Novell Abends

[IdahoTech]

Hello All,

I am having a tough time with a Novell Netware server running Netware 6 SP5. The server keeps abending and it seems different every time. This last one really caught me off gaurd.

Here are a few lines from that abend log:

Server HMS halted Wednesday, February 2, 2005 9:00:07.079 am
Abend 15 on P00: Server-5.60.05-4348: Kernel detected an attempted context switch when it was not allowed

Running process: Server 3 Process
Thread Owned by NLM: SERVER.NLM

This all seems kind of weird. What is going on? The previous abend had the following:

Additional Information:
The CPU encountered a problem executing code in NWUTIL.NLM. The problem may be in that module or in data passed to that module by a process owned by SERVER.NLM.


Server HMS halted Wednesday, February 2, 2005 8:59:52.585 am
Abend 13 on P00: Server-5.60.05: General Protection Processor Exception (Error code 00000000)

Can anyone make heads or tales out of this. I sent these into Novell through their Abend procedure and nothing that they can see or know of.

Is there something I can run or check on these systems? Or am I just FUBAR'd? This server abends every other day if not every day!! We have someone local coming out tomorrow to help but just think we may be up a creek!!

Thanks for any help or insight anyone can give.


IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[marvhuffaker]

Might be related to Multiprocessors.. Turn off any hyperthreading (in the system bios) and also remove your Platform support modules (Usually the first line *.PSM in STARTUP.NCF).. reboot the server and do a CPUCHECK, make sure it's only running on one processor.. See if that makes any difference..



Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting, Inc.

http://www.redjuju.com/support

 

[IdahoTech]

Hey Marv,

Thanks for the response. I turned off the HT in the bios the other day and also made sure that the platform modules were turned off as well. I just checked the STARTUP.NCF and they are not listed there.

So we have been running on one CPU for a few days. But every day it seems to reboot. Thanks for the info though.

IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[terry712]

what make of server is it?

hopefully it's an compaq/hp
if so have you applied the latest support pack and checked the diags on it

 

[IdahoTech]

Well it is one we built. XEON Processor. HT turned off. SP5 and did all that I believe I know what to check. Has a GIG and a half of memory.

Just don't know.

IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[Provogeek]

If this is a series of abends, then I would focus on the first abend since it is usually the issue, secondary abends are just cluter in most cases and stray you away from the real problem.

Lets get some more history on this. When did the abends start? What changes were done to the system when the abends started? Did the server ever work properly for you?

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Brent Schmidt Certified nut case
Senior Network Engineer

http://www.kiscc.com

 

[IdahoTech]

The abends started not to long after we installed a new software on our server and we thought that was it and stopped the Database since it is Sybase, but it still abended.

Well yes it did work properly for us from the start. It all happened when we had to Install a Software called Success Maker. Then the abends started happening. We had to create a volume for it and everything.....

Hmmm... Is there a way to check if by adding that volume it has somehow corrupted something in the system???

I just thought of that. It was running fine until that was added. Then all of the sudden it just started acting up. Is there a way either by command or key strokes to see if it is hardware or software that is the problem? Just a thought.

Thanks Marv!

IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[marvhuffaker]

Idaho.. I applaud you for knowing when you are in over your head. A lot of people are too proud to admit this and end up costing their companies a lot more money in downtime and misconfigured system.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting, Inc.

http://www.redjuju.com/support

 

[IdahoTech]

Hello Marv,

Well we got the tech here and he agreed that it could be the drive. He helped me and showed me how to prepare a drive and mirror it. Funny with Netware 6 once you have the DOS partition done and Activated that the easiest way to do it is via NORM.

If I would of know that I could of done it myself, but always good to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

System seems to be running fine for now. Take it day by day.

Thanks for the applaud Marv. I know when to work on it and when to get someone in to do it and stop wasting time. I know I need more time to learn it.

I am not headstrong like some of my fellow techs that I worked with back east. I know when to call for help and stop wasting time. We can learn later, get it fixed now is what I say and if the tech that comes to fix it is willing to work with you so you know how to resolve the issue later in time is a bigger benefit. Just like this one that came.

So now I understand Mirroring, I have to see it to understand what is going on. I am going to order that kit and get some more understanding under my belt.

Thanks for your help.





IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[LawnBoy]

I have to see it to understand what is going on.

Amen, brother.

 

[marvhuffaker]

Yes, sometimes when I don't understand something, I will call Novell and open an incident just so they can walk me through the correct way of doing it.. Great learning process for not too much money.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting, Inc.

http://www.redjuju.com/support