On Sat, Dec 02, 2006 at 09:38:51PM +0300, Salman Al-Rahma wrote: [..] > Stable-, so as this is just a desktop computer.. I decided an upgrade is > due.. so changed the sources in /etc/apt/sources.list from stable to > testing and did a dist-upgrade.
Same here, although on a laptop. > so I did a manual apt-get install for each of them.. until apt-get > upgrade showed that the whole system is up-to-date. Not up to date yet. > But as updating a system is an ongoing process, I kept doing apt-get > update ; apt-get upgrade every couple of days, and it worked fine. > > Until one day, I noticed that the system is very very slow. I checked > and noticed that the DMA for the harddisk is turned off and when trying > to turn it on the system stuck. I also noticed that during the boot > process the kernel gives many strange errors related to the harddisk. Same here: Linux kan 2.6.17-2-486 #1 Wed Sep 13 15:56:30 UTC 2006 i586 GNU/Linux ... Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: 2654280 sectors (1358 MB) w/128KiB Cache, CHS=2633/16/63, DMA Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda:<4>hda: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x21 Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: DMA timeout error Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest } Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: ide: failed opcode was: unknown Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: spurious 8259A interrupt: IRQ7. Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda2 hda3 hda4 Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x21 Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: DMA timeout error Dec 3 20:46:36 kan kernel: hda: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest } ... I thought my hard disk was due to cark it, now I am not so sure. > So I rebooted the system using the kernel left from Sarge and the errors > didn't show up and DMA was k and the performance was OK, although xorg > didn't work. At the moment xorg is running toooooo slow. It is ok if just 'X' is running but soon as I run an xterm, by just having "exec xterm" in my .xsession then running startx, and then type top for example, everything slows to a crawl. I am investigating. I will hunt out a 2.6.8 kernel deb. > What is wrong? and how to rectify this? I wish I could help. Can you try a 2.6.18 kernel? What errors does xorg complain about on a 2.6.8 kernel? If you could get xorg running on a 2.6.8 (or whatever kernel doesn't give the dma errors) would you be happy? You could start another thread about the xorg problem. Thanks for posting this -- there *maybe* some life left in this laptop after all. -- Chris. ====== " ... the official version cannot be abandoned because the implication of rejecting it is far too disturbing: that we are subject to a government conspiracy of `X-Files' proportions and insidiousness." Letter to the LA Times Magazine, September 18, 2005. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]