I've got a strange problem running Linux; so far I have tried Mandrake 8.1 and 9.1, Red Hat 8.0 and various SuSE versions (8.2 is running now). With all of these I had troubles during installation, often X Windows wouldn't run and there have been strange resets at various moments, but not repeatable.

The computer is a Pentium II MMX 300 MHz with an SCSI setup (Adaptec AHA 2940 AU, a 4 and a 17 GB IBM disk, Microtek Scanner, Plextor CD), IDE DVD ROM and CD Recorder, 256 MB RAM, ATI Rage 128 AGP graphics adapter.

I believe that something is amiss with the hardware; I exchanged both the controller and the processor against identical items but the problem persists; resets have stopped when I used a Celeron 300 MHz, but I doubt that both P II I tried have similar faults (unless built in). Disabling SCAM support in the controller makes a successful boot more probable, but still the computer crashes during work.

I'm probably going to buy a new computer if this persists, but I wanted to check here first whether someone had an idea what to do.

Robin

The processor made the difference so it's worth investigating; first off, ensure there's proper cooling - check that the CPU fan is working properly, that the heatsink is secured and in the right position and that you've got proper thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink (v.important!).

The Celerons run cooler than the PII's (that are notorious for their heat output) so I'd suspect insufficent cooling.

Erratic resets and other bizarre, non-repeatable behaviour (in Linux at least) can usually be attributed to hardware trouble. Common candidates other than a too hot CPU include duff RAM, overclocking, dry joints and worn connections, cooling faliure elsewhere and bad EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference).

Good luck!

-Taiyo