TMPLee@DOCKMASTER.ARPA (10/27/88)
I've been trying to keep track of exactly when I encounter the problem. It seems to be that it only happens after I launch a particular basic program, and almost always after I do so (I wasn't as meticulous about recording when it didn't happen as opposed to when it did.) The program uses the Beagle Bros. Copy verb to copy a directory of about a dozen files (macros, spelling dictionary) from my harddrive to /ram5. It first reads the directory, then builds up a list of the fiels, then installs the Copy verb, and finally copies them all. If I modify the program to skip the copying step the problem goes away, i.e., it must have something to do with the copying process itself and not the previous steps.
keith@Apple.COM (Keith Rollin) (10/28/88)
We may have a lead on this problem. For those of you just entering this story,
there were some complaints that people's computers were hanging after they
double clicked on a file and the Finder had put away all of its windows.
This is the point where the System Loader takes over. The fellow who wrote the
Loader saw your messages, and thinks that it is due to one of the last known
bugs that he fixed. He wasn't sure if a version of the System Loader that STILL
had the bug was the one that made it to System Disk 4.0, but he is sure that
the bug he recently fixed would cause the problems described.
Anyway, he was dereferencing a handle that wasn't properly locked down. Under
certain conditions - mostly prevalent in a GS/OS environment where a P8
program has been run, the data in the handle gets moved, and the Loader doesn't
notice. More sooner than later, the GS will hang up.
There is no real solution right now. The only thing I can suggest is to remove
some of the stress on you memory usage. Cut down on DA's, Permanent INITs, RAM
disk, RAM cache, etc.
Keith Rollin UUCP: amdahl\
Developer Technical Support pyramid!sun !apple!keith
Apple Computer decwrl/
BITNET: keith%apple.com@relay.cs.net
"You can do what you want to me, but leave my computer alone!"