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Date:      Sun, 24 May 1998 10:03:01 -0500
From:      Randy DuCharme <randyd@nconnect.net>
To:        Frank Griffith <frankg@idfw.com>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Rotten old Core Dump!
Message-ID:  <356836A5.A5D7A68A@nconnect.net>
References:  <000201bd871f$95c9acc0$0200a8c0@fast1.dfw.com>

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Frank Griffith wrote:
> 
> I was running FreeBSD 2.2.6 on my Pentium 75 computer
> for the last few weeks and everything was stable. I installed
> a new Pentium 166 MgHz chip, reset the jumpers on the
> motherboard for it and off I went. FreeBSD crashed on the
> first attempt to boot and again on the second. I then booted
> from the FreeBSD 2.2.6 floppy installation disk and got it to
> at least boot. I then rebooted to the hard drive and got in.
> 
> But alas, my once very stable system is now encountering
> problems. For instance when I try to view a man page, it
> starts the formatting and the I get this message:
> 
> Formatting page, please wait...May 24 00:07:19 FreeBSD
> /kernel: pid 375 (troff), uid 0: exited on signal 11 (core dumped)
> /usr/bin/groff: troff Segmentation fault (core dumped).
> Done.
> 
> Also, when I renistall FreeBSD via FTP, it gets to the Remaking all
> Devices screen and hangs until I press Ctrl+C.
> 
> Anyone have a suggestion? I only swapped out the chip and have
> checked and rechecked the jumper setting on the main board.

Several possibilities:

1) Be absolutely sure CPU voltages are correct.  If memory serves me
correctly, MMX and non-MMX CPUs ran at different core voltages. ( I'm
not 100% certain of this, but a close examination of documentation
should prove this out.) 

2) Memory!  Your memory may not be up to the task.  When I encounter
these problems I go to CMOS and add wait states.  If I can effect a
change in erroneous behavior by slowing down memory timing I tend to be
suspicious of memory or cache ram quality.  This is not always the case
as I've seen motherboards do this too.  We'd gotten a batch of Shuttle (
yecch! ) mainboards once that ran fine at 90-100 MHz but acted strangely
above that, no matter what kind of RAM or cache we installed. 
Temporarily disabling external cache may also help point you in the
right direction.

3) Mainboard: As I said above, I've frequently found some lesser quality
mainboards to be strange at higher clock speeds.  I avoid 'budget'
components like the plague for serious computing.


4) Check, recheck, and check again the jumper settings.  Be sure you
have them correct for the CPU installed and that the mainboard does in
fact support the CPU you're trying to install.


My 2 cents worth. 
-- 
Randall D DuCharme       
Systems Engineer         Novell, Microsoft, and UNIX Networking Support
Computer Specialists                Free Your Machine....     FreeBSD 
414-253-9998   414-253-9919 (fax)      The Power To Serve!

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