Hi guys.....I'm a proud Slackware user, and some days ago I updated system from 10.0 to -current, with kernel 2.6.9. When using xchat or kmail, my PC freezes. mouse keeps moving, music keeps playing until the end of the current song, but NOTHING ELSE works. ctrl+alt+f6 doesn't switch console, ctrl+alt+backspace doesn't close X.org, the only way out is ctrl+alt+sysrq+B to reboot system.
I came back to 10.0 (I formatted root partition) but the problem is still here......logs reports NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING.....i'm starting to think that it could be an hardware problem, like ram fault.....
please, help me.......i'm starting to hate slack......

I don't think re-installing will help you. It may just be your combination of hardware/software. I have had this *exact* same problem several times in the past using Redhat 9.0 and Fedora 1 (since then I've switched my hardware). What happens is the X-servers get stuck in some runaway mode and refuses to give up control essentially locking you out. However the computer is still technically usable (ie. I could ssh into it).

Sorry I don't know of any solution other than switching hardware (in my case it was something on the motherboard). ... Either that or try going back to what did work (10 or whatever). If THAT fails then you most likely have a HW problem.

I already tried to reinstall, but without results......but I think I solved the problem.......i came back from kernel 2.6.9 to 2.6.8.1, and it seems everything is ok....

Nope, same strange thing.....but now I'm sure that even if the screen image is frozen, X keeps working....if I try to input something, it works.....but WHY ?????

I'm glad it isn't just me!

However, it seems to have nothing to do with what program I am using. But the screen freezes except for the mouse pointer, which keeps going! Not that it happens often, but it has twice today!

This has happened on my last three computers! They are all nvidia based. There are a small number of Hardwares that have been used across all three computers.

1 - XIOD 17" LCD Monitor: Had it for years, no problems at first.
2 - Speakers: Surely not.
3 - One of my Hard Drives. It is now the secondary drive and mounted as a Windows D: partition and /mnt/win_d so I guess not.

As Sherlock Holmes once said, Once you have elimiated the impossible, what remains, no matter how unlikely, is the answer (or something like that).

When I bought the computer I first had this problem with, I also bought a keyboard and mouse. Guess what brand? MICROSOFT!

Are my problems a B*ll G*t*s plot? Well I recently fitted a cheap Tevion wireless Keyboard and Mouse set. After a week I had to return it to the local ALDI and get my money back as they didn't have any more. The problems were:

(a) The L-key needed a firmer touch to register, so I couldn't touch-type, and:
(b) After a while, it would not register a third key-press, (say CTRL-ALT-Backspace) and the only way to correct it was to take out and put back the batteries!

Whilst it was on, however, I never got a single freeze! That said, I often go weeks without one so it could be a co-incidence!

Anyways I will try a cheap replacement keyboard and mouse and see how I get on!

I have the problem too and have always thought it to be an nvidia driver problem.

Problem solved -------> buggy DRI
Just deactivated it in xorg.conf, everything works fine.

See ya

I'm pretty sure I don't even have DRI enabled in xorg.conf. What precise change did you make?

just commented this

[cut]
Load DRI
[cut]

I used to use Slack. I never had any problems like that. It could be a bad block on the hard drive. However, I would guess that the programs you first had problems with may have had bugs, possibly ones that altered the configuration of important files. -The only advice I can say is, did you reboot and force a system check. -Sometimes the problems I get with linux is something very minor and linux can fix itself with the system check.

I hope you can get everthing working okay. Good luck...

They tell you to do that in the nvidia readme.

A few days ago I got a Trust cordless keyboard and mouse set. Took off Microsoft keyboard and mouse, and put on Trust set.

I've not yet had the screen freeze. Maybe I'm speaking too soon, and it'll happen in a minute, but for now it seems OK.

Thing is that in graphical modes, X communicates with the Keyboard and Mouse as well as the Display. That is two-way communication to a point, (ie software switching NUM-LOCK lights) but with a cordless there is only one-way communication.

With the M$ keyboard there was the additional complication that the OS resets the F-key extensions on the keyboard on bootup. I'm sure this had something to do with it.

I have ATI card....