Re: Signal 7 during RH 6.1 Install - Aieeeee!

[Alan Mead <adm ipat com>]

As I understand it, sig 7 is a symptom of faulty hardware which is never 
what you want to hear because it can be *really* difficult to trouble 
shoot.  For example, I replaced a perfectly working Intel 486/66 CPU with 
one of those "overdrive" chips and it sure was faster but when the box 
started working hard it would lock up tight.

The fact that the original poster's problem is replicable is actually a 
really good sign.  I would want to know what the computer was doing when it 
locks.  You might try cooling it further (as an experiment take the case 
off and direct a house fan to blow onto the system board--but OSHA will 
tell you that this is inherently unsafe and I'm not suggesting it).  If you 
have several RAM chips, and you can replicate the problem, you can run on 
just a portion of your RAM, cycling through which chips are in, and see if 
the problem goes away.  If you have a couple similar computers (and you can 
buy 486/66 computers quite inexpensively these days), you can try swapping 
parts to see if you can isolate which component is causing the problem.

FWIW, I have installed Linux on numerous 486's and old Pentiums so it is 
far from out of the question.

-Alan

At 10:54 AM 3/9/00 , sgulick cornerstonect com wrote:
> I had the same problem on a 486/66 but never found an answer. It's still
> sitting and waiting for a cure.
>
>
> On 09-Mar-2000 Jeffery Druzba wrote:
> > Looking through all the material that comes up in google and any other
> > support area, shows that no one who has ever asked such a question as mine
> > really has much of an answer.
> >
> > The best I have found is that there is some memory or bus error.
> >
> > I simply want to know if I can use this machine or not for RH 6.1. Like I
> > said in my original message, I am willing to fix this problem in the 
> machine
> > if it is fixable but I need to know what is causing the problem.
> >
> > Does anyone have any experience with this problem or a similar machine as
> > the one I describe in my original post?
> >
> >
> >
> > ----Original Message Follows----
> > From: Kurt Brust <cltkbrust carolina rr com>
> > Reply-To: redhat-list redhat com
> > To: redhat-list redhat com
> > Subject: Re: Signal 7 during RH 6.1 Install - Aieeeee!
> > Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 10:54:34 -0500
> >
> > Thats odd... i went to
> >
> > redhat.google.com and searched on signal 7 and a whole bunch of stuff came
> > up!
> >
> > On Thu, 09 Mar 2000, Jeffery Druzba wrote:
> >  > Me = Linux Install Newbie though I am familiar with the system
> >  >
> >  > My Machine = AST Advantage! Adventure 575 - 486DX P75 / 8 MB RAM / 
> 600 MB
> > HD
> >  >
> >  > My Problem = Trying to install RH 6.1 on this thing, I encounter a 
> signal
> > 7
> >  > error at the same point in the installation every time. It tells me
> > signal 7
> >  > and kills all the stuff and lets me know that I can reboot. I've looked
> >  > around for web sites or message boards for help and have only been
> > referred
> >  > to a general page of information, through the redhat.com site, about
> >  > different signal errors and what they mean during installation. The 
> page
> > is
> >  > pretty general and seems to indicate, in short, that it could really be
> >  > ANYTHING causing this issue...memory, motherboard, etc. I, personally,
> > would
> >  > like to narrow down the cause a bit.
> >  >
> >  > The Odd Thing = I went to the library and borrowed a book with an old
> >  > version of RH in it (5.0). I have installed that on to this same 
> machine.
> > It
> >  > had to try a few times but I think it failed a few times because I'm
> > working
> >  > with only 600 MB of space. Who knows though. Anyway, I have 5.0 on 
> there
> > but
> >  > I sure would like to be able to upgrade this machine to put 6.1 on 
> there.
> > I
> >  > don't want to pay for a bunch of stuff, however, unless I am confident
> > that
> >  > RH 6.1 will even work on this machine.
> >  >
> >  > Any help? Please, I beg you!
> >  >
> >  > JD
> >  >

---
Alan D. Mead  /  Research Scientist  /  adm ipat com
Institute for Personality and Ability Testing
1801 Woodfield Dr  /  Savoy IL 61874 USA
217-352-4739 (v)  /  217-352-9674 (f)