Hi,

On Tue, Feb 08, 2005 at 05:09:25PM +0000, Eduardo Horvath wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 08, 2005 at 09:37:36AM +0100, Gert Doering wrote:
> > to summarize and close down this thread...
> > 
> >   - my U5 with 2.0.1 kept crashing every night in "low-duty" periods,
> >     with varying kernel error messages - sometimes even with RED STATE
> >     and SIR Reset messages that pointed to hardware issues
> 
> SIR is a software initiated reset.  It's not really what I'd
> consider a hardware problem.  A number of SIR instructions are
> sprinkled in significant corners of the low-level trap handlers.
> They are usually inserted in places where a series of highly
> unlikely or impossible events have occurred and the kernel is
> unable to clean up the situation.
> 
> RED state exceptions occur when the processor runs out of trap 
> levels.  This usually means that a trap has occurred inside 
> another trap handler.

Thanks for clarifying this.  This is important to read!

I have googled for explanations of "RED STATE" and "SIR Reset" backgrounds,
and most references I could find in the web for RED STATE say "it's likely
that your CPU module or mainboard are defective" (see further up in this
thread: "I had RED STATE errors, and re-seating the CPU module cured the
problem").  For SIR Reset, I found only "System initiated reset", with 
no specific background as for what it means.

Coupled with the fact that the machine was running perfectly fine for
the longest time, and me not being aware of doing any fundamental changes, 
led to the assumption "hardware bogus".  (I didn't realize that one of the
clamav upgrades brought a change pkgsrc pth -> system pthreads, and
that this might have any significance).


Thanks again for explaining more about the backgrounds,

gert

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Gert Doering - Munich, Germany                             gert@greenie.muc.de
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