computer reliability
in [Design]
|
Prev: Dumbed down consumer electronics: Adding DTV channels
Next: Can I run a "brushless DC FAN" backwards?
From: JosephKK on 1 Aug 2010 19:23 Found this recently: ++++++++++ Subject: Tech worker: 'Blue screen of death' on oil rig's computer Gregg Keizer, *Computerworld*, 26 Jul 2010 A computer that monitored drilling operations on the Deepwater Horizon had been freezing with a [BSOD] prior to the explosion that sank the oil rig last April, the chief electrician aboard testified Friday at a federal hearing. In his testimony Friday, Michael Williams, the chief electronics technician aboard the Transocean-owned Deepwater Horizon, said that the rig's safety alarm had been habitually switched to a bypass mode to avoid waking up the crew with middle-of-the-night warnings. Williams said that a computer control system in the drill shack would still record high gas levels or a fire, but it would not trigger warning sirens, He also said that five weeks before the April 20 explosion, he had been called to check a computer system that monitored and controlled drilling. The machine had been locking up for months. You'd have no data coming through." With the computer frozen, the driller would not have access to crucial data about what was going on in the well. The April disaster left 11 dead and resulted in the largest oil spill in U.S. history. ========== What can i say? MS Windows should not be used for safety critical systems in any way.
From: Richard Henry on 1 Aug 2010 19:52 On Aug 1, 4:23 pm, "JosephKK"<quiettechb...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Found this recently: > > ++++++++++ > > Subject: Tech worker: 'Blue screen of death' on oil rig's computer > > Gregg Keizer, *Computerworld*, 26 Jul 2010 > > A computer that monitored drilling operations on the Deepwater Horizon > had been freezing with a [BSOD] prior to the explosion that sank the > oil rig last April, the chief electrician aboard testified Friday at a > federal hearing. > > In his testimony Friday, Michael Williams, the chief electronics > technician aboard the Transocean-owned Deepwater Horizon, said that > the rig's safety alarm had been habitually switched to a bypass mode > to avoid waking up the crew with middle-of-the-night warnings. > > Williams said that a computer control system in the drill shack would > still record high gas levels or a fire, but it would not trigger > warning sirens, He also said that five weeks before the April 20 > explosion, he had been called to check a computer system that > monitored and controlled drilling. The machine had been locking up > for months. You'd have no data coming through." With the computer > frozen, the driller would not have access to crucial data about what > was going on in the well. > > The April disaster left 11 dead and resulted in the largest oil spill > in U.S. history. > > ========== > > What can i say? MS Windows should not be used for safety critical > systems in any way. Old news: The Yorktown lost control of its propulsion system because its computers were unable to divide by the number zero, the memo said. The Yorktowns Standard Monitoring Control System administrator entered zero into the data field for the Remote Data Base Manager program. That caused the database to overflow and crash all LAN consoles and miniature remote terminal units, the memo said. http://gcn.com/articles/1998/07/13/software-glitches-leave-navy-smart-ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx
From: Jamie on 1 Aug 2010 20:13 JosephKK wrote: > Found this recently: > > ++++++++++ > > Subject: Tech worker: 'Blue screen of death' on oil rig's computer > > Gregg Keizer, *Computerworld*, 26 Jul 2010 > > A computer that monitored drilling operations on the Deepwater Horizon > had been freezing with a [BSOD] prior to the explosion that sank the > oil rig last April, the chief electrician aboard testified Friday at a > federal hearing. > > In his testimony Friday, Michael Williams, the chief electronics > technician aboard the Transocean-owned Deepwater Horizon, said that > the rig's safety alarm had been habitually switched to a bypass mode > to avoid waking up the crew with middle-of-the-night warnings. > > Williams said that a computer control system in the drill shack would > still record high gas levels or a fire, but it would not trigger > warning sirens, He also said that five weeks before the April 20 > explosion, he had been called to check a computer system that > monitored and controlled drilling. The machine had been locking up > for months. You'd have no data coming through." With the computer > frozen, the driller would not have access to crucial data about what > was going on in the well. > > The April disaster left 11 dead and resulted in the largest oil spill > in U.S. history. > > ========== > > What can i say? MS Windows should not be used for safety critical > systems in any way. I didn't know BSOD was $MS ?
From: Muzaffer Kal on 1 Aug 2010 20:27 On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 16:52:22 -0700 (PDT), Richard Henry <pomerado(a)hotmail.com> wrote: >On Aug 1, 4:23�pm, "JosephKK"<quiettechb...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> Found this recently: >> >> Subject: Tech worker: 'Blue screen of death' on oil rig's computer >> > >Old news: > >The Yorktown lost control of its propulsion system because its >computers were unable to >divide by the number zero, the memo said. The Yorktown�s Standard > >http://gcn.com/articles/1998/07/13/software-glitches-leave-navy-smart-ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx I think the following forum should be of interest to anyone using computers: http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/risks -- Muzaffer Kal DSPIA INC. ASIC/FPGA Design Services http://www.dspia.com
From: Dave M on 1 Aug 2010 20:47
Muzaffer Kal wrote: > On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 16:52:22 -0700 (PDT), Richard Henry > <pomerado(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > >> On Aug 1, 4:23 pm, "JosephKK"<quiettechb...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >>> Found this recently: >>> >>> Subject: Tech worker: 'Blue screen of death' on oil rig's computer >>> >> >> Old news: >> >> The Yorktown lost control of its propulsion system because its >> computers were unable to >> divide by the number zero, the memo said. The Yorktown's Standard >> >> http://gcn.com/articles/1998/07/13/software-glitches-leave-navy-smart-ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx > > I think the following forum should be of interest to anyone using > computers: http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/risks ----------------------------------------- Waaayyyy too much reading to do in a reasonable amount of time. If you can point to any documentation that would be applicable to the subject of this thread, please do so. I'm not a Windows proponent, but since it's the OS that runs all of the apps that I need and like, it's the one that I use and prefer until something much better comes along. Also, the BSOD can be attributed to Windows malfunction or misconfiguration, a hardware failure, or application software failure or misconfiguration. I haven't heard whether the actual cause of the BSOD was ever determined. Until that can be known, you can't put the blame on the OS. At any rate, the brunt of the blame should rest on the computer tech, since, apparently, the problem was never resolved. As to the the Yorktown issue, that problem was most likely an application software deficiency, not the OS. Any software developer worth 10% of his pay will trap and handle bad data entry occurrences, which is what that was. If the application software calculates and attempts to use a zero value in a calculation it should detect that and handle it so as not to crash either the OS or the application. -- David dgminala at mediacombb dot net |