Subject: random crashes in rapid succession
To: None <current-users@netbsd.org>
From: Audun Arnesen Nordal <audun@stud.cs.uit.no>
List: current-users
Date: 10/27/2003 22:07:22
I recently updated my i386 with the snapshot (including the xsets) from
releng.netbsd.org from Sep 30th. It ran fine, mostly idle, for about a
week, until when I one night was using it I noticed my ssh-agent had
crashed. I restarted it but didn't think much of it, until an ssh instance
suddenly came down with a segfault. Then I moved my mouse over another
xterm, which also segfaulted immediately upon getting the focus. Then in
rapid succession all my terminals, browsers etc started crashing on me,
until X itself came down.

It then seemingly stopped, and I installed pkgsrc/sysutils/memtest86,
which has now been running for a week without spotting any bad memory. 
I've found four core-files (ssh, bash, sh and xinit), but they all seem 
pretty meaningless to me. Example:

$ gdb -c ssh.core ssh
GNU gdb 5.3nb1
[...]
Core was generated by `ssh'.
Program terminated with signal 11, Segmentation fault.
#0  0x00000001 in ?? ()
(gdb) bt
#0  0x00000001 in ?? ()
#1  0x08050928 in getsockname ()
#2  0x0804db0b in getsockname ()
#3  0x0804cb5c in getsockname ()
#4  0x0804ba92 in getsockname ()

example 2:
$ gdb -c xinit.core xinit
GNU gdb 5.3nb1
[...]
Core was generated by `xinit'.
Program terminated with signal 11, Segmentation fault.
Reading symbols from /usr/libexec/ld.elf_so...(no debugging symbols 
found)...
done.
[blahblah]
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6...
(no debugging symbols found)...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6...
(no debugging symbols found)...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6
#0  0x00000001 in ?? ()
(gdb) bt
#0  0x00000001 in ?? ()

yet another example:
$ gdb -c sh.core sh.core
GNU gdb 5.3nb1
[...]
This GDB was configured as "i386--netbsdelf"..."/home/audun/sh.core": not 
in executable format: File format not recognized

Core was generated by `sh'.
Program terminated with signal 11, Segmentation fault.
#0  0x00000000 in ?? ()
(gdb) bt
#0  0x00000000 in ?? ()


Did I just hit a bad snapshot, or is there something seriously wrong?


-- 
Audun Nordal