[SMAUG] Caldera Workstation 3.1

[Calvin Chu]

Ok, some progress made:

I went through and started disabling likely suspects and when gpm and apmd
are out, the system begins to function stable.  No crash for the past 30
minutes -- sort of.  

cardctl ident -- yields "No pcmcia driver in /procs/devices"

In the /etc/pcmcia/config there is indeed a

card "3Com 589 Ethernet"
 manfid 0x0101, 0x0589
 bind "3c589_cs"

When I did an lsmod, it shows a line:

pcmcia_core 36512 0 [yenta_socket]

When I checked the process list for cardmgr it is not there.  How is it
started?

Starting X11 still causes an instant crash -- that even
control-alt-backspace and control-alt-delete or control-alt-f1 can not get
it out of.

I have /etc/sysconfig/mouse configured as a ps/2 mouse.  I disabled the
trackpad from Bios and plugged in a ps/2 mouse and still no go.  

I tried running kxconfig, and interestingly, it loads up the graphical X
configuration interface, and then locks up.  It seems that the keyboard and
the trackpad and/or mouse just dissapears.  I tried plugging in an external
keyboard with no luck.  The external keyboard seems to function ok in
console mode. 

I tried running against the SVGA version, and the 4.x version with similar
results.

Some more interesting results:

I did a cat /dev/mouse

I was hoping to see some garbage result, as in my old Sun days... but as
soon as I wiggled the mouse, the system promptly froze and crashed.

If I do a cat /dev/mouse and do not move the mouse, I am able to control-c
out of it.  If I move the mouse, kablam, dead system.  (I'm not sure what
was causing the unprovoked crashing before, but I removed the gpm and apmd
at the same time, so it may be one, the other, or both).

Another interesting result:

I tried popping the pcmcia card out, and back in.  No beeping.

Another interesting result:

When the CD-ROM kernel is running.. i get a 800x600 full screen console.
When I'm booting off the hard drive, I get a 640x480 resolution console..
What's going on here?

Another interesting result:

When the system is not crashed, and I do a Fn-Screen off, the screen shuts
off.  I suspect this is a bios level function?  And if I get X going, it
locks up, Fn-Screen Off does not respond.  Nothing does except powering off.

Another interesting result:

When the kxconfig opens up, it reports that I have 

Video Card
Type: 2 the Max MAXColor S3 Trio64V+

(does this correspond to the C&T ???)

Monitor
Name: Generic - Monitor

Keyboard
Model: Generic 104-key PC, Layout: U.S. English

Pointer Device
Type: PS/, Model: Generic PS/2

Screen
Resolution: 640x480/60Hz, Color Depth 8  (machine frozen, can't change this
:( )

Any more help appreciated.  Will probably leave system overnight to see if
it has an uptime longer than a few hours.

Calvin

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Moen [mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 10:14 AM
To: smaug@svlug.org
Subject: Re: [SMAUG] Caldera Workstation 3.1


begin Calvin Chu quotation:

> I tried multiple combinations of BIOS settings, including completely
> disabling any sort of power down whatsoever, with no luck.  The model of
> Winbook is the Winbook XL 400Mhz AMD with 128MB ram, and 3 gigabyte hard
> drive, floppy, cd rom, 800x600 display, and I believe a Chips and
> Technologies 65554. 

That C&T chipset requires the "SVGA" XFree86 X server, by the way -- and
is a very standard chip, supported for ages.  (I'm mostly talking about
XFree86 3.x, and this is from memory, because I'm unfortunately pressed
for time.  If a distribution furnishes XFree86 4.x, it should simply
work.  I'm less familiar with v. 4.x.)

> I have a suspicion that the power management daemon was causing the
> lockups, but I couldn't find it in the process list.

I believe it's apmd.  

http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Laptop-HOWTO.html
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Battery-Powered.html

But I'd have been tempted to first go single-user ("init 1"), and then
start doing 'kill -9" on just about everything, to see if running just
the kernel, the init process, and my login shell results in a stable 
system.  That would be on a theory of narrowing the field of suspects.

> When starting X11, it gives a grey background with the "X" pointer in the
> center, and it stops responding to any input whatsoever.  What I mean
> by freeze immediately is no response to keys, the pointer does not
> move, nothing.  

Can you kill X11 using CtrlAltBkspc?  Can you change to a console
terminal using CtrlAltF1?

If you don't know, because you haven't tried yet, the correct answer is
"I don't know, because I haven't tried yet, but I'll give that a shot
when I have a chance, and report back."

When we're trying to do diagnosis, we don't make those suggestions (and
ask those questions) for our health, y'know.  ;->

> I ruled out hardware problems by test loading Windows and burning it in
> overnight, no issues.  

It's conceivable that you're seeing the power-management seize-up,
rather than a separate X-configuration-related one.  I believe you said
seize-up in ten minutes?

> How I verified the kernel was not seeing the PCMCIA 3C589D is when
> Caldera boots up, it indicates that no PCMCIA devices found, and no
> network card installed. 

I'd want to know what "cardctl ident" reports, post-installation.  But
it's possible, depending on the wording of the error message (which
unfortunately you did not quote) that the installation kernel's PCMCIA 
support code doesn't recognise your laptop's PCMCIA chipset at all.
In which case, the issue wouldn't be your 3C589D.

> Where can I find information on the SVLUG installfest?

On SVLUG's Web site, of course.

http://www.svlug.org/
http://linuxmafia.com/bale/   (My calendar page.)
http://linuxmafia.com/cabal/installfest/  (Worthwhile reading, related
   to a different InstallFest.)

-- 
Cheers,      "Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the
first 
Rick Moen     woman she meets, and then teams up with three complete
strangers
rick@linuxmafia.com       to kill again."  -- Rick Polito's That TV Guy
column,
              describing the movie _The Wizard of Oz_

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