Powermac G4 randomly shutting down

[Jackson Jones]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had thought about overheating. I know 
Apple has some weird cooling parameters for its machines and it is 
possible that Linux may not have that stuff completely covered 
(considering Apple is not the most open of companies). The random 
shutdowns seemed to happen more frequently with the newer YDL-2.6.12.2 
kernel on www.ppckernel.org/specialized.php, so I reverted back to the 
stock 2.6.10-1.

I work in a very good environment for computers. It is well cooled and 
not humid. The power is fine. The same configuration runs on a 12" 
Powerbook without any random shutdown issues.

The Display has trouble waking up, so I keep it on (KDE -> Control 
Center->Periphnerals->Display set it to never and save). I also have an 
Apple version of a Radeon 8500, is that card better supported than the 
Geforce 2 MX that came with the machine?

Thanks,

Jackson

Derick Centeno wrote:

> Just a point of reference:
>
> APC: www.apc.com
>
> UPS: uninterruptible power supply
>
> On Jul 18, 2005, at 5:30 PM, Derick Centeno wrote:
>
>> It does make sense to check that your computer area is properly 
>> cooled.  However, you must not only check for heat you must also 
>> check for humidity.
>> You can check the computing environment simply with a nice clock 
>> which has a temperature and humidity dial, some also come with 
>> barometric pressure dials.
>> Of course that is only useful if you know the manufacturer's 
>> published recommendations as to what environmental tolerances your 
>> computer (and each individual peripheral) should operate at best AND 
>> worst.  That information is there, just for this kind of situation.
>>
>> The behavior as you describe it is typical of computers protecting 
>> themselves without notifying either users or system administrators 
>> which is why serious systems serving lots of people have always been 
>> located in one centralized environmentally controlled area which was 
>> constantly monitored.  Don't be surprised that a lot of people don't 
>> know about this or won't discuss it.  Expertise and knowledge 
>> regarding all this have moved upscale.
>>
>> Another source of problems computers is power, such as too much 
>> (powersurges), too little (brownouts), Lightning strikes, and more.  
>> Most, if not all can be handled with a sufficiently stable and 
>> reliable UPS.  If you don't want to screw around, and your equipment 
>> matters to you, get an APC ups.  Get a UPS which will support your 
>> system (that is run (as in provided power to) your ENTIRE computing 
>> environment  (printers, servers, routers, etc.) just from it (all by 
>> it's lonesome) for at least 15 minutes.  Giving you time to backup 
>> and then shutdown everything.  Without a UPS, you have exactly the 
>> kind of behavior you describe.
>>
>> All this means that one behavior can have several different causes.  
>> It is up to you to identify which it is.
>>
>> OK.  Let's imagine you did all that.  What next?
>>
>> Double check that your system settings are what you expect them to 
>> be.  No auto-shutdown presets on. No powersavers on unless you 
>> control precisely when.  And so on.
>> Of course, some people would check those settings first.
>>
>> Best wishes...
>>
>> On Jul 18, 2005, at 3:59 PM, Jackson Jones wrote:
>>
>>> I have a Quicksilver Powermac G4 Quicksilver Tower that randomly 
>>> powers off (not a clean shutdown).
>>>
>>> 933Mhz G4 (single Processor)
>>> 1 Gig of RAM
>>> YellowDog Linux 4.0.1 with all "yum update"
>>> Stock kernel
>>> NVidia GeForce 2 video card
>>>
>>> Has anyone seen this, or run into this before.
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
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>
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