On Fri, Jul 04, 2003 at 11:42:59AM +0200, Joel Palmius wrote:
> Although, what to do when it seems it is the system *software* that seems
> to mess up time and there seems to be no explanation as to why?
> 
> These are the explanations I've heard so far for the lagging time 
> behavior:
> 
> [...]
> 
> * It's a hardware error (no it isn't, since hwclock shows the correct 
> time)
> 
> [...]
> 
> * It's a problem with settings of IDE disks and too aggressive hdparm 
> settings, with the result that the system doesn't have the resources left 
> to call the clock interrupt often enough (nope, I have a system entirely 
> built on SCSI. This one might still be true some similar way though, but I 
> don't know how to check it)

   Heck, I had both a clock that slipped off significantly, and sound
that would occasionally 'glitch' and stutter.  Turned out both had the
same cause: I have an ASUS A7V8X motherboard, and the ASUS 'iPanel'
front panel display.  There's a setting in the BIOS that is supposed to
cause the display to cycle between its various values (it can display
fan speeds, temperatures, boot status, and the like) at regular intervals.

   Turns out that the BIOS setting turned on some interrupt that Linux
didn't know how to handle properly, and that resulted in blocking the
timer interrupt a couple of times every several seconds.

   Now, while I have no idea what motherboard and settings you're using,
the lesson here is, un-handled interrupts are a common cause of this (as
you mention above), and that Linux may not be the only source of interrupts
on your system.  Check for any BIOS setting that enables repetitive
operations as well, as that may be happening at the hardware level.

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Bryan Feir           VA3GBF|"A half-truth, like a half-brick, is more forcible
Home:[EMAIL PROTECTED]   | in an argument than a whole one...
                           | it carries further."     -- Stephen Leacock
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