Random lockups
 

On 3 July 2012 18:10, Frank McCormick <debianlist@videotron.ca> wrote:





* My desktop running Debian Sid just locked up for the 4th or 5th time recently.



* *There is nothing is the syslog...nothing in the xorg log. The system just locks changing what's on the screen to yellow tinged text.

It locks so tight that only a hard reset gets it back. Alt-SysReq does nothing.



* *It will lockup at different places...reading mail, browsing the web, reading a manual etc etc



* *I am running an Intel D865GBF board, and Intel on-board video.



uname -a



Linux sid.dummy.org 3.2.0-2-686-pae #1 SMP Mon Jun 11 18:27:04 UTC 2012 i686 GNU/Linux



I have to use "processor.nocst=1" to allow this kernel to boot.



I don't think it's kernel related as I have been running this kernel for a few months and the problem only started recently.



I ran memtest86 for a couple of hours and it didn't show anything.



Gkrellm was showing "normal temps" so neither the CPU nor the motherboard was overheated...voltages from what I remember were normal.



I am *stumped. Suggestions ??





--

Cheers

Frank
I had been experiencing random browser lock ups (Squeeze), & it turned out to be my /var was filling up.

Possibly something to check.
--
Sent from FOSS (Free Open Source Software)

Debian GNU/Linux

Random lockups
 

On Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:10:24 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:

> My desktop running Debian Sid just locked up for the 4th or 5th time
> recently.
>
> There is nothing is the syslog...nothing in the xorg log. The system
> just locks changing what's on the screen to yellow tinged text. It locks
> so tight that only a hard reset gets it back. Alt-SysReq does nothing.

(...)

Can you still login from ssh? If so, X is crashing.

Also, if you can, try to load "vesa" or "fb" VGA driver instead "intel",
although with KMS in place I don't know if this is still possible neither
the steps to proceed.

> I am running an Intel D865GBF board, and Intel on-board video.

That's an old motherboard, right? :-?

Greetings,

--
Camaleón


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Random lockups
 

On 04/07/12 01:12 PM, Camaleón wrote:

On Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:10:24 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:


My desktop running Debian Sid just locked up for the 4th or 5th time
recently.

There is nothing is the syslog...nothing in the xorg log. The system
just locks changing what's on the screen to yellow tinged text. It locks
so tight that only a hard reset gets it back. Alt-SysReq does nothing.


(...)

Can you still login from ssh? If so, X is crashing.



Yes, but nothing works



Also, if you can, try to load "vesa" or "fb" VGA driver instead "intel",
although with KMS in place I don't know if this is still possible neither
the steps to proceed.



I have done that - fbdev **seems** to run fine - except the mouse
cursor disappears at random. Found it too annoying so went back to the
Intel driver...and it hasn't locked up yet today (crossed-fingers). The
Vesa driver is next to useless as it really doesn't like doing anything
more than 800x600.



I am running an Intel D865GBF board, and Intel on-board video.


That's an old motherboard, right? :-?



Yes, about 5 or 6 years old...but from prowling the net it seems
newer Intel boards aren't much better. I'd still like to hear advice on
the best/easiest video card to run. I ran Nvidia for a while but got
tired of constantly recompiling whenever a new kernel popped up. I'd
like something other than Nvidia.






--
Cheers
Frank



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Random lockups
 

On Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:46:56 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:

> On 04/07/12 01:12 PM, Camaleón wrote:
>> On Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:10:24 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:
>>
>>> My desktop running Debian Sid just locked up for the 4th or 5th time
>>> recently.
>>>
>>> There is nothing is the syslog...nothing in the xorg log. The
>>> system
>>> just locks changing what's on the screen to yellow tinged text. It
>>> locks so tight that only a hard reset gets it back. Alt-SysReq does
>>> nothing.
>>
>> (...)
>>
>> Can you still login from ssh? If so, X is crashing.
>
>
> Yes, but nothing works

What do you mean by that? :-?

Sure you can't get a full-featured environment when login from remote but
the fact the kernel is still "alive" (accepting logins, network up...) it
points to a less severe problem (xserver-xorg?).

>> Also, if you can, try to load "vesa" or "fb" VGA driver instead
>> "intel", although with KMS in place I don't know if this is still
>> possible neither the steps to proceed.
>
>
> I have done that - fbdev **seems** to run fine - except the mouse
> cursor disappears at random.

Ugh. But the issue with the screen freeze and the yellow text is not
present with this driver, right?

> Found it too annoying so went back to the Intel driver...and it hasn't
> locked up yet today (crossed-fingers).

Maybe an update in the middle? :-?

> The Vesa driver is next to useless as it really doesn't like doing
> anything more than 800x600.

Yes, I know, the plain VGA drivers are close to useless nowadays but they
still serve for testing purposes like this situation :-)

>>> I am running an Intel D865GBF board, and Intel on-board video.
>>
>> That's an old motherboard, right? :-?
>
>
> Yes, about 5 or 6 years old...but from prowling the net it seems
> newer Intel boards aren't much better. I'd still like to hear advice on
> the best/easiest video card to run. I ran Nvidia for a while but got
> tired of constantly recompiling whenever a new kernel popped up. I'd
> like something other than Nvidia.

nVidia would be my personal choice but true is that when using sid the
problem with the driver can be a headache because of the constant kernel
updates (unless you can use module assistant or can be happy with
nouveau, the open source driver).

Other than nVidia there are ATI (which I don't like so much) and Matrox
(but these cards are currently out of the 3D market and I don't know
about their current linux support...).

Anyway, I wouldn't give up with your current system. If finally is X that
freezes, you can open a bug report or test with a different driver
version (either downgrade from the current one or try to get the lastest
from upstream sources).

Greetings,

--
Camaleón


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Random lockups
 

On 04/07/12 04:11 PM, Camaleón wrote:

On Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:46:56 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:


On 04/07/12 01:12 PM, Camaleón wrote:

On Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:10:24 -0400, Frank McCormick wrote:


My desktop running Debian Sid just locked up for the 4th or 5th time
recently.





Can you still login from ssh? If so, X is crashing.



Yes, but nothing works





The kernel is fine - I **believe** it's X that is chasing its tail :)



fbdev **seems** to run fine - except the mouse
cursor disappears at random.


Ugh. But the issue with the screen freeze and the yellow text is not
present with this driver, right?


Didn't run it long enough to determine that.



Found it too annoying so went back to the Intel driver...and it hasn't
locked up yet today (crossed-fingers).


Maybe an update in the middle? :-?


Nope...same driver


I am running an Intel D865GBF board, and Intel on-board video.


That's an old motherboard, right? :-?



Yes, about 5 or 6 years old...but from prowling the net it seems
newer Intel boards aren't much better. I'd still like to hear advice on
the best/easiest video card to run. I ran Nvidia for a while but got
tired of constantly recompiling whenever a new kernel popped up. I'd
like something other than Nvidia.


nVidia would be my personal choice but true is that when using sid the
problem with the driver can be a headache because of the constant kernel
updates (unless you can use module assistant or can be happy with
nouveau, the open source driver).



Maybe Nvidia is really the only choice...but this time I'll start off
with Nouveau and see how it runs





Anyway, I wouldn't give up with your current system. If finally is X that
freezes, you can open a bug report or test with a different driver
version (either downgrade from the current one or try to get the lastest
from upstream sources).


I have a look at upstream bugs.

Thanks
--

Cheers
Frank



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Random lockups
 

The golden rule with random, that is, not reproducible by doing something,
is you are looking at a hardware problem, not an OS problem.

The way to diagnose the hardware is to replace with known
good parts until the problem is resolved. Power supplies and motherboards
are common culprits. Memory problem is usually identifiable with
some errors as clues, not lockups.


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