Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpda!hpcupt1!swh
From: swh@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com (Steve Harrold)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Parity Error.  What do I do?
Message-ID: <56470002@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com>
Date: 21 Nov 90 15:02:39 GMT
References: <73334@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 25

>>> Memory parity interrupt at
>>> 0BC6:006D
>>> type (S)hut NMI (R)eboot, other keys to continue
>>> 
>>> I have a 386/33, Phoenix Bios, 4 Meg in SIMMS, and since I rebooted, I
>>> can't recreate it.  What should I do?
----------

You may be experiencing a false alarm here.

My HP Vectra ES/12 (a 286 with extended memory) periodically (once every 
few months) issues this message.  The work-around is to power off/on and 
it goes away.  Perhaps this is truly an intermittent hardware problem, 
but I think, in my case, it is software related.

After discussions with other people who have also experienced this
behaviour,  I've concluded that some memory managers do not do a good 
job of resetting memory at reboot.  Aborting Windows, or Ventura Publisher, 
often seems to be trigger the problem.

Next time you hit this condition, think back and check if, since the last
power on, you aborted an application or OS extension that was exercising
or controlling extended memory.  If so, you may be experiencing what 
I've been seeing, and you can blame the software. (Now, try and get
THAT fixed :-)