9.0 spontaneously reboots

[Al Plant]

Matthew Seaman wrote:
> On 12/03/2012 14:07, Volodymyr Kostyrko wrote:
>> What should I blame now? Is it some programming error or should I
>> continue with testing/changing motherboard and cpu?
> 
> Instability that appears spontaneously (and especially if it persists
> across system updates) is almost always caused by hardware problems.
> So, yes, carry on swapping out components until you can isolate where
> the problem is.
> 
> Some common hardware problems which might result in the problems you've
> seen:
> 
>    * PSU going flakey.  If you have the right measuring equipment, this
>      is pretty easy to detect by looking at the output voltages -- if
>      they've drifted out of spec, or if you've got mains frequency
>      jitter leaking through then its no wonder your system crashes.
> 
>    * Similarly, if the crashing is associated with system load,
>      (particularly at startup, when things are happening like disks
>      spinning up) this can indicate a power supply fading under load.
>      That can happen due to age, or because you've been adding extra
>      hardware and haven't considered the power requirements.
> 
>    * The other reason for crashing under load is overheating.
>      Sometimes this can be cured easily by cleaning dust out of vents
>      and heat-sinks.  Check too for fans either seized or running
>      slowly.
> 
>    * You may need to clean off any old heat-sink compound and re-apply
>      a fresh layer, especially if you've taken CPU coolers off at
>      some point.
> 
>    * There's also the old capacitor problem: electrolytic capacitors
>      have a failure mode that generates some positive pressure inside
>      them.  This is detectable by the end of the capacitor being bowed
>      out, rather than slightly concave. (Generally this means a new
>      motherboard, although I've heard of people being able to solder in
>      replacements successfully.)
> 
> Other than that, try disconnecting and reconnecting peripherals like
> disks or DVDs and so forth in various combinations to test if that
> improves system stability.  One faulty component can knock the whole
> machine over.
> 
> 	Cheers,
> 
> 	Matthew
> 
Aloha,

Have seen the problems Matthew is addressing here in Hawaii. And
if your equipment is in a non climate controlled room check for 
corrosion on the board or any plugins. Clean all the cabled and 
components that can be removed. (No air-con in my systems here in Hawaii 
and humidity is around 60-70% normally so we have to clean and put 
teflon on contacts about 2 times a year.) Corrosion is worse if your on 
the ocean or brackish river.

Happy hunting.

~Al Plant - Honolulu, Hawaii -  Phone:  808-284-2740
   + http://hawaiidakine.com + http://freebsdinfo.org +
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   < email: noc at hdk5.net >
"All that's really worth doing is what we do for others."- Lewis Carrol