Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: 002@pnet16.cts.com (J.W.Cupp Lcdr/Usn)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: patriot missile failure
Message-ID: <1991Jun21.014121.14069@cbnews.cb.att.com>
Date: 21 Jun 91 01:41:21 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.cb.att.com (william.a.thacker)
Organization: People-Net [pnet16], NCTAMS EASTPAC
Lines: 21
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: 002@pnet16.cts.com (J.W.Cupp Lcdr/Usn)
This long post quoted several news articles, which made mention of a possible
computer glitch in the Patriot computer.  The glitch was attibuted to having
operated four days continuously without a reboot.

When I was on a ship with a Navy Tactical Data System (NTDS) we made it a
habit to reboot the system once a day.  Typically, this would occur during the
night watches when things were slowest.  Usually nothing untoward would happen
if we missed a day, but if the NTDS went several days without a reboot, there
was a chance some funny things might begin to happen.  Of course, it could be
counted upon to happen at the worst possible moment.  So, we generally did
that once-a-day reboot, if at all possible.

                                     J. W. Cupp 
UUCP: humu!nctams1!pnet16!002            Naval Telecommunications Center
ARPA: humu!nctams!pnet16!002@nosc.mil    P.O. Box 55
INET: 002@pnet16.cts.com                 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii  96860

The above is merely my opinion, and not to be construed as anything else.