How Linux handles hardware problems

“As we should all know, kernel lockups in Linux are very rare,
and in fact I can easily count the number of instances I’ve seen it
happen over 14 years, and keep it under a total count of 10. They
usually happen due to hardware problems, when the kernel can no
longer run. Recently, I’ve seen an 10 year old server running Red
Hat Linux 7.1, lock up completely. And yes, the OS was installed on
the Dell Poweredge 2400 10 years ago, back in 2001, and has been
running just fine for many years. Never any file corruption or
slowdowns, or other issues like we see with old Windows
installations. Recently, the server was shut off abruptly due to an
extended power outage. After that, it would run for roughly a week
at a time then lock up. The screen at the console was black one
time, and another time had a kernel dump screen.”

Complete Story