[SunRescue] 4/330 woes revisited (with a twist).

[Tim Harrison]

"Garten, David N., CTR, OSD/P&R" wrote:

> =================
> BAD TRAP
> -----------------
> Cause: A bad trap can indicate faulty hardware or a mismatch between
> hardware and its configuration information. Data loss is possible if the
> problem occurs other than at boot time.

Okay, question:  how can I tell what it thinks it's configured for?  I
have ZERO idea on how to work the "monitor". :)  I'm thinking there may
have been another disk in here, and it's having problems trying to find
them?  Currently, it's got one 1.6G disk, a tape drive of some
description, and that's about it (I still can't figure out how to get
the stupid tape drive out of the system to take a better look).
 
> Action If you recently installed new hardware, verify that the software was
> correctly configured. Check the kernel traceback displayed on the console to
> see which device generated the trap. If the configuration files are correct,
> you will probably have to replace the device.

I haven't any idea what device it thinks it's trapping on.  It happens
immediately after it checks out the ethernet.  What's the next step,
normally, in booting SunOS 4.1.3?  Is there a way that I can get it into
single user mode, or have it rescan for devices before it traps?
 
> In some cases, the bad trap message indicates a bad or down-rev CPU.

Would that more likely happen if the machine trapped at random times?
 
> Technical Notes: A hardware processor trap occurred, and the kernel trap
> handler was unable to restore system state. This is a fatal error that
> usually precedes a panic, after which the system performs a sync, dump, and
> reboot. The following conditions can cause a bad trap: a system text or data
> access fault, a system data alignment error, or certain kinds of user
> software traps.

(unknown): Data fault  <--- is that a "data access fault"?
 
> >From Solaris 2.6 System Administrator AnswerBook Vol 2, Solaris Common
> Messages and Troubleshooting Guide, Alphabetical Message Listing, BAD TRAP
> (http://docs.sun.com/ab2/@LegacyPageView?Ab2Lang=C&Ab2Enc=iso-8859-1&toc=SUN
> Wab_123_1%3A%2Fsafedir%2Fspace3%2Fcoll1%2Fanswerbooks%2Fenglish%2Fsolaris_2.
> 6%2FSUNWabadm%2Ftoc%2FTROUBLESHOOT%3A1128;bt=Solaris+Common+Messages+and+Tro
> ubleshooting+Guide;ps=ps%2FSUNWab_123_1%2FTROUBLESHOOT%2F02.Alphabetical_Mes
> sage_Listing#15).

Every time I go to this URL, it kills Netscape. :/  I retraced your
steps, though.
 
> I'd pull the memory boards and anything else you have stuffed in it and see
> if it will boot.  R&R the SIMMs on the main board if it fails.  After that,
> I'd imagine it is time to find another set of SIMMs or hit the dumpster.

I've swapped, reswapped, reseated, tested, retested, and sacrificed a
chicken to the SIMMs, and to no avail.  Tried booting with no expansion
RAM cards, the full one, the half full one.  Nothing. :(
 
> Mixing SIMM speeds (100, 80, 70, 60ns, etc) might cause problems.  I think
> these beasts need 100ns or better.  Faster is better, but mixed is like
> asking for dropped batons in a relay race.

The full card has 100ns SIMMs on it, and the half full has 80ns SIMMs.  
 
> One last thought.  My experience is that 90+% of all electronic device
> failures are mechanical in nature...

So, what you're saying is I need a hammer and a welding torch. :)

-- 


Tim Harrison
Network Engineer
harrison at timharrison.com
http://www.networklevel.com/