On Wed, October 3, 2007 7:01 pm, Gus Wirth wrote:
> Lan Barnes wrote:
> [snip]
>> Myth lists itself as 0.20.2, and it doesn't deserve better. Mine
>> (MythDora
>> 4) locks up if I do controls too fast (no ping, reset needed) and
>> occaisonally needs the file system repaired with an alternate
>> superblock.
>> It also does this weird thing where the frame freezes and the sound goes
>> into an Elmer Fudd loop ("lubba lubba lubba") of a repeated fragment --
>> also a reset error. And yes, I ran memtest86 overnight too. They're that
>> sort of errors[0].
>
> I've run KnoppMyth <http://mysettopbox.tv> for over two years and never
> had those sorts of errors. I've just upgraded to the latest KnoppMyth
> R5F27 which has Myth 0.20.2 and it works fine.
>
>> I suspect Myth has a lot of race conditions, and also that the different
>> distros (deb, rpm, knoppix, etc) make unjustified configuration
>> assumptions. Sometimes changing distros "just works" (but introduces a
>> different set of problems).
>
> I suspect that you are running myth on totally crap hardware because you
> are a CB and just can't bring yourself to blame the hardware. Your
> motherboard has a Via chipset which in the past I mentioned MIGHT (not
> IS) be OK to use with MythTV, especially considering the problems with
> DMA.
>
> Although my system really isn't all that much better. It is an ECS
> 755-A2 motherboard with an SIS chipset and Sempron 2600+ processor.
> Purchased as a Fry's combo special for about $80 when I realized my
> other cheap system was using a Via chipset and wouldn't work with MythTV
> because of the DMA problems.
>
>> Finally, if this is happening on boot, it sounds like the type of thing
>> a
>> typo or bad line in /etc/inittab is famous for causing.
>>
>>
>> [0] Has anyone else noticed that top always shows Myth using 180K swap?
>> I
>> doubled my RAM from 1/2 G to a full G, and that 180K is still there.
>> What's that all about?
>
> You have some other problem with your system. My box shows 512MB ram,
> 340MB used, swap isn't touched. This is while it is playing a recording.
>
> Gus
>I have no problem with any of your statements or conclusions. Your tone comes across as a little harsh, but, then, you're Gus. I'm a CB, you tend to be grumpy. Now that I've conceded that my HW was bought with a hard eye on price, let me note a couple of other things. I've been running Red Hat since 4.0 on verious POS boxes, and while I've rarely but occaisonally had HW-based problems, it was always treated by RH and the Linux community as a bug in Linux. God knows how many patches, fixes, and installation pathways were developed to work aroung bad CPUs, faulty DMA controllers and spotty chipsets. Remember in the old days (before all the probing) when a new installation had you fill out a checklist of all the garbage stuff you had so a custom kernel could be compiled? I do. So if I have this box with a VIA chipset (and I'll take your word for it that VIA is a POS), and it runs FC 4 just fine _but_ Myth on FC4 on this box has found a number of creative ways to choke and lock up, why am I not justified in saying that Myth has a way to go before it's production ready? Because taken to its logical extreme, you're saying that if Myth works fine on your machine, then my machine must be bad, which is a variation of the old developer's mantra, "it works on _my_ machine." Sorry. Myth has a way to go. -- Lan Barnes SCM Analyst Linux Guy Tcl/Tk Enthusiast Biodiesel Brewer -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
