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    #1

    Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

    I recently did a fresh install of Lucid from a factory CD on my HP desktop box, which has been running previous versions of Kubuntu for several years. Its a HP, 2.5 Ghz pentium 4, 1 gig RAM. Install seemed to go well and pretty much everything works as expected, but the OS will crash suddenly and go to black screen and then to a text login. Login then brings me to a prompt but no GUI. StartX command fails. I shut down and restart and all is normal until the next crash. May crash minutes or hours later seemingly without any connection to what I am doing at the time.

    Any ideas about how to diagnose this or what to do about it? I've searched around for answers but can't seem to find anything relevant.
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    #2
    Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

    Reboot and choose the memory test. Let it run - overnight if you can. Either confirm or eliminate a RAM problem.
    Windows no longer obstructs my view.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

      Hate to sound dense, but its inevitable. This is a Linux-only machine and boots directly to the login GUI without a pause at GRUB. I have only the fleeting option to enter BIOS setup and then to login. What's the trick?
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        #4
        Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

        Without editing the grub files, once you power-on your PC, and you see the BIOS screen, start pressing the Esc key repeatedly - don't just hold it down. The Grub menu will appear, and you should have the option in the list.
        Windows no longer obstructs my view.
        Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
        "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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          #5
          Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

          Holding down the Left Shift key when the BIOS screen appears and holding it until the GRUB screen appears also works.

          Also, if you still crash to the command line you can issue
          sudo service kdm restart
          to get the desktop back.
          "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
          – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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            #6
            Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

            Thanks! The ESC key didn't work for me, GRUB flashes by and boot screen appears. SHIFT key got me into GRUB just fine. Two memory tests are available. First choice: (memtest86+) Second choice: (memtest86+, serial console 115200) Does it matter which one I choose?
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              #7
              Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

              Use the first one.
              "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
              – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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                #8
                Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                Not having an answer, I chose the second option and it has been running for a couple of hours and gone through three full passes of tests without an error. Just rebooted and chose the first option and it appears to be precisely the same test.
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                  #9
                  Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                  Leave it run over night.

                  If you wake up in the morning an no errors show then your next focus is on your video chip .... Linux is the canary in the mine ...
                  "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
                  – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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                    #10
                    Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                    Okay, thanks. Never had a problem like this before I loaded Lucid, all the way from Dapper on this machine.
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                      #11
                      Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                      Another possibility to consider, is the version of KDE and therefore, the versions of the applications with your installation. You said that you "recently did a fresh install of Lucid from a factory CD", which means that you are running KDE 4.4.2, which can be a cause of your issues (not a guarantee, but maybe), and upgrading to KDE 4.5.1 might help.
                      Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                      Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                      "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                        #12
                        Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                        Test has been running all night and is in the 13th pass without errors. I have done all of the updates as they have been available. Is there something else I need to do to upgrade KDE?
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                          #13
                          Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                          Add the Kubuntu Backports repository. Open a console and type:
                          Code:
                          sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
                          Be prepared for a butt load of packages to download and install.
                          Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                          Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                          "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                            #14
                            Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                            Followed your instructions but no packages were added. Checked Synaptic and backports is enabled already. I suspect that all of the upgrades were done after installation. It was my possibly incorrect assumption that both desktop and laptop were updated to the latest distribution. My goal is to have them completely synchronized.

                            Had another crash again this morning. sudo service kdm restart did nothing useful.
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                              #15
                              Re: Lucid crashes intermittently, no pattern

                              Can you confirm which version of KDE you have on your system? Open any KDE GUI App - Dolphin - and click on Help > About KDE
                              Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                              Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                              "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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