[BUG] 2.4.x system Freezes

[BUG] 2.4.x system Freezes

[Ed Tomlinson]

Hi,

A couple of weeks age I reported a couple of problems.  The first two turned 
out not to be serious but the third, where the system freezes, has not 
stopped happening.  Several other people have reported similar problems...

Typically my system will die while kde2.1 is starting (about 1 time in 4) or 
shortly after I start a caching news server (newsplex), another common 
trigger is dpkg, when reading its database just before it starts up unpack 
packages.   If it gets thru these hurdles it may last up to three days - most 
of the time I am luckly to get one...  

Once it hangs its really hung.  A ups cannot trigger a shutdown, sysrq is 
dead, the num lock indicator will not toggle.  Trying to use shift, alt or 
control + shiftlock does not result in any data on a serial console, nor are 
there any unexpected messages there.   Also pinging from the box running the 
serial console gets no answers during a stall.   The software watchdog does 
not get triggered either.

I would love NOT to have to be such close friends with the reset button.  
(reiserfs has been very usefully with all the crashes...)

I have install kdb on the off chance that I can hit PAUSE fast enought to it 
to do a bt command one time it freezes.  What else can be done to debug this? 
Could this be related to the memory problems reported reciently?

TIA
Ed Tomlinson <tomlins@cam.org>

Current kernel is 2.4.2-ac7 + kdb 1.8
K6-III 400 via mp3 128M
mga400max AGP (x1) with xfree 4.02 driver
SB16 ISA, nonpnp using alsa 5.10b drivers
USR ISA modem, nonpnp
Tuplip based card connected to an small internal 100BaseT network
VIA Rhine based cards connected to a 10BaseT xDSL modem
no scsi
hda=13G hdb=4.3G (both quantum, UDMA2) hdc=CDROM hdd=tape (both ATAPI PIO)
usb optical MS mouse
My root filesystem is on reiserfs and reiserfsck tells me its fine when 
booted from a recovery partition.

On Feb 6 Ed Tomlinson wrote:
>System hangs.  This box has been quite stable.  The hangs started 
>appearing around 2.4.1 or so.  I very much doubt they are heat releated.  I 
>have had heat problems in the past an have moved the kit into a much better 
>case.  The old symptoms (ide tape problems) have gone and not returned even 
>on the hotest summer day...  Next time this happens I will try to telnet or 
>ssh into box to see if anything is active, I will also setup a UPS on the 
>box and see it that can shut it down.  Its interesting that the software 
>watchdog does not get triggered.

Re: [BUG] 2.4.x system Freezes

[kees]

Hi,

I experience simular problems with 2.2.19(pre6) on a SMP machine at work.
Random lockups, tried removing SCSI adapter, sound card, replaced network
card all didn't help. My last action was replacing the videocard.....
Since then I havn't had any lockups, before they came at least once a day
but mostle almost every hour :-((

Mobo MSI 394D 2 x Copmin 677 MHz, 128 MB, no O.C. S3 video card.

regards

Kees


On Thu, 1 Mar 2001, Ed Tomlinson wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> A couple of weeks age I reported a couple of problems.  The first two turned 
> out not to be serious but the third, where the system freezes, has not 
> stopped happening.  Several other people have reported similar problems...
> 
> Typically my system will die while kde2.1 is starting (about 1 time in 4) or 
> shortly after I start a caching news server (newsplex), another common 
> trigger is dpkg, when reading its database just before it starts up unpack 
> packages.   If it gets thru these hurdles it may last up to three days - most 
> of the time I am luckly to get one...  
> 
> Once it hangs its really hung.  A ups cannot trigger a shutdown, sysrq is 
> dead, the num lock indicator will not toggle.  Trying to use shift, alt or 
> control + shiftlock does not result in any data on a serial console, nor are 
> there any unexpected messages there.   Also pinging from the box running the 
> serial console gets no answers during a stall.   The software watchdog does 
> not get triggered either.
> 
> I would love NOT to have to be such close friends with the reset button.  
> (reiserfs has been very usefully with all the crashes...)
> 
> I have install kdb on the off chance that I can hit PAUSE fast enought to it 
> to do a bt command one time it freezes.  What else can be done to debug this? 
> Could this be related to the memory problems reported reciently?
> 
> TIA
> Ed Tomlinson <tomlins@cam.org>
> 
> Current kernel is 2.4.2-ac7 + kdb 1.8
> K6-III 400 via mp3 128M
> mga400max AGP (x1) with xfree 4.02 driver
> SB16 ISA, nonpnp using alsa 5.10b drivers
> USR ISA modem, nonpnp
> Tuplip based card connected to an small internal 100BaseT network
> VIA Rhine based cards connected to a 10BaseT xDSL modem
> no scsi
> hda=13G hdb=4.3G (both quantum, UDMA2) hdc=CDROM hdd=tape (both ATAPI PIO)
> usb optical MS mouse
> My root filesystem is on reiserfs and reiserfsck tells me its fine when 
> booted from a recovery partition.
> 
> On Feb 6 Ed Tomlinson wrote:
> >System hangs.  This box has been quite stable.  The hangs started 
> >appearing around 2.4.1 or so.  I very much doubt they are heat releated.  I 
> >have had heat problems in the past an have moved the kit into a much better 
> >case.  The old symptoms (ide tape problems) have gone and not returned even 
> >on the hotest summer day...  Next time this happens I will try to telnet or 
> >ssh into box to see if anything is active, I will also setup a UPS on the 
> >box and see it that can shut it down.  Its interesting that the software 
> >watchdog does not get triggered.
> -
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Re: [BUG] 2.4.x system Freezes

[Ed Tomlinson]

On Friday 02 March 2001 19:20, you wrote:
> > Should an X crash really freeze my box like a block of ice?  Would be
> > nice if linux could just detect an X crash an recover...  Is this too
> > much to ask from PC harware?
>
> X pokes hardware, so X is kind of a device driver in part. One slip and
> splat..

Yes - gather this can make life in the fast lane easier... if its all done 
perfectly.

Just wanted to confirm that the freezes _do_ happen with X3.3.6 too.  I was 
able to get into kdb from a serial console (an then lost the log - murphy can 
be a real PITA).   I figure a ps, bt and bta should be enough to point out 
the problem task?  Its there anything else I should do (sr t maybe?)?

This was with 2.4.2+ac10+kdb1.8 and x3.3.6 it froze when I returned to the 
keyboard after a pause of three hours.

TIA,
Ed

Re: [BUG] 2.4.x system Freezes

[Alan Cox]

> able to get into kdb from a serial console (an then lost the log - murphy can 
> be a real PITA).   I figure a ps, bt and bta should be enough to point out 
> the problem task?  Its there anything else I should do (sr t maybe?)?

That should give you most of the info