Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 16:26:15 -0600 (MDT) From: Brandon Gillespie <brandon@tombstone.sunrem.com> To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Subject: pushing a motherboard to test errors? Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960702161306.527A-100000@tombstone.sunrem.com>
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I have a system with FreeBSD 2.1-R and Windows 95. I have had no end of troubles. The computer has been back to the shop with them returning 'no detectable problems' (however, their probing software was only used in Windows 95). I suspect the i/o on the motherboard is somehow bad, and I have finally convinced them to look at it again. What I need to know is, can I somehow push the i/o (doing x reads and x writes) and detect if and how many errors occurred? Unfortunately I've not been able to repeatably recreate any error, I feel more as if my computer is simply possessed ;) Some problems I _do_ know of is reading from the floppy disk is roulette, sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt (in both Win95 and FreeBSD, although Win95 seems to have less problems). I was completely unable to ever fully read the disks for the Accelerated X server, I ended up dropping a network card into the system and transfering the disk images over the net. Another floppy problem included trying to copy a simple 128k file from one computer to mine (In Windows 95, to Windows 95). The file was copied on one computer, and put into the possessed computer. Attempts to read the file (copy) ended in a disk failure, even though he could read off the disk just fine. I formatted the disk on the possessed computer, no hard errors. We copied the file again, he could read it from his computer, I could read it from FreeBSD on a _different_ PC system, but trying to read it from this possessed computer ended in a disk error. Finally I mounted the disk (-tmsdos), cp'd the confused file onto my freebsd file system and re-copied it back onto the msdos disk, THEN the possessed computer read it (!?!). The company I bought the computer from is doing their best to place the blame on me having it configured dual boot with FreeBSD, which simply sounds like them trying to gimp out. I have swapped the drive for others and the error still occurs. I have swapped the cable, no difference. The only other conclusion I can reach is it IS the i/o. Also, I have a CDROM on the same i/o system, configured EXACTLY like everybody suggests, the hardware is all supposedly supported. I have tried it as the master on the second device and the slave on the first device (with the other disk), neither configuration works. When FreeBSD boots it simply does not find the CDROM. I have also noted odd behavior with the hard drive, but I am unsure if that is usual behaviour for the a western digital caviar 1.02 gb drive (It periodically makes a nasty loud sound like its vibrating and resonating in the case, upon bootup. It is a rare occurance, but it gives one a shaky feeling about the stability and security of the data on their system). Does this sound like an i/o problem? If so, can I hack up a program that will probe the i/o and tickle its inner workings to show actual errors? How would one do this? (BTW, reading from a floppy disk in FreeBSD usually ends with about 50-100 fd0 timeouts ending with an fdsc sector read error--the disk is usually completely readable from other computers). Help? :) -Brandon Gillespie
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