Stability on Alpha architecture

aldi_rulez · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 10:38 pm Post subject: Stability on Alpha architecture

I'm a regular follower of all that's said about alpha machines because I try to run such a machine using Gentoo.

The machine worked fine under Dec Unix for ages until it suffered a headcrash on it's system disk two weeks ago. At that time I desperatly needed a substitute server since one of our linux-file servers had to be taken offline to be repaired. So I decided to move the server's harddisks to the alpha and give Gentoo a try.

The well documented install process using the current boot disc went fine - I had Gentoo running within a matter of hours.

Problems started when I tried to update this machine. emerge rsync - no problem! emerge world - well the update of the glibc to version 2.3.1 didn't succeed. All I ever got was a lot of annoying "CIA machine check(vector 670)" errors which were followed by a total freeze.

Today I tried to emerge proftpd - the CIA were checking my machine again!

Another annoying problem is the dreaded "Ayeee.. killing interrupt handler" message (followed by freeze) which I haven't seen for ages on an i386.

My machine is a Miata (433MHz, 256MB). Has anybody else experienced such stability problems on a previously sound machine?

aldi_rulez

I might want to add that the machine in question compiled mozilla without any problems.

Compiling that mouthful of a browser sounds definitly harder than compiling proftpd.

But it was proftpd where the machine backfired at me.

Hmm....

jief · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2003 6:05 pm Post subject:

you installed gentoo on alpha using the test-cd-iso?? im downloading it, where did you get the install doc you're talking about ? or is just the x86 docs?