On Mon, 2007-10-15 at 11:53 -0600, Karl Larsen wrote: > Alan M. Evans wrote: > > On Mon, 2007-10-15 at 06:48 -0600, Karl Larsen wrote: > > > >> F7 doesn't freeze up due to a software > >> problem. Only if you have a hardware fault. > >> > > > > I would laugh if it weren't so sad, Karl. Now I'm almost terrified to > > ask the question: What would lead you to conclude that software (in this > > case, presumably, a sound card driver) couldn't freeze up the system? > > > > Truly, I fear the answer. > > > > > Then do not read this. In general a software failure will not cause > F7 to freeze up. But hardware failures can cause this. > > Software problems usually cause the program your using to complain > about a segmentation fault and quit. But the computer stays up and working. > > Of course there are exceptions to any general rule. See, here you are softening your position. Whereas before you used "doesn't" and "only," now you are saying "usually" and "there are exceptions." I was replying, of course, to your more hard-line statements, lacking the crystal ball to see your later revised statements. Nonetheless, your statement about software complaining and segfaulting is mostly true for userland apps. Other software, like drivers, routinely lock up systems harder than a bank vault if there's a bug in them. To say that system freeze is only a hardware fault (in the "try re-seating the sound card" sense) is categorically false.
