From alsa-user-owner@alsa.jcu.cz  Tue Jun 23 01:23:52 1998
Received: from ale.physics.sunysb.edu (root@ale.physics.sunysb.edu [129.49.30.117])
	by marvin.jcu.cz (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id BAA28490
	for <alsa-user@jcu.cz>; Tue, 23 Jun 1998 01:23:00 +0200
Received: from fatman.physics.sunysb.edu (really [129.49.30.155]) by superk.physics.sunysb.edu
	via in.smtpd with esmtp (ident root using rfc1413)
	id <m0yoFZx-000PooC@ale.physics.sunysb.edu> (Debian Smail3.2.0.101)
	for <alsa-user@jcu.cz>; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 19:00:49 -0400 (EDT) 
Received: from fatman.physics.sunysb.edu (really [127.0.0.1]) by superk.physics.sunysb.edu
	via in.smtpd with esmtp (ident sharkey using rfc1413)
	id <m0yoFa5-0000aZC@fatman.physics.sunysb.edu> (Debian Smail3.2.0.101)
	for <alsa-user@jcu.cz>; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 19:00:57 -0400 (EDT) 
Message-Id: <m0yoFa5-0000aZC@fatman.physics.sunysb.edu>
To: alsa-user@jcu.cz
Subject: Re: SB 16 hangs my PPro when playing sound 
In-Reply-To: Message from Reinier Mostert <reinier.mostert@bigfoot.com> 
   of "Mon, 22 Jun 1998 19:32:03 BST." <358EA323.F6185386@bigfoot.com> 
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 19:00:57 -0400
From: Eric Sharkey <sharkey@fatman.physics.sunysb.edu>
Reply-To: alsa-user@alsa.jcu.cz
Sender: alsa-user-owner@alsa.jcu.cz
Precedence: list

> Hi all,
> 
> I've got a SB 16 circa 1995 (still got the old Mashusita CD on it, no IDE), a
> nd
> it unpredictably hangs my machine when I play sound through it.  The system i
> s a
> dual PPro (Tyan Tomcat S1668) MB, with 80MB of RAM, S3 Virge display running
> 2.0.33.  I've had this problem running 2.0.32 as well, using both the OSS fre
> e
> drivers and ALSA (0.10 and 0.13).  I normally see it when playing MP3's, but
> only because that's the sound app I use most.  I've had it go down once or tw
> ice
> when just playing a short wav using wavplay(?).
> 
> The machine just freezes up solid, and I have to reset or cycle power to get 
> it
> going again.  Interrupts or IO address is a possibility, but I used to have a
>  SB
> 1.5 at the same IRQ and IO (SB standard 220, 7) that was rock solid under the
> OSS free drivers.

Hmm, random speculations:

1.  It's relatively easy to compile a non-SMP kernel and test this setup with
    SMP disabled and running only on one processor.  I know JK says it should
    be SMP-safe, but it won't hurt to double check.  If you still have problems
    with SMP disabled, it will rule that out as a possibility and we can
    stop worrying about it.

    I've got a dual PPro system I can use (SuperMicro MB), but it currently
    has no sound card.  I could put a GUS in it, but I don't have an SB16
    I can use.  If I get around to testing it, I'll let you know if I have
    any problems.

2.  One difference between an SB and an SB 16 is that the SB 16 is a 16 bit
    card (duh) and therefore can use a 16 bit DMA.  Are you using a 16 bit
    DMA?  Are you sure that DMA is otherwise unused?  I think a DMA conflict
    is a more likely problem than an IO base or IRQ conflict.

    Can you run applications in 8-bit mode, using the 8-bit DMA used with
    your original card?  If the problems go away, you have a problem with
    your 16-bit DMA.

3.  Are you experiencing any other instability at any other time?  I notice
    that you have >64 MB of RAM, which linux cannot automatically detect.
    You need a special lilo appendage to get that to work.  If that is not
    done correctly, if the ammount of memory actually installed is not less
    than or equal to the amount of usable memory in the system (taking into
    account anything used by the bios) you can have random system crashes
    when linux tries to use memory that isn't there.  (See the BootPromt
    HOWTO for more info on the mem= appendage.)

    Try ommitting the mem= line from lilo if you've got one. (This should
    set it to use at most 64 MB of RAM.)  If the problem goes away, you
    have a RAM problem.  You should play with the amount of memory listed
    on the mem= line until you have as much memory as possible without
    having any crashes.  There's probably some better way to do this.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  It shouldn't be hard to
try these things and see what happens.

Eric

