Re: bluesmoke, machine check exception, reboot

[Alan Cox]

On Tue, 2002-05-28 at 14:46, Corin Hartland-Swann wrote:
> CPU 1: Machine Check Exception: 0000000000000004
> Bank 1: b200000000000115
> Kernel panic: CPU context corrupt
>
> How do you work out what the numbers mean? Is there some kind of reference
> to it, or are you just Alan "decodes machine check exceptions in his head"
> Cox :) From the code it seems to be some kind of MCG status and MC0 status
> - but of course, I have no idea what that means...

I contemplate them in zen peace and they speak to me 8). The MCE value
is the flags from the control register. The Bank n value is a dump of
the register that explains what the fault is. The decoding rules are in
the Intel Pentium III documentation set.

> After checking the logs (above) I found that the two times this has
> happened it has managed to write it to the logs. Is the fact that it
> sync()d a good indication that it will manage to reboot OK?

Is the fact the airbag deployed a good indication that it will deploy if
you keep crashing into walls ? Its logging a CPU error where it decides
the CPU is in an unrecoverable state. The odds are pretty good but each
time you are taking the risk it won't, and if its a hardware problem
that it might simply drop dead for good.

Alan