gettext @18.3.2 hangs and crashes computer when attempting upgrade

[zzanderr]

What I did:

sudo port selfupdate
sudo port ugrade outdated

My computer: PowerBook G4 15", 1.67GHz PPC(7450), OSX 10.5.8

Computer hangs--even the mouse cursor locks up--during the configure stage of upgrading gettext, and I must turn computer off by holding down the start button for 5 seconds.

Note that MacPorts wants to upgrade gettext to version 18.3.2!! I checked ​http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/ and it seems they are STILL only on release version 18.3.1 This seems a bit fishy. Should I be worried?

I am able to update other outdated software (e.g. fontconfig) by bypassing upgrading gettext using

sudo port -n upgrade fontconfig

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

I'm sorry to hear that trying to upgrade gettext crashes your computer, but it's not possible for that to be gettext's or MacPorts' fault. There must be something wrong with your computer. Do normal troubleshooting: use Disk Utility to check if your disk is ok; take out one or the other of your RAM chips to see if one of them may be faulty, etc.

I also have a PowerBook G4 1.67 GHz running Leopard and it was able to upgrade to gettext 0.18.3.2 just fine. This model did however have some hardware problems, such as a ​defect in the lower RAM slot. That article only describes that the RAM would not be recognized in the lower RAM slot, however on my PowerBook, having RAM installed in the lower RAM slot causes it to crash within seconds. Removing the RAM from the lower slot and using only the upper slot has made the computer usable again; now it only crashes if I let it get too hot, so I try to elevate it off the desk a quarter inch or so to give it more airflow.

The latest version of gettext is 0.18.3.2 which was released January 7, 2014. See ​http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gettext/?C=M;O=D . If it concerns you that the developers of gettext have forgotten to update their web page to indicate this, you should report that to the developers of gettext.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Replying to ryandesign@…:

The latest version of gettext is 0.18.3.2 which was released January 7, 2014. See ​http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gettext/?C=M;O=D .

Oh, and here is the announcement for this release: ​http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2014-01/msg00004.html

[zzanderr]

ryandesign,

Thanks for your prompt response and suggestions. As you have had no trouble in getting gettext 0.18.3.2 to compile on a similar PowerBook, I assume that the problem lies on my end. I ran the full Apple Hardware Test and no memory (or any other) problems were found. However, like your PowerBook, mine occasionally overheats, and that may actually be the reason gettext fails to compile here. When I am doing work that is processor intensive, I too try to get some air circulating around its body. I had not assumed that this was the problem because just a day before I compiled gcc47 and gcc48 without overheating issues. However, after I read your comments, I propped the computer up to allow air to flow underneath, and tried again. No go. It still began to act squirrelly quite early in the configuration stage, and I had to ctrl-c out of the compile. So I have no idea why my computer cannot compile gettext.

My main concern, and the reason why I posted the ticket as high priority, was the oddity of gettext's website not having clearly posted the new release. It now seems that I was overly hasty and should have poked around a little further before I posted a ticket. Please accept my apologies.

If you have any other ideas as to why I am having such trouble, I would be grateful to hear them. In any case, I guess I will try again when the next release of gettext appears.

Cheers, Zander Power

[zzanderr]

P.S.: I checked the serial number to see if I am one of those unfortunate customers with a lower memory slot defect, and it appears that I am safe. My serial number is W852819KSQ7 : )

Cheers Again, Zander Power

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

While I wish I could help, I'm going to have to close this ticket, since I don't think there's anything that can be done in MacPorts to resolve this.