Tim:
> > Could be a specific part of memory, though I'd have thought memtest
> > would have shown up that kind of problem.
Felix Miata:
> One pass is /often/ not definitive, hence my 2026-01-04 18:08 -0500
> suggestion to
> run the test overnight.
And if it's a temperature sensitive fault, a prolonged test during some
time it's warm, too. And I would be inclined to *carefully* pull out
the RAM and reinsert it, first, then do a prolonged test.
"Careful" as in don't physically stress things, nor zap them with
static charges.
------ ------ ------
Regarding faults that appear long after building computers for no
apparently reason, they're often due to static electricity problems
during builds. One of the things we were taught while learning
electronics services several decades ago was that electronic parts do
break down, sometimes for no apparent reason (chemical degradation,
factory imperfections, etc, at a microscopic level), and that static
shock often doesn't instantly kill things but damages things in a way
that may take years off its normal lifespan. When it does fail, you
make no association with the fault and bad handling practices long ago.
So you should always take anti-static precautions when handling parts
and boards.
Generally, you don't need to go to the extremes that you'd see in an
electronics engineering workshop (antistatic mats, wriststraps, etc),
but things like leaving the antistatic wrappers on the boards until it
comes time to do the install. Put everything on one table together,
let them settle to the same charge. Then unwrap them. Do all your
work in one go, leaning against the table so you're always at the same
charge level.
Static draining wriststraps are actually a hazard to people not used to
wearing them. They walk off while still attached, and drag things off
tables.
Don't walk across the carpet (charging things up) then suddenly
discharge when you touch something metal. Discharge slowly (such as
leaning against your wooden table, or sitting in your chair.
Things like walking across the room then plugging a USB stick of
SD card into a computer are one of those things that lead to static
zapping computers. Since I sometimes work with things that you might
call archival in nature (needing to preserve them for a long time), and
maybe the only copy of someone's important files, I'm used to the idea
of a slow discharge into the furniture, then putting my hand on the PC
case, before plugging such things into the PC, as a matter of taking
care not to zap things.
Also, keep your fingers off the edge connectors of all boards (and RAM
sticks *are* circuit boards), including memory cards. Apart from being
a vulnerable spot to zap, the muck from your fingers contaminates them.
--
uname -rsvp
Linux 3.10.0-1160.119.1.el7.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue Jun 4 14:43:51 UTC 2024 x86_64
(yes, this is the output from uname for this PC when I posted)
Boilerplate: All unexpected mail to my mailbox is automatically deleted.
I will only get to see the messages that are posted to the mailing list.
--
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