[LAU] Hard lock-ups plus MOTU UltrLite Mk3

[Ken Restivo]

On Sun, May 24, 2009 at 07:31:06AM +0100, Folderol wrote:
> On Sat, 23 May 2009 20:11:45 -1000
> david <gnome at hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
> 
> > Not an overhaul, but probably a good checkup and cleaning. I run 
> > machines older than that, but make sure to regularly open the cases up 
> > and clean up guck on fans and such. And to run it with the cover off and 
> > make sure that all the fans are working.
> > 
> > I also take those little desiccant bags (that practically every piece of 
> > electronic gadgetry comes with these days) and pile them in the bottom 
> > of the case. I think that doing so has kept my systems running longer, 
> > keeps humidity down in the case.
> > 
> > Darren Landrum wrote:
> > > Overheating CPU? That's a thought.
> > > 
> > > Well, I guess my system is a year old and could use a bit of an 
> > > overhaul. Thank you very much for the help!
> > > 
> > > -- Darren
> > > 
> > > 
> > > James Cameron wrote:
> > >> On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 09:50:45PM -0400, Darren Landrum wrote:
> > >>> Well, I decided to run memtest86, and it locked up during the test.
> > >> Ah, good, that reduces the component set to something quite smaller.
> > >> The things I would consider as cause for that are:
> > >>
> > >> 1.  dust in the CPU cooling fins, (I take my systems outside and run a
> > >> vacuum cleaning in reverse, with a thin nozzle, and play the air stream
> > >> over the various parts of the heatsink),
> > >>
> > >> 2.  non-rotation or slow rotation of the cooling fans, (if the system
> > >> has a BIOS sensor display, check that it shows a reasonable rotation of
> > >> the fan, typical rotation rates are from 1000 to 3000 RPM, in my
> > >> experience, and is fixable by replacing the fan, or cleaning it)
> > >>
> > >> 3.  drying out of the thermal conducting grease between the CPU and the
> > >> heatsink, (I recently had to remove and reapply the grease on a Pentium
> > >> 4 3GHz desktop at home, symptom was CPU temperature consistently high
> > >> and random power downs),
> > >>
> > >> 4.  failing power supply, (I unplug non-essential devices temporarily,
> > >> such as hard drive, to lower the average power draw, and see if the
> > >> memtest symptom goes away ... I also check the power supply voltages
> > >> with a meter),
> > >>
> > >> 5.  corrosion or other damage to the memory DIMM socket or module, (I
> > >> wiggle the DIMMs during a memtest, with about the equivalent of up to
> > >> 200 gram force ... if the memtest result changes in a cycle with my
> > >> wiggling, I know there's damage),
> > >>
> > >> 6.  a specific memory DIMM failed, (remove it, see if memtest
> > >> completes).
> > >>
> > >> Oh, and above all remember to use anti-static procedures, and try not to
> > >> unplug or replug things inside the unit while the power is on.
> > >>
> > >> Static discharge damage is particularly annoying because it typically
> > >> happens months after the static discharge happens.  The discharge causes
> > >> damage which then takes a long time before it begins to make the
> > >> component fail.
> > >>
> > >> So "it works after I zapped it" isn't a reliable method of proving no
> > >> damage was done.
> 
> This whole problem sounds suspiciously like memory failure to me.
> 

Indeed. Replace or at least re-seat the RAM.

-ken