On Monday 12 February 2007, Matt Richards wrote: > I wouldn't of thought it would be the RAM not from behavior like that > but it does sound like a overheating issue, I have had computers just > power off because they get too hot.
The thing with memtest is that it does (mostly) predictable tests, which can detect consistent errors with memory chips, or somewhat random errors with memory. BUT, it doesn't help at all with detecting didgy hardware in other areas. It doesn't give you any valid tests for what happens when the machine gets hot for example. Compiling a kernel (or openoffice.org) 10 times in a loop does do that. So, I would say that you have shown that your memory chips are not likely to be faulty, but you have not yet proven that the cpu (or the rest of the machine) isn't getting hot and overloading. Jeff, if you were paying me to diagnose your problem, I'd be telling you to swap out the psu and test some more, then disassemble the cpu/heatsink combination and replace the thermal grease and test some more. If it then fails, the tests are still not conclusive so I would want to forcefully cool the machine (with an external fan etc) while putting it through some stress tests (like a looooooong compile). Unfortunately, it happens to be true that only extended periods of high load using all (or most) of the systems in a machine qualify as a decent test. alan -- Optimists say the glass is half full, Pessimists say the glass is half empty, Developers say wtf is the glass twice as big as it needs to be? Alan McKinnon alan at linuxholdings dot co dot za +27 82, double three seven, one nine three five -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
