LinuxQuestions.org - the freeze

- Ubuntu (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/ubuntu-63/)

- - the freeze (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/ubuntu-63/the-freeze-343136/)

I just installed Kubuntu the other day, and I imediately had problems. It would randomly lock up on me, I wouldn't even be doing anything, but the computer would freeze, Ctrl Alt Dlt and Ctrl Alt Backspace doesn't work, and I have to restart manually. All my friends thought it has something to do with having the wrong drivers, so they instructed me on how to update and install them (GeForce 5700). However, I still have the same problem, could someone please help guide me through it?

Linux relies on hard disk availability, and a bad (or badly crimped) ribbon cable can cause the symptoms you report.

So, open your box and check your drive cables. Or just replace then -- they're fairly cheap. (If you do replace them, get the "round" ones: they don't have so many problems, and improve air flow inside your case.)

Note that all this advice assumes that you're running on a desktop system. Notebooks seldom have drive cable problems.

I'd say you were right...

but

I don't have ANY problems while working for hours while not in the X environment. Also, the freezes are random. I might leave the room to go to the bathroom, and when I came back it's frozen. I never did a thing yet it froze. Also, I had Slackware on the computer just a few days ago and it didn't have any problems like that, even when I was in KDE.

Thanks, but I think it's something else.......

O.K. (It's almost alwas best to check the simple stuff first, hence my suggestion.)

Here's another one: Look a the logs in /var/log to see if you've got an error message in one of them.

For example, here's my list of today's errors:

Code:

$ sudo cat /var/log/* 2>/dev/null | grep -i "Jul 14.*error:"

Password:

Jul 14 07:07:14 tss-4 sshd[2348]: error: Bind to port 22 on 0.0.0.0 failed: Address already in use.

Jul 14 09:35:46 tss-4 sshd[2350]: error: Bind to port 22 on 0.0.0.0 failed: Address already in use.

(Those "errors" are not too interesting, but yours may be different.)

Note that the command string I used looks at every log in /var/log and its subdirectories, so you can't tell which log the message came from. The "2>/dev/null" part of the directs error messages to the bit bucket, since an error message is generated when you try to cat a directory.

The "grep" filter restricts the output to lines that contain "jul 14" followed by "error:" (The -i option specifies a case-insensitive filter.)

well, I did that and nothing happened, it just gave me a new command line.

Well, it was a simple thing to try. No output means, of course, that there were no errors listed in the logs. Or -- if you used the exact command I suggested, nothing for today with "error:" in it.

You could try a wider search:

Code:

sudo cat /var/log/* 2>/dev/null | grep -i "error"

to list all occurrences of any line with "error" in it, but you'll get several lines defining error conditions, which may be confusing.

Since you seem to be able to run without the Xserver, I'd suspect that your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file might be "out-of-sync" with your display hardware. In order to check that, you need to know exactly what vidieo chip set you're using, what its specificatiions are, and the exact specifications for your display system. You'll need to review :study: the info file for the xserver, or ask others here fore help.

I'd look for a video buffer size that was wrong, or a DMA address range that was incorrect.

You may have noted from my tag information that I run a Fedora system, not Kubuntu, so I can't give you any specific help, just these kinds of "generic" comments.

Sorry -- I jumped in because you weren't getting any suggestions.

Consider starting another thread, listing your full system hardware specification: CPU, Memory, RAM size, HD size(s) and manufacture, display system, video chip set, etc. List what you've tried, and what you know, and -- hopefully -- someone in the Ubuntu group will help.

Again, my apolpgies :scratch: but I don't think I can offer much more.