> I'm having a bit of a problem with my new server. I've built it up > with 64 bit > > 1. The clock keeps gaining big time - hours a day. No way ntp can > control that. 2. The keyboard keeps repeating keys. I've read that a > poor quality KVM can cause that, but why only on this box, and none of > the others?
Athlon 64 dual-core? There are known problems with frequency scaling - some CPU developer wasn't thinking when they didn't make the timing circuit independent of the core frequency, so when one core gets put to sleep, its timing is slower, and depending on which core the kernel time code runs, the kernel clock goes wonky big time. There are known kernel workarounds for this now. > 3. It keeps crashing for no reason. The log gets confusing > because of the clock, but, for example Shaky hardware? More likely kernel bug, can't handle jumping time? > I tried building my own kernel, only to find that a) the compile > delivered by default (gcc 4.0.1) is not the one used to compile the > kernel (suspicious), and b) building a kernel with gcc 4.0.1 creates a > solution that will not boot. That sort of thing sucks in any distro. File a bug report. > My current view is to scrap using 64 bit until it grows up, and reert > to 32 bit. Any comments? You mighn't like me saying that, but scrap that distro until it has grown up. I'm running 64bit Linux just like that. I have seldom had a better out of the box experience (though I was careful specifying the components when I put the box together): kernel - plugngo, all mobo peripherals - plugngo (still untested: ieee1394, ethernet at gigabit), nvidia 6600 PCIexpress - plugngo, updating nvidia to closed source driver - one tick in yast, another tick on the "go" button. I am told this plugngo has been the case with 64bit for some time, though there was above mentioned trouble with dual-core - this was simply an issue of badly designed new hardware which the kernel needed to adapt to. I assume current kernels have the workaround, though due to lack of dual-core I can't speak from experience. Speak up if you want a copy of SUSE 10.0. And it hasn't crashed on me yet, like, I mean, do you expect anything less from Linux? Volker -- Volker Kuhlmann is list0570 with the domain in header http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me.
