> > Since you have eliminated a lot of the hardware, I would check whether
>> > the PSU is working correctly, if necessary by swapping in a spare one
>> > for a day or two.
>> > > The easiest way to exercise the machine is probably to do kernel
>> > compiles in a loop. Memtest will exercise the memory, but not
>> > particularly exercise the CPU.
>>
>> Thanks for replying, John.
>
> No problem.
>
>> I'm a linux newbie and get heart attacks when someone suggests
>> compiling anything, *especially* messing around with the kernel.
>
> I didn't actually mean compile a new kernel to use, just goint through
> the compile stresses the CPU, cache, and RAM quite extensively.
>
> Programs to do burn-in testing tend to do things in a synthetic
> pattern, where as a kernel compile stresses the machine with a
> real-life workload.
>
>> Thus far, I've only installed RPMs though the mandrake gui - though
>> I'm starting to feel like I could get brave and tackle my first
>> tarball configure/make/install soon.
>> Hope I'm not making you sick here... :-(
>
> No problems. Bear in mind, though, that LKML is primarily a kernel
> developers mailing list - in general nobody will mind these sorts of
> questions, and infact they can be very useful in tracking down obscure
> bugs that only occur on certain hardware, but if other developers are
> busy, you might find your post is ignored. Don't take it personally,
> this list typically gets 200 posts a day, and in general, people skim
> through it for subjects that are most relevant to where their skills
> lie.
>
>> Hope you won't mind bearing with some newbie questions;
>>
>> For the PSU, I don't have a spare one available, nor any other
>> computer parts.
>
> OK, that's a pity, because swapping it out is the easiest way to
> elimiate that as a problem, but never mind.
>
>> I received another reply to my post from Denis Vlasenko who
>> suggested, among other things, trying a program called cpuburn. To
>> my delight, I found it was available in RPM format in mandrake
>> contribs. It's running right now as I write this, and has been
>> about for about 50 minutes so far - with no crashes yet. According
>> to the README included with the package, "If sub-spec, your system
>> may lock up after 2-10 minutes", but I'll keep running it some more
>> and try with different options for a more solid result.
>
> Hmmm, to be honest, like I mentioned above, some of these burn-in
> programs can be a bit synthetic, and not trigger something that a real
> workload will trigger within minutes.
>
>> The readme also mentions that it stresses more than just the cpu,
>> but also the mobo, cooling system, and PSU.
>
> Err, well all programs do that to a degree ;-).
>
>> Excerpt: "The goal has been to maximize heat production from the
>> CPU, putting stress on the CPU itself, cooling system, motherboard
>> (especially voltage regulators) and power supply (likely cause of
>> burnBX/MMX errors)."
>
> I would be skeptical of claims like that unless they reference a
> specific CPU - different chipsets handle things differently - what
> stresses a 386 might not particularly stress a 486. Here again, we're
> talking synthetic loads. Having said that, Denis Vlasenko is well
> respected on this mailing list, so it might be a particularly good
> utility for burn-in testing, I just don't have personal experience of
> it.
>
>> dumb newbie question #1: I'm replying to your email personally.
>> Since I'm not suscribed to lkml, would it be possible (or advisable)
>> to reply to your message but have it posted on lkml?
>
> The normal protocol is to always CC LKML in on your replies, unless
> you're going off topic.
>
>> Example; if I just sent a new message to lkml with the subject line
>> "Re: syslog full of kernel BUGS, frequent intermittent instability"
>> would that have the same effect as replying to your message from
>> lkml? (I'm using the sylpheed-claws mail client if that make any
>> difference).
>
> No, most people use threaded mailreaders, and you don't want to break
> the thread. The subject line is not really important, but if you
> change it, most people put something like:
>
> Underrated PSUs (was: syslog full of kernel BUGS)
>
> and it's an unofficial standard to put a one word 'sub-subject' in
> square brackets, E.G. [PATCH], or [BUG].
>
> I use ELM, and just use reply, then manually add anybody and the list
> in to the CC list as necessary.
>
> Do not worry about CCing people in who you know are subscribed - if
> you want a developer's attention, CC them. Most of us delete list
> mail unread if we're too busy to read it.
>
>> dumb question #2: If I eventually have no choice but to try a
>> different kernel, would it be possible to install one as easily as
>> installing any old RPM - and if so would it be just as easy to
>> restore my system after "trying out" the new kernel. Wouldn't
>> changing the kernel break some of the specific settings mandrake set
>> for my system (e.g. my USB/DSL modem)? I don't want to mess up what
>> I already have - don't want to reinstall from scratch if I break
>> everything - and I don't feel comfortable enough to replace
>> something as critical to my system as the kernel with all of the
>> arcane options and nuances that I don't have a clue about.
>
> I am not the best person to ask distro-specific questions like this,
> as I don't follow any particular distribution, but just install
> everything from source, but with some distributions, it *is* very easy
> to mess up that particular distribution's own way of doing things, by
> trying to install something from source. In that respect, you would
> be best off asking another Mandrake user for guidance, rather than a
> general Linux person.
>
>> Sorry for the dumb questions, John,
>
> No problem.
>
>> it's frustrating to be a clueless newbie - seems like you have to
>> read hours/days/weeks of endless how-to's and man pages just to get
>> the simplest little things done. I'm slowly learning, but it's
>> verrrry slooow progress. :-(
>
> If you've got time, skim through this mailing list's archives - there
> is a lot of info burried amoungst flamewars, arguments, and
> occasionally development work...
>
> John.
>
>
>
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