Topic: Legacy machine makes grinding whirring noise and restarts
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
Alright with a new hard drive I'm trying to install Linux my only problem is that when I turn the machine on it sometimes gets to the Ubuntu screen but then shuts off on its own. Other times it posts then shuts off sometimes it doesnt post at all just restarts.
posted
If you hear grinding and you see random restarts at multiple random places during boot, my first guess would be your processor is overheating, and the grinding is your processor fan not functioning properly.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
its a Pentium III, I highly doubt it could over heat enough, but the case is off and I see the fan functioning normally. It could be possible I am mistaking grinding for electric noise.
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posted
And you're sure it's going full speed? I dunno about you, but I can't tell by looking whether a fan is moving at 1000 rpm or 3500 rpm.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
k, changed back to the older power supply and it seems to work fine now, odd.
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
Ubuntu seems to come with an inbuilt memory tester.......
posted
If memtest shows more than about 2 errors, then your RAM is not functioning properly. (Unless you are near a powerful source of ionizing radiation, which isn't likely, given that you are still alive.) Either your RAM is running at too high a clock speed for the voltage being provided, or it is truly dying.
You should try to isolate the errors to a specific memory module. You can usually do this by looking at what range of addresses are failing. If all your sticks are failing (assuming you have multiple modules), then it is still likely a power issue. If you only have a single problematic stick, try testing it in a different machine.
Posts: 145 | Registered: Apr 2007
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