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    #1

    Fed up. Random lockups are back with a vengeance.

    I'm pretty much fed up right now. There's been a long saga, copiously documented here since November, regarding my new laptop. Last month, after wiping all of my config files/directories, and starting from scratch, they went away! (There was one fluke, which I posted about, but that was it.) Several days ago they came back.

    First just one. Then two, three times a day. Always at a very inopportune time. My first step was to repeat what I'd done a month earlier, wipe everything in $HOME except stuff I'd created (documents, images, etc.). Nope. Didn't help. At all.

    Yesterday, I created a new user account, logged in with it, and built it up 100% from scratch. (Two exceptions: after freshly installing SeaMonkey, I used its 'import' feature to import my bookmarks, but that was it. Also, I imported my QtCurve settings rather than re-build its plethora of choices by hand.)

    I had just gotten things looking/acting pretty much as I wanted...and it froze. Locked up solid.

    So, considering the fact that I used a brand-new account and built everything from scratch, including SeaMonkey, WTF?!

    What would you do if you were faced with this? I am not keen on wiping the drive and starting over, as I did that many, many times back at the beginning.

    I don't have anything weird or unusual or bizarre running. Just Kubuntu and a few well-known, long-standing, programs like Konsole, KWrite, SM, Chrome, Dolphin, etc. If I have to wipe it again, I'm thinking about trying a different distro, though I have no idea which one. I'm no longer up on distros, and really don't feel like experimenting right now.

    Any ideas or guidance would be greatly appreciated, because I'm truly at my wit's end. This laptop should've been a joy to use--and when it's working correctly, it is--but these lockups have soured the whole experience. Did I get a lemon? Can we figure that out without changing distros?
    Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

    Tags: laptop freezes, laptop locks up, laptop lockups, random lockups
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    #2
    After all of this I'd begin to suspect the display device or some other part of the PC's hardware.
    What operating system came with the PC? Linux of some sort? If so, how does it run?
    "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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      #3
      "I'd" be thinking 'bad RAM'.

      Have you done a prolonged -- overnight -- RAM check?
      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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        #4
        Originally posted by GreyGeek View Post
        After all of this I'd begin to suspect the display device or some other part of the PC's hardware.
        What operating system came with the PC? Linux of some sort? If so, how does it run?
        It's a System76 17.3" Gazelle laptop, GG, and it came with Ubuntu 20.04. It ran fine--for the three seconds I used it before installing Kubuntu!

        Originally posted by Snowhog View Post
        "I'd" be thinking 'bad RAM'.

        Have you done a prolonged -- overnight -- RAM check?
        No, SH, I have not. And, honestly, it's been so long since I've even thought about doing a test like that, I wouldn't know how to.

        As noted, when this laptop is working correctly, it's amazing! It's fast, has a beautiful display, everything about it is wonderful. Until it locks up.
        Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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          #5
          Originally posted by DoYouKubuntu View Post
          No, SH, I have not. And, honestly, it's been so long since I've even thought about doing a test like that, I wouldn't know how to.
          When you boot your machine, at the Grub menu (assuming you haven't hidden the Grub menu) select Memory test (memtest86+)
          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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            #6
            Originally posted by Snowhog View Post
            When you boot your machine, at the Grub menu (assuming you haven't hidden the Grub menu) select Memory test (memtest86+)
            I haven't seen a GRUB menu in years!

            I'm assuming there's some key combo at boot-up that would get me where I need to be. I remember pressing F2 and F7 a lot when I was trying to get this thing working at first. Here's a list of System76 boot buttons and their instructions for memory testing. The latter apparently can't be done with the system as is, but needs a live disk. It involves mucking about with the BIOS mode...and the way things have gone for me, that gives me a very bad, ominous feeling.
            Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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              #7
              hitting the shift key or stabbing repeatedly just past the POST screen is the standard way to bring up the grub menu, which is normally hidden on single boot systems.


              You have added and installed the System76 PPA to get their custom driver and firnmware packages? It seems they have a utility for managing these as well
              https://support.system76.com/articles/system76-driver/
              https://support.system76.com/articles/install-ubuntu/
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                #8
                Just throwing this out there: one constant has been QtCurve. Does anyone think, at all, that it could be the culprit?

                I don't think so, because like I said, it's been constant--and that includes a month+ with absolutely no lockups. But...? I don't know. Thoughts?
                Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by claydoh View Post
                  hitting the shift key or stabbing repeatedly just past the POST screen is the standard way to bring up the grub menu, which is normally hidden on single boot systems.
                  The "POST" screen? I'm not sure what you mean.

                  You have added and installed the System76 PPA to get their custom driver and firnmware packages? It seems they have a utility for managing these as well
                  https://support.system76.com/articles/system76-driver/
                  https://support.system76.com/articles/install-ubuntu/
                  No, I have not--for very good reason. Somewhere, back at the beginning of this saga, I *did* add/install all that, and had catastrophic results, as in rendering the laptop unbootable. So I quickly undid that, and haven't looked back! I'm not eager to revisit that, but might do it if nothing else comes up.
                  Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by DoYouKubuntu View Post
                    The "POST" screen? I'm not sure what you mean.
                    I'm quite sure ;-) he means the BIOS screen.
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                      #11
                      Originally posted by DoYouKubuntu View Post
                      The "POST" screen? I'm not sure what you mean.
                      POST is an initialism from "Power On Self Test".
                      Regards, John Little
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                        #12
                        Originally posted by DoYouKubuntu View Post
                        The "POST" screen? I'm not sure what you mean.


                        No, I have not--for very good reason. Somewhere, back at the beginning of this saga, I *did* add/install all that, and had catastrophic results, as in rendering the laptop unbootable. So I quickly undid that, and haven't looked back! I'm not eager to revisit that, but might do it if nothing else comes up.
                        it is not stated anywhere, but I would assume that this step would best be done immediately after install, and before updating the first time. System76 do use custom firmware and drivers


                        POST is yes, that initial splash screen when first powering on. Also called the Bios splash screen.
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                          #13
                          Okay, thanks for the clarification. I figured POST stood for something...I just didn't know what.

                          As for the System76 drivers, I did install them immediately after installation--at one point along this very long saga. Of all the things I didn't expect to cause problems, I'd have to say System76's own drivers would be at the top of the list, you know?
                          Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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                            #14
                            POST= Power On Self Test
                            That hardware check can be turned off in the BIOS (Binary Input Output System).
                            When you first turn on your computer the POST is the first to run, if it is toggled on, and it is done when the login screen appears.
                            In my listing below I happened to catch fstrim doing its work, which is not common with my bootup. All these times are following the POST and do not include it because the PID 0 and 1 (systemd) are not operating during the POST and hence doesn't time it.
                            Code:
                              [FONT=monospace]
[B][COLOR=#000000]:[/COLOR][COLOR=#5454ff]~[/COLOR][COLOR=#000000]$ systemd-analyze [/COLOR][/B]
Startup finished in 2.748s (kernel) + 1min 18.667s (userspace) = 1min 21.415s  
graphical.target reached after 6.581s in userspace 

[B][COLOR=#000000]:[/COLOR][COLOR=#5454ff]~[/COLOR][COLOR=#000000]$ systemd-analyze blame [/COLOR][/B]
1min 16.806s fstrim.service                                      
      4.742s apt-daily-upgrade.service                           
      3.928s postfix@-.service                                   
      2.184s networkd-dispatcher.service                         
      1.947s accounts-daemon.service                             
      1.849s logrotate.service                                   
      1.736s tor@default.service                                 
      1.567s fwupd-refresh.service                               
      1.435s udisks2.service                                     
      1.403s smartmontools.service                               
      1.251s dev-sda1.device                                     
      1.141s upower.service                                      
      1.110s libvirtd.service                                    
      1.090s systemd-journal-flush.service                       
       991ms polkit.service                                      
       786ms avahi-daemon.service                                
       769ms NetworkManager.service                              
       734ms colord.service                                      
[COLOR=#ffffff]lines 1-18[/COLOR]
[/FONT]
                            Last edited by GreyGeek; Feb 15, 2021, 12:55 PM.
                            "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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                              #15
                              So it happened, again, a few minutes ago. Bam, frozen solid, out of nowhere, as usual. After hard resetting it, I changed my "Application Style" from QtCurve to CleanLooks, then restarted again. I'll be shocked if it turns out that QtCurve has been the problem all along, but at least it would solve the mystery.
                              Xenix/UNIX user since 1985 | Linux user since 1991 | Was registered Linux user #163544

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