Hardware Error: miscompares on Nokia Booklet 3G
My last days experience with the Nokia Booklet 3G were not too superb, the Google memory stress tester spotted some miscompares:
Hardware Error: miscompare on CPU 1(0×2) at 0×5bd98480(0×0:DIMM Unknown): read:0×0000000004000000, reread:0×0000000004000000 expected:0×0400000004000000
Hardware Error: miscompare on CPU 1(0×2) at 0×49363240(0×0:DIMM Unknown): read:0×0000000004000000, reread:0×0000000004000000 expected:0×0400000004000000
…
Could explain some things.
Question is who’s to blame? Memory, Chipset, CPU, OS?
Given this, and Google’s latest paper on memory errors I consider making an stressapptest run part of my standard system installation procedure, …
Update: With the same binary, (Linux) kernel and (Google) test-application, from the same USB stick the Google memory tester does not find an issue with any other machine int the office, from other Atom 330, over VIA C7, Intel Core 2 Duo, to 8-way Xeons. I even just walked over the the Sony Style Store in Berlin, checked a Sony Vaio VGN-X with 1.86GHz Z-series Atom - which did not report a glitch in some minutes of testing, either. So the “generic” Intel Poulsbo chipset option becomes less likely (well, you’d never know, I just say Intel F00F, FDIV bug).
While we are at it: The Nokia support is a huge joke, they claim no warranty if the OS was formatted, e.g. the Win 7 Starter updaeted, manually installed, even just Win 7 Home Premium / Professional, whatever. Forget about Linux. They stress not to remove the “hidden” recovery partition. I just had the worst support call, ever!
Update 2: The same happens on an US (mine is DE) Booklet in a Best Buy store over in the US. So it’s certainly not a single incident. However, given other server hardware shows the same in the google stresstest application list I have hope this is a bug in the tester :-)
November 8th, 2009 at 17:37
I received a mail from someone at Nokia (not support) telling me that they will provide the Windows drivers at http://europe.nokia.com/get-support-and-software/product-support/booklet-3g/software on monday afternoon.
Appart from missing support I’m still quite satisfied with the Booklet. Reception in a train without repeaters was excellent (T-Mobile). Runtime is around 10 hours. The GMA500 sucks a bit when opening pictures but the device is running fine.
What the support told you regarding warranty is the way they treat their phone customers. If you change the phones productcode to debrand it in order to get a firmware update not yet available for your provider branded model, you lose the warranty - says Nokia.
November 8th, 2009 at 17:43
BTW, Nokias turn-around-time when you send something in to get it repaired usually is somewhere between 3 weeks and 2 months. In case of the Booklet I expect it to be rather near 2 months than 3 weeks as they don’t manufacture it themselves. So their warranty isn’t worth that much anyway.
November 8th, 2009 at 18:07
Thanks for letting me know about the support. As it’s my first Nokia product ever, I have no experience there. I already feared I’ll not get it back quickly, and thus planed to hand it to them not before December, as I’ll have some travelling for mid and end of November, …
Btw. If I create a 10MB ISO or hard-disk imaeg with the Google memory tester, could you give it a try on your booklet?
You wrote to use T-Mobile, are you also loated in Germany?