Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari!otc!metro!physiol!johnd
From: johnd@physiol.su.oz (John Dodson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: Re: What does this message mean?
Summary: Memory/PMI cable problem
Keywords: machine check, MicroVAX
Message-ID: <244@physiol.su.oz>
Date: 12 May 88 22:51:10 GMT
References: <780@acornrc.UUCP>
Organization: Physiology Dept., Univ. of Sydney, NSW, Australia
Lines: 25

In article <780@acornrc.UUCP>, bob@acornrc.UUCP (Bob Weissman) writes:
> Can someone help decipher this message from a MicroVAX II running
> 4.3 BSD?
> 
> May  8 21:33:53 acornrc vmunix: machine check 80: vap 7fffe594 istate 10001 pc 30d5 psl 3c00000
> May  8 21:33:53 acornrc vmunix: mser=0x2c1 page=11872

It could be one of a number of things,

1. if you get the same error every time, it could be a bad memory chip
	mser tells you the board its on, the error above is on module 2.
	(see KA630AA CPU Module User's Guide - EK-KA630-UG-001 in
	conjunction with the kernel code))

2. if you get random errors, and your memory boards have *very long* PMI cables
	between them, shorten the PMI cable to *MINIMUM* length, ie so you can
	only just fit it between boards.
	This is generally a problem with 3rd party memory (mine that caused this
	problem was Cammington, but once the PMI cables were shortened we have
	had NO recurrence of the problem in over a year)

3. you could have a radiation source nearby zapping your bits ;-)


johnd@physiol.su.oz