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Looking for system stress / burn-in software



 
 
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  #11  
Old September 19th 10, 11:39 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
ShadowTek[_5_]
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Posts: 125
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

On 2010-09-19, John McGaw wrote:

If you want to stress the disk operations you can add on a batch file which
copies files back and forth, zips them, unzips them, compares them,
calculates MD5 codes or whatever your heart desires. Add sleep intervals as
appropriate or let the drive(s) grind at full speed as seems appropriate.


Simply using badblocks sounds a lot less complicated then all of
that.
  #12  
Old September 19th 10, 11:54 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
John McGaw
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Posts: 732
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

On 9/19/2010 6:39 PM, ShadowTek wrote:
On 2010-09-19, John wrote:

If you want to stress the disk operations you can add on a batch file which
copies files back and forth, zips them, unzips them, compares them,
calculates MD5 codes or whatever your heart desires. Add sleep intervals as
appropriate or let the drive(s) grind at full speed as seems appropriate.


Simply using badblocks sounds a lot less complicated then all of
that.


It depends on what you want to test. Since badblocks is a Linux program and
does a one-time scan of the drive it is hard to see how it is going to
simulate a realistic system load for a week or more under Windows. As for
complicated, writing a BAT file to do some disk activity on a continuing
basis and exercise a system's drive(s) for a long period is pretty simple
and non-threatening.
  #13  
Old September 20th 10, 08:36 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
Skybuck Flying[_3_]
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Posts: 230
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software


"PC Guy" wrote in message ...
I've got a few motherboards that I need to determine their operational
reliability / stability while running XP, so I'm wondering if there is
any free software that can do stress testing or "burn-in" operations for
one or two weeks continuously running under XP. Basically, any software
that can keep a system busy doing stuff until (or if) the system crashes
or locks up. Serial, parallel, network, audio and USB stress testing is
not required.


This is a bit strange.

So you wanna test a motherboard, but you don't wanna test mouses, printers,
networking/internet,
soundblasters/audio chips.

Then later on you describe an "average human being".

An average human being uses all of these things which you think are not
required for testing.

To me it seems you testing idea/method is already flawed from the start.

Bye,
Skybuck.


  #14  
Old September 21st 10, 03:48 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
PC Guy
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Posts: 77
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

Skybuck Flying wrote:

So you wanna test a motherboard, but you don't wanna test mouses,
printers, networking/internet, soundblasters/audio chips.
Then later on you describe an "average human being".

An average human being uses all of these things which you think are
not required for testing. To me it seems you testing idea/method
is already flawed from the start.


I'll give you some background:

Our company has shipped a number of data acquisition computers based on
the Soyo SY-P4I 845PE ISA (SY-845PEISA) and SY-P4I-845GVISA Plus
motherboards over the past 5 to 6 years.

http://www2.dealtime.com/xPF-Soyo-SO...ISA-DDR333-A-L

The first of these boards that we used was the PE-ISA, which does not
have on-board video but it does have an AGP slot. Starting about 3 years
ago we started shipping systems based on the GV-ISA-Plus. These boards
seem identical except that the GV has on-board video (Intel Extreme
graphics or something like that - 8mb video ram) and no AGP slot.

I'm sure that all of these boards (both types) were originally
manufactured between 2003 and late 2005.

Over the past year, we've had some of the GV boards fail in the field,
exhibiting strange problems (some don't boot at all, some will partially
boot XP and then just freeze, some will boot XP and run fine for 6 to 12
hours and then either spontaneously re-boot or just freeze/lock-up).
It's likely that very few of these systems have printers attached to
them, and probably half of them are not connected to a network.

The problem does not seem to happen with the older PE motherboards (the
boards that don't have on-board video but do have an AGP slot). We have
some of these PE boards being used heavily in-house for the past 5 years
and they work great - no problems ever.

The systems that have failed have been working for at least 1 to 2
years, but the frequency of use of any given system is unknown. They all
have socket 478 Intel Celeron CPU's, 2.6 ghz speed, stock Intel CPU
cooler/fan, and either 512 mb or 1gb ram, 80 gb WD hard drive.

We don't have that many of these boards left for use in new systems, and
some of those that we do have seemed to have problems on the
construction bench in the past and were not used for one reason or
another.

I'm aware of a massive problem with capacitors that really affected Dell
around the same time that these boards would have been made, and we are
experimentally taking a few boards and changing the electrolytic
capacitors (1000 and 1500 uf) with new ones to see if that solves their
problems with operational stability.

Hence the reason for my original question, which was to seek software
that simulates medium to heavy single-user load on systems running XP.
We have to insure that these replacement systems can run for at least a
week solid with no hint of trouble before we ship them back out.

I am aware that Soyo went bankrupt or went out of business around May
2009, and I've seen some comments that they stopped making motherboards
about 3 years before that.
  #15  
Old September 21st 10, 10:30 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
JW
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Posts: 82
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

On Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:48:04 -0400 PC Guy wrote in Message
id: :

I'm aware of a massive problem with capacitors that really affected Dell
around the same time that these boards would have been made, and we are
experimentally taking a few boards and changing the electrolytic
capacitors (1000 and 1500 uf) with new ones to see if that solves their
problems with operational stability.


I'll bet that fixes your problem. Not just Dell was affected, and
electrolytic caps only have a lifetime of 2000 hours or so anyway. Make
sure you get low ESR types for replacement. If the problem persists, try a
new power supply as well.

You could try this diagnostic, there's a 30 day evaluation:
http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm
If it does what you need it's pretty reasonable price-wise.
  #16  
Old September 24th 10, 05:35 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
Andrew[_3_]
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Posts: 7
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

On 21 Sep, 10:30, JW wrote:

I'll bet that fixes your problem. Not just Dell was affected, and
electrolytic caps only have a lifetime of 2000 hours or so anyway. Make
sure you get low ESR types for replacement. If the problem persists, try a
new power supply as well.


That life span sounds like it is straight from a device data sheet
without considering what that data sheet actually says: it is easy to
come up with misleading conclusions as a consequence. 2000 hours is
less than a quarter, and even the majority of cheap tat on sale today
lasts longer than that. The quoted lifespan is usually quoted at the
device's maximum temperature which is going to be 85C even for the
lowest grade caps. For every 10C under the limit capacitor life
slightly more than doubles. Reduce the temeperature down to a typical
working temeprature - say 30C - and that 2000 hour capacitor can be
expected to last a decade of 24/7 operation. The more common 105C
caps would be good for 40 years. Soundly made electrolytics last a
long time in conservative operating conditions.

--
Andrew Smallshaw

  #17  
Old September 24th 10, 10:38 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
Paul
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Posts: 13,364
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

JW wrote:
On Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:48:04 -0400 PC Guy wrote in Message
id: :

I'm aware of a massive problem with capacitors that really affected Dell
around the same time that these boards would have been made, and we are
experimentally taking a few boards and changing the electrolytic
capacitors (1000 and 1500 uf) with new ones to see if that solves their
problems with operational stability.


I'll bet that fixes your problem. Not just Dell was affected, and
electrolytic caps only have a lifetime of 2000 hours or so anyway. Make
sure you get low ESR types for replacement. If the problem persists, try a
new power supply as well.

You could try this diagnostic, there's a 30 day evaluation:
http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm
If it does what you need it's pretty reasonable price-wise.


Look for information on "modified Arrhenius equation". It's the
equation you use, to convert the "2000 hours", into the real
life span.

Arrhenius is a chemistry equation, related to reaction rate.
It's something like "reaction rate doubles for each 7C rise
in temperature". It is used to model how reaction kinetics
change with temperature.

Electrolytic capacitor reliability, is "curve fitted" to the
Arrhenius equation. But the exponent in the equation doesn't
use 7C. It is a different value, specific to each product.
Curve fitting reveals the characteristic value.

Say the capacitor is rated 2000 hours at 110C, and the inside
of the computer is 35C air temperature. The temperature difference
is 75C between spec point and application temperature. Lets say
the curve fitted Arrhenius factor is a doubling per 15C. The
temperature difference leaves room for five doublings or a
factor of 2**5 or 32. The predicted lifespan of the capacitor
would be 64000 hours at 35C.

If the equation pops out an answer higher than 15 years, then
the assumption is, the rubber bung on the bottom of the cap
fails. Early in the life of the cap, the "chemistry equation"
applies. Later in life, the packaging falls apart, and that
is the proposed failure mechanism above 15 years. (Once
the rubber plug fails, it allows the capacitor to dry out.
Ozone will attack the rubber.)

When replacing caps, I would replace "like with like", in the
sense that I wouldn't change the class of capacitor used.
If a "switching power supply grade" electrolytic cap is used
in the Vcore circuit, I would select a similar type as a
substitute. If I were to place an OSCON or a polymer cap
in there, then re-evaluating the equations in the Vcore
design datasheet would be required. The following is an example
of a Vcore datasheet, with maths. Each datasheet will have different
kinds of advice, particular to the circuit and its
requirements. If you don't wish to use one of these,
then select caps from a "like" family, to what you
find on the motherboard.

(See, for example, page 14 "Cout Selection")

http://web.archive.org/web/200403310...5ADP3180_0.pdf

Paul
  #18  
Old September 26th 10, 10:48 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
personaobscura
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Posts: 8
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software

On Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:36:50 +0200, "Skybuck Flying"
wrote:


"PC Guy" wrote in message ...
I've got a few motherboards that I need to determine their operational
reliability / stability while running XP, so I'm wondering if there is
any free software that can do stress testing or "burn-in" operations for
one or two weeks continuously running under XP. Basically, any software
that can keep a system busy doing stuff until (or if) the system crashes
or locks up. Serial, parallel, network, audio and USB stress testing is
not required.


This is a bit strange.

So you wanna test a motherboard, but you don't wanna test mouses, printers,
networking/internet,
soundblasters/audio chips.

Then later on you describe an "average human being".

An average human being uses all of these things which you think are not
required for testing.

To me it seems you testing idea/method is already flawed from the start.

Bye,
Skybuck.


Coming from a world class nitwit like you, I find your comments friggin'
hilarious.
  #19  
Old October 21st 10, 04:31 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt,comp.sys.intel
Lee Waun
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Posts: 32
Default Looking for system stress / burn-in software



"John McGaw" wrote in message
...
On 9/18/2010 10:31 PM, PC Guy wrote:
I've got a few motherboards that I need to determine their operational
reliability / stability while running XP, so I'm wondering if there is
any free software that can do stress testing or "burn-in" operations for
one or two weeks continuously running under XP. Basically, any software
that can keep a system busy doing stuff until (or if) the system crashes
or locks up. Serial, parallel, network, audio and USB stress testing is
not required.

Anyone know of any such software?


Any software which runs the CPU(s) at 100% and uses a lot of memory
bandwidth will do what you describe and there are many ways to do it. One
of the simplest, and thus the most popular, programs that fills the bill
is Prime95. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime95



Interesting.

 




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