[Tfug] proving ram, hard drives, cdroms etc. are good

[Brian Masur]

Glen, have you tried a Gentoo livecd?  At any rate, try pressing the F-keys 
according to the menu presented at the boot of any linux CDs you've tried so 
far to get menus of options you can pass on the boot: line.  Look for 
anything related to acpi or apic.  Maybe also noscsi, just try the options 
and maybe you'll find something related to your problematic set of hardware. 
  There are MANY bootable linux CDs for download.  I think the gentoo livecd 
is one of those that hides the least from you.  There is another based on 
gentoo called system rescue cd, which is a smaller download.

RAM and its systems

http://www.memtest.org

version 1.65 is the latest version, you can download a floppy installer 
using rawrite or a bootable cd ISO that you can burn to CD.  It doesn't 
matter if you test the RAM in another computer, your problem computer could 
have a flaw in its memory controller.  Memtest also verifies that the memory 
controller and other related systems are functional.  If you're not using 
memtest, you may as well give up, now.

HARD DRIVES and its systems

Use just about any linux boot CD to run badblocks on the target hard 
drive(s).  WARNING: the following command will erase all data on a block 
device (such as a hard drive) badblocks -vw /dev/hdX WARNING: the previous 
command will erase all data on a block device (such as a hard drive).  Run 
badblocks --help for details.  Try badblocks -vn <dev> for a non-destructive 
write/read test.  This not only tests the block devices but also the 
controllers, cables, etc.

OPTICAL DRIVES

Same as hard drives above.  Use md5sum <file> on the largest file on the 
install media multiple times to verify the sum is consistent, this will 
verify the drive is not failing reads.  If you use the command "time md5sum 
/mnt/cdrom/livecd/image.squashfs" (or whatever it is on a gentoo livecd, 
it's almost 700 MB) many times, the length of time should be consistent and 
the sum should be the same on a good drive.

I hope this was helpful to you.

>From: Glen Pfeiffer <glen_ap at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: Tucson Free Unix Group <tfug at tfug.org>
>To: tfug at tfug.org
>Subject: [Tfug] Any tips for diagnosing possible hardware problems?
>Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:09:29 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Can anyone offer any assistance on how to diagnose which (if any)
>hardware component is bad? Here is my problem...
>
>I have been trying to install either Ubuntu or Debian (preferred) on a
>PIII. I am confident the media is okay because both cd's have worked
>flawlessly in several other instances, but both are failing on this one
>PC.
>
>Symptoms:
>* Ubuntu: Reaches the "mounting root file system" stage, and hangs
>forever (well, at least an hour). I can't figure out how to see
>detailed messages, so if you think that will help, can you give me a
>pointer on that? Remember, it's not booted yet, and I don't seem to
>have access to the other virtual terminals.
>
>* Debian: Starts the text based installer, allows me to choose my
>language, etc. Then it probes the hardware and hangs. Again, I don't
>know how to see detailed messages at this point either.
>
>
>I have removed most of the non-essential hardware (floppy, agp video
>card), and still have the same issue. I have also swapped out the hard
>drive as it was suspect. I have checked all the cables, and replaced
>many of them. I have tested the memory in another pc and verified that
>it is alright.
>
>At this point I am thinking either the motherboard, cpu or possibly the
>CD drive. I haven't the first clue on how to diagnose them apart from
>replacing the part and trying again (and I don't have enough spare
>parts - these are my spares). Any help?
>
>Thanks!
>Glen
>
>
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