All,

I have a desktop running Ubuntu 18.04 that randomly freezes, most often while Youtube is playing a video via Brave browser. This is not the first time but it's gotten much much worse over the last week (8 reboots just yesterday).

I built the computer myself; it's an AsRock X370 Killer SLI/ac with a Ryzen 5 3400G (which replaced a Ryzen 5 2400G) and 16GB of QVL-listed memory. I had the same problems with the 2400G, and because it was new to the market, I followed information from Phoronix (updating kernel and BIOS) that mostly, but not completely, cured the problem. Upgrading to the Ryzen 3400G made it better, but not totally fixed.

This week, my computer has become almost unusable because of how often it freezes. I've started downloading the logs to txt files yesterday, and though I'm no programmer, the last entries on most of the logs before freezing from yesterday are:

systemd-resolve: Server returned error NXDOMAIN, mitigating potential DNS violation DVE-2018-0001, retrying transaction with reduced feature level UDP

The behavior: I'll be surfing, including Youtube (I often have a podcast on while I do other things). If I'm actively watching a video, the audio stops and the mouse freezes; if not watching a video, the mouse just freezes. If I continue trying to move the mouse, it will sometimes go to a black screen with a small cursor in the top left hand corner, and then various error messages start scrolling; mostly
EXT4-fs error(sda1) __ext4_fail_entry and

systemd-journald[434]:failed to write entry

And sometimes the computer will run for a couple of weeks without a hiccup. With the old processor and the updated kernel and BIOS, I once went almost 40 days before an unrelated issue caused me to reboot.

I've run Ubuntu disks on both hdds and they check out fine (except the Power On hours are wildly wrong).

I'm at a loss ... I'm considering a new distro (mint 20) except that I have a LOT of applications I'd have to reinstall but, except for the freeze issue, I'm perfectly content with Ubuntu.

As I said before, I'm not a programmer, but I am comfortable with the command line if I've got clear instructions. If I've left out any information that will help, let me know what you need and I'll try to get it.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

TIA,

Anthony ... Ubuntu user since Feisty Fawn!

PS Today I noticed the last time it's frozen that the log stopped at 13:15, but the clock on the desktop was still running even though I couldn't do anything. Don't know if that means anything, I just happened to notice.

The very first thing I'd like you to do is to run Memtest on the computer to check the integrity of memory. It have to run for several hours to make sure there is no faulty ram sticks.

If i'm not remember it wrong, memtest should be available directly from the Ubuntu boot DVD/Usb.

Thanks, Grobe!

Memtester (2 passes) shows no faults. I'll run it again overnight with more passes. I'd also point out that I had to use a live distro because the computer froze while trying it on the installed system.

Update: Overnight memtester (10 passes) returns the same result.

A

Ok, let see if it can be the hdd that's failing.

When in live session, run "Disks" program, and have a look at what it says about S.M.A.R.T. data of the hdd.

Sorry for the delay ... didn't see your post until heading for bed!

Disks Overall Assessment of both disks is OK.

I've attached screenshots of the results.





sda is the newest drive, installed around the first of 2018; sdb is an older drive that originally was storage for a Kodi appliance that I upgraded in Jan of this year. The Power On Hours value for sdb (over 11 years) may be accurate, but then it's only a storage drive that I really don't use for anything; for sda that's pretty close.

Ironically, the computer ran for almost 24 hours yesterday before it froze!

Are you sure this are the correct error messages, copy pasted instead of written out by you?
I get no results for https://duckduckgo.com/?q="ext4_fail_entry"...

The second line yields more.

Thanks Ondoho,

It's the 'correct' message as well as I can remember it, as it's just messages scrolling down the screen and is not copy-and-pastable. Note that this only happens occasionally; most of the time the computer just freezes and I have to reset it or power-cycle it.

I searched both the messages but didn't find anything that made sense to me, nor provided a solution.

A

This is my thread.
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...th-4175685165/

I have a Ryzen 1800X 3.6 GHz
It seems to be a CPU (Ryzen series) + Linux problem that doesn't effect Windows 7 somehow.

I looked at
https://community.amd.com/t5/process...up/td-p/156304


One guy gave this link
https://github.com/r4m0n/ZenStates-Linux

That has some cryptic information.
Basically, you have to open the command line and type
sudo modprobe msr
sudo python3 zenstates.py --c6-disable
(zenstates.py has to be in your current folder or give the full path.
Python3 is the program that interprets the python script.)

~~~~vmelkon

Thanks for all your help so far ...

I've since upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04, but the problems still remain.

vmelkon - I'm going to hold off on the c states for right now.

I have been into the resolv.conf files.

/etc/resolv.conf is a symlink to /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf . Both of the files are the same, the operative entries being:

nameserver 127.0.0.53
options edns0 trust-ad

/run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf, however has :

nameserver 192.168.1.157
nameserver 208.67.220.220
nameserver 192.168.1.1

One of the most recent log files shows a systemd-resolve error: Using degraded feature set (UDP) for DNS server 192.168.1.157.

192.168.1.1 is my router, which is currently using DNS servers 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.220.222 (I think that's opendns), but 192.168.1.157 is the static address I gave a pihole appliance, which I no longer use.

Could this be causing a conflict? The pihole software has long been uninstalled (I repurposed the RPi at least a year and a half ago) and I would assume (I know, I know!) that the uninstall process would revert any DNS changes.

I know there are ways to permanently edit resolv.conf files but, as I'm no programmer, I'm loathe to do that.

Thanks again for your time and indulgence!

a

I don't think it is going to help. I have also tried Kubuntu 20.10.
I think disabling C6 state is the way to go.

~~~~vmelkon

So, since my last post, I've tried the 'disable C6' via zenstates.py and there is no improvement (I have changed from Ubuntu to Mint, as I was having boot issues with Ubuntu*). I've added module msr (as per zenstate requirements) but I haven't gotten zenstates to start at boot yet.

So, what's next?!

a

*I am using a new HDD and I'm NOT using the old Ubuntu /home partition wholesale (though I am copying configurations as I install apps). If I need to move this to the Mint subforum I will.

I haven't set it up to set the zenstates automatically either. The one time I forgot, in a couple of hours, Kubuntu was frozen.
Other than that, I am not forgetting and it has been 2 weeks and Kubuntu runs fine.

I would suggest that you also downclock your DDR4 RAM and possible increase timing values from within your BIOS.
Are you running your RAM at or above 3200 MHz?

~~~~vmelkon

vmelkon,

Everything on my computer is running stock ... no overclocking. The DDR4 memory is vanilla 2400mHz and that's what it's set for in the BIOS. And whether I forget to run zenstates or not, my computer freezes ... not 'if', but 'when?'.

I don't play video games and I'm not interested in wringing the most performance out of a processor that I can ... I want a computer that works.

While I appreciate yours and others' help, I'll have to consider this unsolvable.

a

2400 MHz is quite low, so I don't think it is a RAM problem. Are you using Ryzen 5 3400G as a graphics chip as well? I would try a separate video card just to see if this is a driver related issue.

~~~~vmelkon

Yeah, else why would I intentionally pick an APU?

I've concluded that this isn't an OS problem because it happens literally no matter what flavor of Linux I'm using.

My thanks to all of you who have graciously taken time out of your lives to try to help.

a