Linux installation issues on Fit-PC2i

[misambart]

Hi,

I have received a new Fit-PC2i (fit-PC2i Diskless (pilot batch)) last week.

However, I have encountered various issues when installing Linux (3 different distributions) on this box. I never had such issues with a previous standard Fit-PC2 (1.1GHz, 160GB hard drive) using the same Linux distributions, as long as I was using the correct kernel parameters ("all-generic-ide" when using CentOS 4.8 and 5.4).

1) CentOS 4.8 (my preferred option as the service I want to run has been designed to run on this distribution)
I have had various issues installing it on the new Fit-PC2i, with the installer exiting at various stages with various error messages such as:
"*** glibc detected ***: free: invalid pointer:"
"*** glibc detected ***: free: invalid next size:"
"*** glibc detected ***: realloc: invalid next size:"

These messages seem to appear at random stages, depending on the installed options, disk partitioning and kernel parameters. In some rare cases, it installs fine, but I still get the same errors during reboot and when updating packages.

2) CentOS 5.4

I only tried to install CentOS 5.4 once, and it seemed to install alright at first, but I got a kernel panic on the first boot. Even though it booted ok after this first error, this shows that there are still issues. I also suspect I would have had similar "*** glibc detected ***" errors if I had tried to update packages.

3) Ubuntu 9.10

Installing Ubuntu 9.10 seemed to work fine at first. However, when updating the packages after the installation, I got the following error: "*** glibc detected *** /usr/bin/perl: free: invalid pointer: 0x08eab8e8". This means that the problem is still there, but simply wasn't triggered during the installation.


Based on my limited experience, this probably means one of the following three things:
- The box is faulty and there is a hardware problem
- There is a bug in the BIOS that needs fixing
- There has been a major hardware change between the Fit-PC2 and the Fit-PC2i and none of the Linux distributions I have tried support these changes (appears unlikely considering the small difference in terms of specs).


Have you seen similar issues before? Do you have any advice on how this could be solved, or do you think there is a hardware issue with the box and it needs to be changed?

[irads]

Sounds like faulty memory. Please run memtest. If it fails please contact rma@fit-pc.com

[misambart]

I have already run memtest as I also thought it could be a memory problem.

In 16 passes, it found 1 error. Is it enough to consider the memory faulty or could it be a false alarm ?

[irads]

That's marginal, and the reported error rate reflected in your Linux installations seem higher.
Please repeat memtest and if it fails again I suggest proceeding with RMA.

[misambart]

I've run memtest overnight, and it didn't find any error in 17 passes. This probably means the memory is not faulty.

However, this doesn't eliminate a possible hardware problem (motherboard, BIOS...). Should I proceed with RMA or can you suggest me any further testing ?

[irads]

memtest would have likely exposed other HW problems in CPU or chipset.
BIOS is unlikely to be corrupted. The reported problems look irrelevant to other motherboard elements.
I suggest to focus on disk - you may run chkdsk, or suspect a SW incompatibilities eg in Ubuntu update packages.

For now it seems like RMA is not likely to resolve the problem.

[misambart]

I have done further testing using various Linux distributions (Fedora 12, CentOS 4.8, CentOS 5.4, Ubuntu 9.10), and trying various kernel parameters and BIOS settings.

However, I always reach a point where the OS gives me similar error messages to those mentioned in my previous posts.

Considering the amount of testing I have done, I cannot think of anything else to try and I think there is something wrong with the hardware.

[irads]

To RMA the unit please email rma@fit-pc.com