O2 RAM upgrade
==============
I am in the middle of testing of my RAM moduli the Silicon Graphics O2
system. Once I had the whole 1 GB of RAM in my O2 (8 x 128MB). Then
something failed and I ended with just 256MB (2x 128MB).
This is a problem because while the IRIX itself (even in its latest,
greatest and the most RAM-hungry version 6.5) uses rather moderate
amount of RAM (it is perfectly happy with 128 MB even when running
the Netscape 4.x) some of applications require a lot of RAM. The
Mozilla browser (the Seamonkey or the Firefox) are good examples of
such applications but many other (and more useful) ones (3D and
visualisation packages, FEA tools...) like to eat a lot of RAM, too.
Thus I have decided to try the rest of RAM moduli to find out which are
bat and which are not. One of sets (they always must be used in pairs)
causes the poor O2 to reboot infinitely. The another pair caused
something like the "ECC Error in DIMM 3..." message. That was much
better as it identified a bad RAM stick.
So I inserted the last available pair. At the first boot (which
proceeded normally) the machine tries to tell me that there are just
256MN or RAM. So I halted it, booted once more and ... the O2 finally
accepted that there are 512MB!
At the moment I'm running the computer with these 512MB. It is much
better that just 256MB: I have opened a lot of RAM-hungry stuff and
still see no considerable swapping.
Will report how (if) it develops...
Update: Now I have 768 MB of RAM (so only one pair of RAM is bad):
moose>hinv <~
CPU: MIPS R10000 Processor Chip Revision: 3.4
FPU: MIPS R10010 Floating Point Chip Revision: 0.0
1 250 MHZ IP32 Processor
Main memory size: 768 Mbytes
Secondary unified instruction/data cache size: 1 Mbyte on Processor 0
Instruction cache size: 32 Kbytes
Data cache size: 32 Kbytes
FLASH PROM version 4.18
Integral SCSI controller 0: Version ADAPTEC 7880
Disk drive: unit 2 on SCSI controller 0
CDROM: unit 4 on SCSI controller 0
Integral SCSI controller 1: Version ADAPTEC 7880
On-board serial ports: tty1
On-board serial ports: tty2
On-board EPP/ECP parallel port
CRM graphics installed
Integral Ethernet: ec0, version 1
Iris Audio Processor: version A3 revision 0
Video: MVP unit 0 version 1.4
AV: AV1 Card version 1, Camera not connected.
Vice: TRE
1600SW Flat Panel adapter board and display.