[plug] K-word

[Craig Ringer]

> I have a S3 Virge DX and have only used that since i started linuc this 
> feb. could that explain why some programs just keep crashing and 
> sometimes even system programs???
System programs as in, say, apache, cron? Things not using the X server?
It can't explain it if those crash. If they do, look at your system logs 
and see if you can find out why they die. I would not be suprised to see 
they were crashing out with Signal 11 and Signal 4 errors. If so it is 
very likely that your RAM, CPU, or L2 cache is bad, though sometimes 
these errors can be cause by bad power, bad power supply, or system 
overheating.

Try "grep -i 'signal 11' /var/log/{messages,syslog}" and see what 
happens. Also grep for signal 4 and "sig11"

> or could this be a memory problem.
Yes, see above.

> I 
> had read that linux crashes are rare but i hhave had some system resets. 
> Any ideas as what i shoudl do???
read
http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/
for starters, esp if you see anything like signal 11 when looking 
through your logs in /var/log/messages and /var/log/syslog

> i.e. change drivers, new card. I have some older 1mb S3 cards but don't 
> want to use them because of low mem and that they are realy old.
Before worrying about your video card, get back to me with more info on
what you mean by "system" programs, and I can tell you if their failure
could possibly be video-related.

-- 
Craig Ringer                                IT Manager, POST Newspapers
http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/
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