General Hardware Problems

Support knowledgebase (kfr_58)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: All versions

Symptom:

One or more of the following phenomena occur:

Cause:

These strange phenomenona are most probably due to faulty or incorrectly configured hardware. The reason for this is that many motherboards apparently have timing problems. These timing problems become visible through bus errors (CPU-memory-PCI-ISA).

Even if the system is stable under DOS or Windows, for example, this does not matter in regards to the stability of the hardware and its configuration. The hardware manages to work with the slow segmented memory access of a CPU working in 16-bit realmode (under DOS, Windows). As soon as the memory is accessed in linear mode with 32-bit bursts, errors can occur. A further cause can be a badly cooled CPU or too slow or faulty (heat-sensitive) RAM modules.

The real cause is faulty hardware, not the operating system, like Linux. Linux requires more hardware stability than some other operating systems do. On the one hand, this provides increased performance. On the other hand, it can lead to the above-mentioned problems on some systems. In contrast to other operating systems, Linux assumes that the hardware works properly and is stable. If this is not the case, Linux stops working.

An operating system that still runs with faulty or potentially faulty hardware represents a severe security risk.

Remedy

There are numerous parameters and conditions that can be changed to isolate the faulty equipment.

For More Information:


See also:
o Checking system stability
o Problems caused by the BIOS option "PnP OS"
o SCSI-checklist
o Adaptec 2940 - Reset Error

Keywords: HARDWARE, APM, 2940, INCONSISTENT DATA, INEXPLICABLE, SIG11, SIGNAL11, SEGMENTATION FAULT, POWER MANAGEMENT, MKFS, MKE2FS, CRC

Categories: Frequently asked Questions , Hardware

SDB-kfr_58, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 12. Mar 1998
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 15. Oct 2002 by sdb (sdb_gen 1.40.0)