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absmiths · Oct 6, 2003, 07:44 PM

Has anyone noticed Kernel Panics when running BitTorrent (3.2.2a)? My Beige G3 keeps locking up after about 45 minutes of active downloading. I think it's a kernel panic but I can't tell since my monitor just goes off and I can't tell what happened (no ssh access, either).

absmiths · Oct 6, 2003, 08:13 PM

Apparently it isn't an actual kernel panic, since it just happened and the monitor was on. The system just completely freezes. No other software (that I use) causes this.

Arkham_c · Oct 6, 2003, 09:47 PM

Not me. I am using 3.2.2 and torrent 3-6 600MB images for 8-10 hours at a stretch with no issues on an iBook/600.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Oct 6, 2003, 10:35 PM

works fine with me, even with 10.3.

absmiths · Oct 7, 2003, 12:23 AM

OK, so I wonder if it has something to do with my Beige G3? I have 10.2.8.1 on this machine, and the hang is 100% reproducible - it happened three times in a row. I started using my TiBook instead and I am not having any problems there (except for it throttling my network - I wish I could somehow reduce its' network nice level so that it couldn't lock me out of the internet).

sushiism · Oct 7, 2003, 07:12 AM

yep i run it for hours on end on a tibook and its never KP'd me, actually ive never ever had a KP in well over a year of having this machine

Arkham_c · Oct 7, 2003, 08:55 AM

Originally posted by absmiths:
OK, so I wonder if it has something to do with my Beige G3? I have 10.2.8.1 on this machine, and the hang is 100% reproducible - it happened three times in a row. I started using my TiBook instead and I am not having any problems there (except for it throttling my network - I wish I could somehow reduce its' network nice level so that it couldn't lock me out of the internet).

If you're downloading, it could be a hard drive problem. I had a B&W G3 that kept hanging up, and it turned out the hard drive was going south. I replaced the drive with one I had lying around, and now all is well.

absmiths · Oct 7, 2003, 01:27 PM

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
If you're downloading, it could be a hard drive problem. I had a B&W G3 that kept hanging up, and it turned out the hard drive was going south. I replaced the drive with one I had lying around, and now all is well.

Well, that's not good news. Oh well, it happens I guess.

Hop Pocket · Oct 7, 2003, 10:32 PM

Although it sounds more like a hard drive issue than a memory issue (due to the reproducibility of your issue), I was experiencing lockups, and it ended up being a ram stick that apparently gave up and committed suicide. I removed it, on a guess, and I have put my G4 through the computer equivalent of a triathalon, with no problems.

YMMV

Spheric Harlot · Oct 8, 2003, 08:44 AM

Originally posted by absmiths:
I am not having any problems there (except for it throttling my network - I wish I could somehow reduce its' network nice level so that it couldn't lock me out of the internet).

Easily fixed:

If you click the little pellet on the right end of title bar of each torrent file window to show the toolbar, you can limit uploads for each torrent.

Make sure the total upload bandwidth (of all file sharing programs) does not exceed about 80-90% of your actual upstream bandwidth.

Explanation: Every single packet you *receive* from the internet needs to be acknowledged by your computer. If the server you're downloaded from doesn't get these receipts, it stops sending packets.

So, if your upload bandwidth is clogged, your machine is unable to transmit packet receipts, and servers hang there, waiting for a sign of life.

This is the nutshell version of why your downloads start to crawl.

-s*