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    Random Reboots, Possibly Hardware Related

    Hardware
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    • GruensFroeschliG
      GruensFroeschli
      last edited by

      Had a similar issue with a power supply unit that couldnt deliver the necessary current on the 12V line.
      do you know http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ ?
      Maybe you could do a burnin test with it and see if it happens also when under different load than from pfSense.
      Do you have the same problem when you install another OS?

      We do what we must, because we can.

      Asking questions the smart way: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

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      • S
        swanny
        last edited by

        I've never tried another OS on the system.  I downloaded the bootdisk and ran the CPU Stress test for 25 min and Prime95 for 20 min with no errors.  I didn't want to take the machine down for too long because people get cranky when they don't have internet!

        I suppose it could be a power supply problem.  The power supply is a CoolerMaster RS-430PMSR, which I thought was a good brand.  400W should be plenty for my system.

        Are there any ideas on that error message I got?

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        • R
          rsw686
          last edited by

          @swanny:

          When the system crashes, it simply reboots and comes back online like nothing happened.

          When I was running versions around the 1.0.1 time frame I never had any problems on my Nokia IP330 box. Now for the last few months with snapshots of 1.2, even 1.2 RC2 mine will randomly reboot as well. Mine seems to be every 20-30 days and it comes back up like nothing happened. I haven't been able to figure it out as the box works perfectly fine the rest of the time.

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          • C
            cmb
            last edited by

            rsw686: would you be willing to get a kernel on there with debugging and get a backtrace (assuming it's panic'ing)

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            • C
              cmb
              last edited by

              swanny: your problems sound memory related, basic on the panic you're seeing and other symptoms you describe. it can take a lot longer than what you've tested for intermittent failures to show up. Your power supply is adequately sized, but if it's flaky, that could cause this as well. It could be any number of other components as well.

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              • R
                rsw686
                last edited by

                @cmb:

                rsw686: would you be willing to get a kernel on there with debugging and get a backtrace (assuming it's panic'ing)

                Sure, is that going to work considering its an embedded install? I'm all up for figuring out why it does this.

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                • C
                  cmb
                  last edited by

                  Yeah, I can get you an embedded kernel with that built in, though don't have one right now. I'll email you when I have one you can try.

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                  • P
                    PaoloA
                    last edited by

                    @rsw686:

                    @swanny:

                    When the system crashes, it simply reboots and comes back online like nothing happened.

                    When I was running versions around the 1.0.1 time frame I never had any problems on my Nokia IP330 box. Now for the last few months with snapshots of 1.2, even 1.2 RC2 mine will randomly reboot as well. Mine seems to be every 20-30 days and it comes back up like nothing happened. I haven't been able to figure it out as the box works perfectly fine the rest of the time.

                    Similar problem here.
                    PFSense 1.2 as sW
                    The box is an Athlon XP, 1 GB ram, IDE HDD
                    I have used this box for 3 years as SMB server (Linux), without problem.
                    Only HW difference: added 4 new nics (2 already present for a total of 6. Now in testing only LAN and WAN connected/configured).
                    Every tot hour the box silently reboots and comes back online like nothing happened.

                    Regards, P.

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                    • S
                      sullrich
                      last edited by

                      Try removing a few of those nics.

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                      • P
                        PaoloA
                        last edited by

                        @sullrich:

                        Try removing a few of those nics.

                        A nic can create this problem?
                        There is a way to debug?

                        Thanks, P.

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                        • Cry HavokC
                          Cry Havok
                          last edited by

                          Well, if the only change was adding the NICs then that makes them the most likely suspect.

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                          • S
                            sullrich
                            last edited by

                            Process of elimination young jedi.

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                            • bill_mcgonigleB
                              bill_mcgonigle
                              last edited by

                              @PaoloA:

                              A nic can create this problem?

                              Sure, with that many NIC's you could be getting interrupt handler problems, for instance.

                              You're lucky that you can get a reboot within an hour.  Take all 4 out, wait an hour.  Put 2 back in, wait an hour - binary search it like that until you achieve stability. :)

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                              • P
                                petey
                                last edited by

                                I'm having the same problem, and it happens very randomly.  Sometimes within an hour, sometimes it takes a few days.

                                I had only two nics in my box.  First, is a 3Com 3c905-TX, second was a Netgear FA-310TX.  Then I tried replacing the Netgear with an Intel Pro S desktop adapter, and attempted it again.  It seems like it was working fine for a while, but it just rebooted about half an hour ago.  Possibly pfsense 1.2 doesn't like my 3Com NIC?

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                                • Cry HavokC
                                  Cry Havok
                                  last edited by

                                  Or more likely you too have some dodgy hardware.  Random reboots are usually related to hardware problems, including a lack of sufficient cooling.  Sometimes they can be down to driver problems, but that's pretty uncommon these days.  Actually, with the core drivers in any modern OS, including FreeBSD, it's pretty much unheard of.

                                  Some time back Toms Hardware posted a useful list of free and commercial tools to allow you to identify faulty hardware.  If you're having intermittent problems it gives you a good starting point for diagnosing the fault(s).

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