Linux becomes unresponsive, will not respond to holding down power button.

[Guest]

I am a new linux user and Kubuntu is the only distro I have used.
After a random period of time my laptop freezes completely. Screen is unresponsive and audio stops playing. The worst part is that I cannot hold down the power button to perform a hard reset (Is that what it is called?).
I have tried using the magic sys-req key combination to no avail, even when combined with r-e-i-s-u-b. I have checked and I have magic sys-req key set to a value of 1 meaning all key combinations should work.
I cannot even remove the battery from the laptop, and so am forced to wait for the laptop to run out of battery, at which point it will boot normally.
This is obviously not an optimal situation to be faced with, and I would much appreciate any help.
If anybody could provide some tips or strategies to try and identify or solve the problem, that would be brilliant.
Thanks. Laptop is an acer aspire, not sure which specific model, and kubuntu is the only os I have installed.

[jlittle]

... I cannot even remove the battery from the laptop,...

?? My family, wife and two daughters, have Acer aspire laptops, and there's no problem removing the battery. What model have you?

Regards, John Little

[SecretCode]

This is only an opinion, but I think the power button long press function should work regardless of any software crashes. Are you holding it down for at least 10 seconds?

It could be a hardware fault. I would check for memory issues using memtest at the grub screen. If this means nothing to you post for more instructions!
It could also be overheating - does it get very hot around the air vents?

[GreyGeek]

I am running an Acer Aspire 7739-6930. The battery is easy to remove. If you don't have a slide button on the back then maybe you have one as shown in this video: