Greetings:
I am currently sitting on an Alpha 3000-400 running OSF 3.0 (I know
there is a 3.2). The machine is also equipped with a Mid 3D Graphics
TURBOchannel Module (a 3d graphics board) which enables 24 bit color.
Here are the symptoms as well as I can define them.
The console screen will lock up (not the machine though) seemingly
randomly. I can move the pointer via the mouse, but the keyboard is
inactive and my clients appear halted. Sometimes the screen will halt
in mid redraw, leaving some client windows only partially drawn. This
typically happens when I am running a heavily graphics oriented
program. Netscape will run occasionally but hangs the console
eventually. Other routines that have caused problems are some
proprietary modelling software that are basically 3-D CAD
visualization packages.
So far this has happened only to me (lucky me) and not the other user
of the machine (he runs very few graphics clients). I originally
suspected my clients (Netscape) or my window manager (vtwm - a variant
of twm). The window manager, vtwm, works fine on other Alphas that I
use and I have reproduced the problem with Motif as well now. I also
suspected that I was somehow locking myself out of the console, but
that doesn't seem to be the case.
Next on the list was the video card (still an option) and some clients
having trouble running in 24-bt color. I ran Xdec with the "-vclass
PseudoColor" option (which I understand means 8-bit color) with no
improvement.
When the console screen hangs, the machine is still alive. I can log
on from another host and pop clients. To regain the console screen I
must kill X manually or via a shutdown.
Any tips/suggestions or solutions would be much appreciated. I
apologize if this message rambles.
spencer_at_adpt.wes.army.mil
Received on Mon Oct 02 1995 - 20:15:18 NZDT