Andy Hayward wrote:
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> On 09/12/2007, Mats Erik Andersson <mats@mea.homelinux.org> wrote:
>> First, I have OpenBSD 4.2 running on this machine using
>> AMD-K6-2/350 on an AT-mainboard with VIA chipset VT82C598
>> and VT82C586B. (Well, both AT and ATX in fact.) I have not
>> detected any trouble until I patched libssl according to
>> the official suggestion, but already when performing
>> "make depend", the execution aborts prematurely and reports
>> a segmentation fault in cc1 that gnu.org ought to know about.
>> The very same thing happened three times with reboots
>> inbetween and even rearranged SDRAM just in case.
> 
> Segmentation faults during compilation is often a symptom of faulty memory.

or memory subsystem... (which is an important difference in this
case, I suspect).

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> (Old faq on this issue available at http://www.bitwizard.nl/sig11/)

and is referenced in the OpenBSD FAQ, as well. :)

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> Grab a copy of memtest86+, and test the memory throughly.

and if it finds a problem, fine.  If it doesn't, don't say it isn't
memory...

AMD-K6/2 systems are quirky with regard to RAM.  Hopefully, you have a
deep and wide spare parts pile to try different RAM in the things
until you find something that works in the machine.  Or, as is often
the case on these things, you can slow down the bus speed of the
processor (and sometimes, partly compensate by cranking the multiplier)
and solve these problems.  Failing that, try 133MHz RAM.

I'm not sure what the exact source of the problem is, but it's common.
It's not so much bad RAM as it is a quirky memory system.

I've got a slightly similar machine here which took four or five
restarts to get a complete custom kernel built for (which was needed
for a driver not in GENERIC), but once running, it is pretty solid.
I won't even try to build a system with it until I get around to
slowing it down/putting better RAM in it.

Nick.