1. First I got some error messages about my syntax with reference to slapd.conf line suffix. This is probably quite correct although I don't particularly understand why (the error might well be in my schema extensions). I turned off schemachecking.
You probably want to run with schemachecking on. You could reset this and, assuming it wasn't something you fixed during (2), post your slapd.conf and the results of "slaptest -d conf" and we might point out a few ideas here.
3. When everything was fixed I tried to run slapd which exited immediately with segfault. I have seen the combination back-perl and segfault several times in my search (on the internet) for the bug, however I'm not sure which of these cases that apply. It seems that some understanding as to what does this exists but that no patch has been made.
There are only a couple back-perl ITSs that aren't closed, so whatever you found on your search likely isn't on track to be patched. Please create a symbolic back trace per http://www.openldap.org/faq/data/cache/59.html and file a report at www.openldap.org/its. You might want to clean up your config file here on the list first.
What is the status of this. Is there a fix for this problem?
The mailing list is for discussion only, fixes are only instigated through the ITS system.