[mdlug] Kernel panic

[Michael Rudas]

On 7/3/07, Jack Freeman wrote:

> There are a bunch of the caps that are swelled. Looks like its time for a
> new board. Where is there a good place to get them. I just moved into Fort
> Atkinson.

I don't know that area, so I don't know what stores are around.  I
also don't know what motherboard you are starting with
brand/model-wise (let us know), so I don't know what to suggest.
Here's some general advice.

First you have to decide what your price range is, then what you are
going to buy.  There is something to be said for salvaging your
current processor and RAM if the current system is powerful enough for
your needs-- what DO you have in the bad board?  You can check
http://www.PriceWatch.com for some prices and availability.

If you want someting more powerful-- or just plain newer-- you have a
decision ahead of you.  Due to (admittedly controversial) bug issues
with the Intel "Core" series, I cannot recommend that family of
processors  yet, but since you ARE using it as a server, the anemic
performance of the Intel integrated graphics is not a problem-- and
they are well-supported by Linux-- so a 2.6 GHz or higher Pentium 4
with an integrated-graphics chipset is more than OK.

AMD's chips are also a good choice for these applications, as well.

Remember, too, that newer boards use DDR2 memory, so you likely will
have to replace that as well.  The upside?   With WinVista sales in
the dumper, the bottom has dropped out of the memory market and prices
are near all-time lows.

Typical good board brands for server use include Tyan (sightly more
expensive, but popular), ASUS, Abit, and DFI.  Foxconn is also coming
up strong-- they're the OEM for all of Dell's desktop and (possibly)
server motherboards these days.

I am more than willing to provide further assistance if we can figure
out what your starting point is.  Was your old board suitable for your
needs before it started to go south on you?

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, by the way-- my ATX power supply just
blew up and took out my floppy drive(!) and my main hard drive(!!) and
the problem turned out to be... bad capacitors!  Then I looked at my
mobo, and guess what?  MORE bad caps-- but I can re-cap the board
myself and not have to replace it (I really can't complain, though--
I've had the board since December 2001, ran it hard, and I won it in a
contest anyway).  I'm running from the Knoppix DVD for now until I
figure out how I'm going to shuffle a terabyte of HD space.

-- Mikey