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bye bye boot sector
by BenEBoy 27 Oct '04

27 Oct '04

I turned my computer on today but it stopped whilst trying to load lilo (black screen with 'LI' at the top left. It usually says 'LILO 2.whatever). After discovering the recovery disk section of the debian install CD I managed to get everything working again, but was wondering if someone might be able to suggest why it happened (and what I should do now)? I'm running a reasonably up to date sarge (apt-get upgraded last week) and haven't booted into windows for ages so I don't think it can be anything to do with that). The harddrive is about 8 months old and it isn't making any funny noises). Any suggestions please? cheers, BenE

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Hard disk error
by Richard Lewis 26 Oct '04

26 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, I've just added a GB of RAM to my server. The BIOS found it alright but something strange happened when I booted up (its Debian sarge): it took about 2 or 3 minutes to start the syslogd (no disk activity or anything). Then once it had booted things got even worse! $ free -m indicates that the new RAM is working but it seems that hdb2 (which is my /var mount point) will not mount! In my /etc/fstab I have /dev/hda2 none swap sw 0 0 /dev/hda1 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-re 0 1 /deb/hdb1 /home ext3 defaults 0 2 /deb/hdb2 /var ext3 defaults 0 2 and when I issue # mount /dev/hdb2 I get: hdb: dma_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error } hdb: dma_intr: error=0x40 { UncorrectableError }, LBAsect=39067264, sector=39067264 end_request: I/O error, dev hdb, sector 39067264 JBD: IO error reading journal superblock EXT3-fs: error loading journal. mount: wring fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hdb2, or too many mounted file systems and I can't seem to be able to do anything about because the machine hasn't connecting to the network (maybe it needs something from /var...) so I can't install hdparm. (It can't do anything which requires stuff from /var like run its web server, database server, apt, dhcp-client, ...) Any ideas whats wrong with it? Cheers, Richard -- Richard Lewis richardlewis(a)fastmail.co.uk

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FTGH: Various computing bits.
by Jonathan McDowell 26 Oct '04

26 Oct '04

I don't know if any of this is of interest to people, but if it is please take it off my hands! I'll keep a list with fuller details of the bit and what's gone at: http://the.earth.li/~noodles/junk.html Apple Mac LC475 Intel PII-233 + LX motherboard Full tower AT case Intel Celeron 266 Slot 1 Athlon 800Mhz + mobo 32 port 10Mb/s hub HP Colorado T3000 tape drive + FC-20 controller card PC Chips M747 AT style Slot 1 mobo J. -- If it was easy, the hardware people would take care of it.

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The Decline of Civilisation
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 25 Oct '04

25 Oct '04

Hi Folks, By chance I found myself listening, on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon, to the folllowing gem: Microsoft, Powerpoint and the Decline of Civilisation As the BBC Radio 4 web site puts it: Over 30 million PowerPoint presentations are delivered every day. DJ Taylor asks, "Why?" Well worth listening to. Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/rams/mon1545.ram before this week is out. (15 minutes). Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 19-Oct-04 Time: 11:32:12 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 25 Oct '04

25 Oct '04

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. The meeting takes place on the irc server irc.alug.org.uk in the #alug channel. Most IRC clients should allow you to get there with the commands "/server irc.alug.org.uk" and "/join #alug". Popular IRC clients include tkirc, bitchx, xchat and EPIC on Unix, and Mirc under windows. Here are some links to help you get started with irc. Unix http://www.xchat.org/ http://freshmeat.net/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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DSL anyone?
by Ricky Bruce 21 Oct '04

21 Oct '04

I know this topic comes up every few months but what dsl providers would you lot recommend. Id like to find a nice balance between cost (£25 or so a month) freebies, (a router would be a lovely although somewhat unrealistic target) and reasonable speeds. Also i might be moving from Yarmouth to N'arch in a couple of months so the ability to switch to a new property without incurring any penalties or charges would be great. And of course tech support who understood that Linux isnt some kind of Windows program but an OS in its own right. Or even tech support that understood what an OS was :) Cheers in anticipation Rick ps are all ALUGS list messages logged somewhere? LUGs i have been a part of in the past have kept a searchable archive of messages, which has been very useful in looking up past messages for info. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with cool new emoticons http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo

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LAST DAY ON EBAY: Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Linux PDA
by Jamie French 18 Oct '04

18 Oct '04

Hi Guys, Checkout my auction on EBay for my Zaurus SL-5500 with many accessories. It is on its last day, so get in quick :) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5725424664&ssPage… Good luck. Jamie ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 18 Oct '04

18 Oct '04

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. The meeting takes place on the irc server irc.alug.org.uk in the #alug channel. Most IRC clients should allow you to get there with the commands "/server irc.alug.org.uk" and "/join #alug". Popular IRC clients include tkirc, bitchx, xchat and EPIC on Unix, and Mirc under windows. Here are some links to help you get started with irc. Unix http://www.xchat.org/ http://freshmeat.net/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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Re: querying RAM
by Richard Lewis 16 Oct '04

16 Oct '04

Hello ALUG, A couple of days ago I asked about checking out RAM info on a running machine and was pointed to the dmidecode program. I know its a little OT but.... I've been able to work that new modules should be: max module size: 512MB; voltage: 3.3V; single-bit ECC error correction. But I wonder if anyone knows if its possible, given the information below, to work out what size (in pins) and speed (PCnnn) will be compatible? Cheers, Richard ================================================== Handle 0x0007 DMI type 5, 24 bytes. Memory Controller Information Error Detecting Method: 32-bit ECC Error Correcting Capabilities: Single-bit Error Correcting Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave Current Interleave: One-way Interleave Maximum Memory Module Size: 512 MB Maximum Total Memory Size: 2048 MB Supported Speeds: Other 50 ns Supported Memory Types: Other ECC Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V Associated Memory Slots: 4 0x0008 0x0009 0x000A 0x000B Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities: Single-bit Error Correcting Handle 0x0008 DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J7J1 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x0009 DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J7J2 Bank Connections: 0 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: 128 MB (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000A DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J8J1 Bank Connections: 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000B DMI type 6, 12 bytes. Memory Module Information Socket Designation: J8J2 Bank Connections: 0 Current Speed: Unknown Type: Other Installed Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Enabled Size: Not Installed (Single-bank Connection) Error Status: OK Handle 0x000C DMI type 9, 13 bytes. System Slot Information Designation: J4E1 Type: 32-bit PCI Current Usage: In Use Length: Long ID: 1 Characteristics: 3.3 V is provided PME signal is supported Handle 0x002F DMI type 18, 23 bytes. 32-bit Memory Error Information Type: Unknown Granularity: Unknown Operation: Unknown Vendor Syndrome: Unknown Memory Array Address: Unknown Device Address: Unknown Resolution: Unknown Handle 0x0030 DMI type 16, 15 bytes. Physical Memory Array Location: System Board Or Motherboard Use: System Memory Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC Maximum Capacity: 2 GB Error Information Handle: 0x0031 Number Of Devices: 4 Handle 0x0031 DMI type 19, 15 bytes. Memory Array Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x0000FFFFFFF Range Size: 256 MB Physical Array Handle: 0x0030 Partition Width: 0 Handle 0x0032 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: 16 bits Data Width: 16 bits Size: 128 MB Form Factor: RIMM Set: 3 Locator: J7J1 Bank Locator: RIMM1 Type: Other Type Detail: RAMBus Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns) Handle 0x0033 DMI type 20, 19 bytes. Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x00007FFFFFF Range Size: 128 MB Physical Device Handle: 0x0032 Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0031 Partition Row Position: 1 Handle 0x0034 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: 16 bits Data Width: 16 bits Size: 128 MB Form Factor: RIMM Set: 3 Locator: J7J2 Bank Locator: RIMM2 Type: Other Type Detail: RAMBus Speed: 400 MHz (2.5 ns) Handle 0x0035 DMI type 20, 19 bytes. Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00008000000 Ending Address: 0x0000FFFFFFF Range Size: 128 MB Physical Device Handle: 0x0034 Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0031 Partition Row Position: 1 Handle 0x0036 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: Other Set: None Locator: J8J1 Bank Locator: RIMM3 Type: Other Type Detail: None Speed: Unknown Handle 0x0037 DMI type 126, 19 bytes. Inactive Handle 0x0038 DMI type 17, 23 bytes. Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0030 Error Information Handle: 0x002F Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: Other Set: None Locator: J8J2 Bank Locator: RIMM4 Type: Other Type Detail: None Speed: Unknown

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I've added a few more bits for sale/free
by Chris Green 14 Oct '04

14 Oct '04

I've added a few items to my list of bits for sale/free at:- http://www.isbd.net/computerbits.html A complete system or two may be coming soon, I've just got to decide which ones to get rid of! -- Chris Green (chris(a)areti.co.uk) "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

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