[wplug] strange memory issue

[George Larson]

I have certainly 'fixed' computers before by reseating modules -- more
than once.

On Wednesday, November 4, 2009, Rick Reynolds <rick at rickandviv.net> wrote:
> Hi wpluggers,
>
> I'm more of a lurker than a really consistent member, so greetings.
> I'm seeing a somewhat strange memory issue with an older system of
> mine and I wondered if anyone on the list has any insights about it.
> The system is a Tyan Tiger MPX S2466N motherboard with 2 1600 MHz
> Athlon processors.  It has been a nice Linux server for me for years.
> I recently decided to upgrade the memory to its max of 4GB (4 x 1GB
> sticks) and use it as a vmware platform for smaller virtual servers.
> My plans are to use either ESXi or vmware server 2 on it.
>
> I've had nothing but problems with it after the memory upgrade -
> mainly segfaults of user space apps, starting with vmware server.
> After chasing the problem from a software point of view, I decided to
> check the memory with memtest86.  Problems detected all over!  After
> reporting lots of errors, memtest86 itself would halt after a few
> minutes due to an "unexpected interrupt."
>
> So I decided to test each stick separately to find the culprit(s).
> Since the original memory errors had been found within a couple of
> minutes, I only gave each stick around 5 minutes of testing before
> moving on to the next one in an effort to find the problem as quickly
> as possible.  All four sticks passed this quick test.
>
> I am now rerunning the original test with all four sticks in place and
> it has been chugging along for the past 35 minutes with no found
> issues.  Things that are different with the later tests: (1) each
> single stick test was done with the stick in the first slot; and (2)
> the four sticks in there now are almost certainly in a different order
> than they were earlier.
>
> I'll be thrilled if the memory passes memtest86's tests, but I'd
> really love to get a nice, warm-fuzzy about the state of this server
> before I start counting on it. Anyone got an explanation for why the
> memory might be behaving better now?
>
> Thanks,
> Rick Reynolds
> --
> "Hey, this is the government. You just can't expect five 9s" -- Chief
> Justice, on the Gore/Bush election's narrow margin
>
>
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