[SOLVED] When do you think we can call it FIXED?

[DoYouKubuntu]

My nearly year-long saga of [seemingly] random lockups on my new laptop *may* finally be coming to an end.

I installed the new hard drive on Saturday, 09/25/21, in the morning. It's now Thursday, 09/30/21--and I haven't had one lockup. Not one case of overheating, either.

After everything involved with this problem, I'm *so* ready for it to be solved! But I don't want to speak too soon, you know?

At what point do you think we can call this fixed? FWIW, at the end, with the original drive, it was locking up anywhere from one to three times PER DAY. There was never any rhyme or reason to it. I could be doing something or nothing, it could happen while being heavily used or while in bed for the night, it could happen 10 hours after rebooting or 10 minutes.

Also, just FYI: the original drive was only 500GB; I'm really not sure why I got such a small drive, except that I have several external 1TB drives and I guess I didn't think I'd need a bigger drive in the laptop. But when we got to the point of replacing the drive, I asked System76 to send me a 1TB instead, and charge me for the difference. They did. Then, after the new drive came, I said I wanted to keep the old drive, not send it back as planned, and suggested *hint* *hint* that as a goodwill gesture, they gift it to me. They did!!

So now I have a fresh, clean install on a brand-new 1TB drive, and things are going great. What do you think? How long until I declare it solved?

[GreyGeek]

Remember, Murphy was an optomist!

Seriously, FIVE days without a repeat of the problem suggests that the problem is gone. BUT, gremlins are gremlins and they are bound to pop up anytime, for any reason. That's why we backup and archive.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Remember, Murphy was an optomist!

Indeed!!

Seriously, FIVE days without a repeat of the problem suggests that the problem is gone. BUT, gremlins are gremlins and they are bound to pop up anytime, for any reason. That's why we backup and archive.

Yes, definitely. Luckily, I'm really set in my ways when it comes to backups, both local and remote.

Ah, yes, gremlins... I've been blaming them for computer-related problems for almost 40 years! Sometimes they're all you have! I mean when nothing else makes sense, and logic isn't cutting it.

Considering the frequency of the lockups before, and comparing that to zero after, I want so badly to declare this problem SOLVED...but, yes, those nasty gremlins could get itchy....

In another thread, the one where I wrote about having installed the new drive, I mentioned that I FLEETINGLY thought about sticking the old drive in the extra slot while the laptop was open. Wouldn't it be funny if I stuck it in, and the problems immediately returned?! I guess we'd know for sure, then. But I'm not going anywhere near that right now. I want to be as sure as possible that the problem's gone before I start mucking around in there.

[GreyGeek]

The ONLY way I'd connect that old drive to your system is through a USB HDCaddy, and the first thing I'd do to it is a lowlevel dd format.

[jglen490]

I would say declare victory now.

The next problem, if there is one, will just be the next problem. Just enjoy your new computing platform

[DoYouKubuntu]

I would say declare victory now.

The next problem, if there is one, will just be the next problem. Just enjoy your new computing platform

I'm so tempted to do that, jglen. Day seven and no lockups. That's a miracle--compared to how it had gotten with the old drive. The only thing is, if the same problem returns, then we're looking at having gotten a lemon, which will yield a different outcome, i.e., a new replacement laptop.

I haven't even mentioned how much FASTER everything is now. Programs launch faster, even websites load faster, backups take less time, it's just blazing!

[GreyGeek]

Before I switched to SSD's my systemd-analyze time to a working desktop to up to three minutes. Now, most of the time, it is under 6 seconds. Only when fstrim or mandb launches will it jump to 30 seconds, but that isn't often.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Guess what, guys? Go ahead......I'll give you a moment......












It locked up!!! Right at 11:11am.

Oh well, back to the drawing boards. Actually, I'm going to give it a little time, just to see if PERHAPS it was a one-off fluke. But if it happens again, I believe that will do it.

[GreyGeek]

You had a hang!

If the new disk isn't the problem then the mobo is.

[DoYouKubuntu]

I think you're right, GG. The heating issue is still present, too, but not anywhere CLOSE to how bad it was before, so I don't know what to make of that. I just noticed yesterday--which, coincidentally?, is also when the lockup happened, that the laptop was hotter than it had been.

You know, after almost a year of dealing with this, I'm not sure right now that I'm going to do anything else, not even ask for a replacement. I just kind of feel like I'm over it, I can live with random lockups. Sure, they range from slightly irritating to MIND-NUMBINGLY disruptive, but it keeps things interesting, you know? Always guessing/wondering when or if it'll happen again.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Almost 24 hours to the minute, it locked up again...

What to do, what to do?

[Qqmike]

The mobo was mentioned. But have you checked the memory cards? They can cause lock-ups, too. I suppose faulty or cracked.

[Snowhog]

If it were me, I'd be demanding a FULL REFUND for the laptop from System76.

[DoYouKubuntu]

If it were me, I'd be demanding a FULL REFUND for the laptop from System76.

This is what I wrote to them earlier today:

Sorry to say, the problem is back. I went for seven days without issue and thought, great!, it's gone!

WRONG. It's now locked up numerous times. As before, there's no rhyme or reason to it. I can be doing absolutely nothing--not using any programs, not running anything--or I can be in the middle of something, and it locks up. Nothing but a hard reset brings it back.

I really wish the repair place had booted and tested it with its native OS (Kubuntu 20.04), so they could've gotten accurate, relevant results. After two tries, I'm not willing to go that route again--both times, I included notes asking them to CALL ME for login credentials before working on it, but they never did.

So what's next? I believe this is covered under California's lemon law, so I guess the next step is getting a new (not refurbished) replacement.

Please advise.

Considering it's Saturday, I don't expect a reply until Monday. They're usually very prompt about responding. We'll see what they say.

I just want to make clear that--despite the problems!--I really love this laptop. Everything about it, from its beautiful, immersive, big display to its full-sized keyboard (including numeric keypad), I really like. I just don't like the [seemingly] random lockups.

[DoYouKubuntu]

The mobo was mentioned. But have you checked the memory cards? They can cause lock-ups, too. I suppose faulty or cracked.

Both times it was sent in for repair, they supposedly tested that and everything else. Unfortunately, they never logged in using its actual OS--everything they did was from a live stick. Whether that matters when it comes to memory (and I don't think it does) is irrelevant now, because I'm done with it! I'm either getting a replacement or...I don't know what...