Subj : Server crashing
To   : Ian Moote
From : Leonard Erickson
Date : Wed Nov 08 2000 03:42 pm

 -=> Quoting Ian Moote to LEONARD ERICKSON <=-

 LE> I think the message the last time was something about a page fault
 LE> error.

 IM> Page fault!? Eeewww. Well... I think that the first thing that I would
 IM> do here would be to just make sure that the memory is okay. I would do
 IM> this by running a memory diagnostic, but I don't know what you have 
 IM> available to you.

Not a lot.

 IM> Or just double-check that all the memory modules are seated properly.

Did that the last time I upgraded the RAM. And some of the crashes
happened *before* I upgraded it (which involved swapping out the pair
of 16 meg SIMMs in bank 3 for a pair of 32 meg SIMMs)

 IM> Hey -- do you have parity or ECC memory installed?

72-pin FPM parity. The system won't run with anything else. 

 IM> Other than that you'd be looking at software. And if the page fault is
 IM> on the server then it would be in the Netware end of things somewhere.

 IM> The rote reply in that case is usually "do you have the latest service
 IM> pack installed?".

It's 3.11. I grabbed the "latest pack" about 18 months ago, and now
there aren't any.

I've got to find the time to re-install the $%^^$ Seagate backup
software and backup the server so I can installed the Netware 4.2
that's been gathering dust for 6 months.

 IM> Remember, if you suspect that it's the handling of the EA's which may
 IM> be  causing the problem then you'll have to split the EA's _before_ you
 IM> do  the copy.

The problem is that the copying is being done by a batch file being run
on a Win95 box. At the same time, the OS/2 box has PMView running and
creating thumbnails of *different* files, but on the *same* NW volume.

I suspect that something about the way NW 3.11 handles long file names
and OS/2 EAs can't handle the load. 
 
 IM> Hm. Yeah, so this may not be something that's just popped up recently 
 IM> then. Yeah, I'd check that memory first, if you can, just for the sake
 IM> of eliminating it as a problem. I would think that if it were really
 IM> the  EA's that were the real problem that this error would happen just
 IM> about  every time you did the copying. The extended attributes may just
 IM> be a  symptom of the problem, or just one extra thing that pushes the
 IM> machine  just that extra little bit over the edge to make it crash.

Note that it isn't the copying *or* the creating of thumbnails. It's both
at the same time. Some sort of "interaction".

 IM> On the other hand, maybe it's your friend. [:) Some people just exude 
 IM> this "anti-technology" aura around them. Remember "Jurassic Park" when
 IM> Sam Niel came close to that monitor and it lost it's synch? Well there
 IM> are really people like that out there! [:)

Well, he suggested that himself, but the last two times he wasn't here.

 IM> If you do find out what the problem is, make sure you post it here. 
 IM> Netware seems to be very sensitive to memory problems and shortages
 IM> and  such so anything that you can contribute would certainly be
 IM> helpful, I'm  sure.

Well, I doubt it's a shortage. Not with 192 meg of RAM. :-)

Of course, once I get NW 4.2 running, I get to add a Macintosh to the
mess. Dos, Win95 (probably 98 by then), OS/2 and a Mac. With Linux
looming on the horizon. :-)

Only reason the Mac isn't involved *now* is that The drivers for the
Ethernet card don't support anything below NW 4.0.

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