dlc@vetch.c3.lanl.gov (Dale Carstensen) (12/20/88)
The only tricky part about this message is that it is not obvious that "x" means "swap." So, you probably are getting a disk (or nd on 3.X, or NFS on 4.0) error in the swap area for the workstation that gets the error. If you have a Ciprico driver older than about January 1988 and the workstation is a client with its swap space on a Ciprico-controlled disk, you may be encountering a bug in the driver, though.
dlc%beta@lanl.gov (Dale Carstensen) (01/04/89)
I confused myself. The "x" means executable, not swap. What is unique about executable files is that the "text" (instructions) part can be shared. One copy of frequently executed programs' text can sit around in buffers. If the memory where the buffers are gets clobbered, for instance the magic number area, then you could get that error message. I think you probably have a problem, either some unusual software that you run, some usual software that you run in an unusual way, or hardware. How did I begin to believe that x meant swap instead of executable? My Dad told me when I was about 12 that I should be more selective about how much I tried to learn, because I would reach a point where every new thing I learned would replace something else I had learned earlier. I haven't forgotten that he told me that yet, so I have my doubts about his theory, but some connection in my brain certainly got crossed up in this case!