low-level format before install?

[Chuck Swiger]

On Apr 7, 2009, at 12:44 PM, John Almberg wrote:
>> That sounds like either a hardware problem (ie CPU overheating or  
>> marginal PSU failing under production load), or less likely, some  
>> kind of software misconfiguration.  System logs would be useful to  
>> see whether any signs of trouble are being mentioned.
>
> Apparently, power was fluctuating drastically before they decided to  
> cut power, so a hardware problem is a definite possibility. A PSU  
> failure would not surprise me in the circumstances.
>
> Assuming I can ever ssh in again, what log would hardware failures  
> be reported to?

Start with /var/log/messages and output of "dmesg" command.  Doing an  
"ls -ltr /var/log" and looking at others which have changed recently  
would also be advisable...

Regards,
-- 
-Chuck