more or less spontaneous reboots with Suse 6.4 / Postgresql 7.0.2

> I use Suse Linux 6.4 (kernel 2.2.14) and when I'm executing SQL
> statements in batch to postgresql (like: psql db < schema.sql) I have a
> fair chance that Linux reboots.

I've had spontaneous reboot problems with several Linux and FreeBSD
systems. In every single case, the problem turned out to be a hardware
problem. In a nutshell, by feeding a lot of requests through psql,
you're hammering the hardware and something is failing. I bet it
also crashes if you compile the Linux kernel or some other large
program. The problem could be any number of things:
* You could be touching memory that doesn't normally get used.
* Your disk controller or disk drive might be stumbling over the heavy
load.
* I had an old machine that would trash the L2 cache if I used
the disk too heavily. To stabilize that system, I ultimately
just turned off the cache.
Start by carefully checking all of the cables. Then
try swapping out hardware until you can find the problem.
Memory, hard disk controller, hard disk, network card, CPU cache,
are all potential culprits.

- Tim Kientzle