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Re: Pipeline Problems
Just a few observations.
If I had to guess the cause of problems I'd gues it's
KDE and whatever is related to it. Linux itself is
solid. But the windows system related software is not
near as solid and could be the source of memory leaks
and so on.
How to kill whatever might by running? It's best to simply
log off the machine and set it up so that logging off
closes down the window system and goes back to a text only
log in prompt. Logging off will kill everything you started
(including KDE) but of course leave all the system owned
processes running. Shutting down KDE and logging out will
fix any low-level "user land" memory leaks.
You might have a hardware problem. Random infrequent
hardware errors are hard to diagnose, but I guess you
know that.
--- Fraser Farrell <fraser@trilobytes.com.au> wrote:
> Tom,
>
> First a question of my own. I've finally downloaded the ~1.8 GB of
> compressed
> TASS data from crocus.physics.mcmaster.ca. From the quick look I've
> had at
> their contents, it's all text files....which are going to expand
> greatly when
> unpacked. How much room will I need for the decompressed files?
>
>
> > Later it occurred to me that the computer may have "lost" some
> memory. It
> > had been running a long time since a reboot. The computer that
> failed was
> > my "Wall-Mart" Lindows special.
>
> From the little I've read about them, Wal-Mart seems to be a huge
> discount
> variety store of some kind? If so then assume they're aggressively
> sourcing
> the cheapest possible suppliers and squeezing them. And in the
> computer world
> this can mean inadequately-tested low quality parts.
>
> Personally I would suspect faulty RAM or some other hardware problem
> rather
> than Linux. The Ultimate Boot CD (www.ultimatebootcd.com) contains
> several
> good memory and hardware testers - and unlike the computer factory,
> you have
> the option of running a hardware test for many -hours-.
>
> Also check that you haven't put a live mobile phone (or other radio
> transmitter) beside your computer or its cables. Can cause all sorts
> of
> strange errors. I see this problem a lot in offices.
>
> Recently I discovered a customer's intermittent wierd computer
> problems were
> being caused by his X-ray machine. There was a crack in the
> shielding, which
> allowed a narrow beam of X-rays to escape and "illuminate" the
> keyboard in
> the surgery! I was aware of this possibilty because of earlier
> experience in
> trying to keep lab computers running near kilotons of uranium ore.
>
> You wouldn't happen to have a blob of some exotic isotope from your
> old
> workplace, sitting on a nearby shelf? Glowing in the dark...? :-)
>
>
> > It is common for linux computers to lose track of memory?
>
> Mine don't; but thanks to prolonged neighbourhood roadworks &
> construction
> they often lose supply of electricity. Best uptime so far is a measly
> five
> months, and that's with a UPS here that can supply for ~2 hours.
> Maybe I
> haven't been able to run long enough for subtle memory leaks to have
> any
> effect?
>
> But I've got customers in places wth more reliable electricity who
> are doing
> much better than me. One of them has recently achieved 4 years of
> uninterrupted service from his Linux mailserver / internet gateway.
> And this
> is on a recycled computer.
>
> It -is- normal for Linux to fill up whatever memory is available, but
> this is
> by design, because it's faster to grab frequently-used code & data
> from
> memory instead of re-reading it from disc.
>
>
> > Along the same lines, from time to time my linux machines will fail
> to
> > respond in a Konsole window. There is a prompt but it does not see
> > keyboard entry.
>
> Personally I try to avoid the x.0 releases of any Linux because
> that's
> typically the version with the bugs. Usually because the distributor
> shovels
> in tons of New And Exciting Stuff that's still a bit wobbly. So I
> wait for
> the x.1 or x.2 releases before installing them on important
> computers.
>
> Check under KDE's Look N Feel for your windowing behaviour. In
> particular, the
> "focus policy", which controls where your active keystrokes and
> mouseclicks
> are going. Your problem might be that your "focus" is not on the
> foreground
> Konsole until you mouse-click it - meanwhile your keystrokes are
> going unseen
> to another application in the background?
>
> Incidentally Windows XP can have the same problem. But most people
> won't
> experience it because the install default is "foreground window
> always grabs
> focus".
>
>
> > Is there a good way to clear out "dead" jobs?
>
> - KDE System Guard
>
> - the "kill" or "killall" commands (do a "ps" first to find the
> job's process
> IDs)
>
> - restart KDE (after saving your work)
>
> - restart the computer :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> cheers,
>
>
> --
>
> Fraser Farrell
>
> ----------------------------------
> http://astronomy.trilobytes.com.au
> ----------------------------------
>
>
>
=====
Chris Albertson
Home: 310-376-1029 chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com
Cell: 310-990-7550
Office: 310-336-5189 Christopher.J.Albertson@aero.org
KG6OMK
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