[plug] Random crashes

[Lucas van Staden]

Lucas van Staden wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just had similar issues, also with an Ubuntu based install. Crashes 
> also seemed very random, but only when I was busy with something.
> When my machine crashed, the lights on the keyboard flashed (kernel 
> panic?), and  only a  hard reset could recover the machine.
>
> Some googling revealed  the issue was related to issues within 
> ubuntu's 2.6.24-16-generic kernel, mostly in direct relation to GPU 
> drivers.  I am running a Nvida 9600GT based card.
> The solution was to upgrade the kernel past 2.6.24-18-generic, I 
> installed 2.6.24-19-generic
>
> Possible you also running the 2.6.24-16-generic kernel? Worth an 
> upgrade before you start replacing hardware.
>
> -Lucas
>
>
Hi, (sorry if I am hi-jacking this thread, but the information presented 
here may be of some use)

Please ignore everything I had mentioned above, as fate will have it, 
just after that post I had my first crash again.

I had found that the crash occurs every time I try and checkout some 
large projects using subversion.
I can get the crash to happen now when I want it. (tested a few checkout 
attempts)
Doing a checkout in console mode only:

This allowed me to see the  kernel panic message:

ieee80211_tx_status+0x12/0x120 [mac80211] SS:ESP 0068:f7c57e80
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt

Who ha, network (wireless) related issue. Nothing close to my original 
suspect of the GPU.

Some more googling got me this bug report 
(https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-backports-modules-2.6.24/+bug/200142) 
concerning debian hardy problems with rt61 wireless drivers.

The solution (see the posts in the link above) is to either go to kernel 
2.6.25, or to use the linux-backports-modules.
I installed (via aptitude) linux-backports-modules-hardy-rt, and I also 
had to get the rt61 firmware from 
http://ralinktech.com/ralink/Home/Support/Linux.html, and unzip it to 
/lib/firmare/2.6.24-rt/

I can now do the same subversion checkout without any crashes.

Hopefully this can help someone else using the rt drivers in hardy.

Lucas



> Kai wrote:
>> Hi guys and girls,
>>
>> I was home for holidays in July, built a machine a few days before I 
>> left, got it working with Ubuntu and it looked good but maybe the 
>> power supply is a bit variable with the wattage it supplies, not sure 
>> what the problem is but it'll run fine for a sporadic amount of time, 
>> sometimes minutes other times it'll go for a week or so...then crash.
>>
>> I've checked /var/log/messages for hardware or daemons that have 
>> problems on start-up, can't see anything that looks to be causing the 
>> problem, what other log files would be a good place to look for 
>> finding hardware that's not responding so I can try to figure out 
>> where the problem is without being onsite?
>>
>> This prolly sounds like a n00b question, I've been too busy with 
>> aviation studies in the last 1.5 years, haven't had much time to 
>> actually use many of my IT skills.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Kai
>>
>