|
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
|
Re: [PLUG] Laptop reboots -- Comcast or static or age?
|
1) I don't think your cable modem is likely to be the culprit - assuming
it's ethernet. Ethernet is ethernet is ethernet and I find it improbable
that anything the cable modem could do would cause your machine to flat-out
reboot. That is just a hardware perspective though. You might try to get it
to reboot with your cable modem attached but without the network software
loaded. If you can't get it to reboot under this condition, this experiment
could point its ugly finger at your PPPoE, or whatever driver you're using.
2) It might be age, but you could rule this out by installing another O/S,
reinstalling the current O/S, or any number of other factors and see if the
problem persists. If it's age, the thing would strap itself regardless of
O/S, location, software, etc. You might have a component in there that is
reaching it's MTTF before it's supposed to, or a worn/corroded/stressed
contact. Three years is an awfully long time for a laptop.
3) Static could very well cause reboots. Furthermore, it has nothing to do
with data on your hard drive. There are usually tens or hundreds of bit I/O
signals on a motherboard, an ESD on which could cause the processor to fail
to wiggle its watchdog timer, causing a hardware reboot without notice. Most
laptops are fairly well protected from ESD, and most I/Cs can take a 1kV or
1.5kV transient without exhibiting any anomalous behavior. But, a good stiff
ESD discharge could run upwards of 10kV if it's really dry and you have shag
carpet :) Again, changing your environmental parameters could be a good
experiment...
Spontaneous hard reboots are difficult to diagnose without opening the thing
up and sticking probes everywhere. You just have to change one thing at a
time and run repeated experiments to establish correlation between that one
variable and the desired/undesired outcome.
Does anyone know whether linux will allow a hard boot interrupt initiated by
software? Or, will it treat this interrupt as a switch to runlevel 6? It
makes sense to me that the only time the kernel will allow a hard boot
interrupt is through a SysRq, but IANAKD so I may be wrong.
E
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mitch Maltenfort" <mmalten@comcast.net>
To: <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>
Cc: <cgw5@po.cwru.edu>; "Luke Schierer" <luke@redjack.ninds.nih.gov>
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2002 9:43 PM
Subject: [PLUG] Laptop reboots -- Comcast or static or age?
>
> For the past week or so, I've had an annoying problem with my Linux
> laptop.
>
> The beast occasionally reboots. Usually this happens right at log-in, but
> now it's begun during operations in graphics mode.
>
> I figure there's three suspects, and any advice in tracking down which --
> and how to fix it! -- would be appreciated.
>
> 1) Comcast cable modem. This is my first time using this system with
> Comcast. It was fine with DirectTV DSL back in DC. Is it possible that
> somehow the Comcast cable modem is triggering the problem?
>
> 2) Sheer age. This system, with its configuration, is about three years
> old. Still, I had a good run with an older Tosh laptop and that still
> seems healthy.
>
> 3) Static shocks. Cold weather and carpeted apartment. I grasp something
> metal before sitting down to touch the computer, but still it gets jolted
> occasionally. I'm skeptical this is the case, because the problem is too
> localized. If I was screwing up my hard disk with shocks, I would expect
> more random misbehavior.
>
> So what could I configure, reconfigure, reinstall, etc. to square this
> away?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Mitch
>
>
> Known oxymorons: entertainment news, youth culture, focus group.
> Probationary: intellectual courage, organized religion, deferred
gratification.
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________________
> Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org
> Announcements - http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> General Discussion -- http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug
_________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion -- http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug
|
|