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Laptop freezes randomly - starting points for error search

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    Laptop freezes randomly - starting points for error search

    Hi guys,

    it's been a while, but here I am again.
    My laptop (MSI VR600, very cheap one) freezes randomly from time to time (about 5-10 times a week). There is no automatic shutdown or anything, just no response at all. I'm running Kubuntu 8.04, but also tested it with Win XP, same symptoms. I cannot make out any dependencies on what I do at the time, only that under windows it's very quickly frozen, when I use a peer-to-peer-sharing program with high bandwidth (too many connections?).

    I already ran memtest overnight (eleven passes without error), but I'm still suspecting the RAM since I bought a 1 GB bar on top of the 512 MB the laptop was shipped with (different brands). So for now I removed one RAM bar and will see what happens.

    Overheating is probably not the cause since the laptop also freezes when idling and I can clearly hear the fan increase speed when performing CPU demanding tasks (so it's not broken).

    Since on windows there seems to exists some relation to heavy use of the ethernet connection I wonder if a broken network controller or driver (but this would mean the driver for Win XP _and_ Kubuntu is messed up) could cause the freeze. On the other hand I also experienced one freeze under Win XP without having an ethernet cable attached (but I guess the driver is still loaded; too much question marks here...).

    For now I will try and see how the RAM separation works out, but what interests me the most is, where I can find further hints what could have happened to cause the freeze. I.e. where can I find log files or are there useful tools (in the repositories?) to track down such errors.

    Cheers,
    Cornelius

    #2
    Re: Laptop freezes randomly - starting points for error search

    Sounds like a hardware problem as it shows up on two different OS's...

    One other thing I can think of is that your motherboard is giving up on you. Maybe some condensers are blown up?

    If you suspect RAM, you should also clean the slots with high pressure air or so. Though I am not sure if it could be related, try to check your hard disk for errors, too.

    High bandwidth usage could make your computer slow, but not freeze.
    Once your problem is solved please edit the first post of your topic and add [SOLVED] in front of the subject. In that way, others can benefit from your experience!

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      #3
      Re: Laptop freezes randomly - starting points for error search

      Originally posted by JohanLingen
      Though I am not sure if it could be related, try to check your hard disk for errors, too.
      How could I do this? Can you recommend a tool?

      Thanks for the reply, I really hope that it's not the motherboard. I'll still wait how the RAM move works out.

      Cheers,
      cornelius

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        #4
        Re: Laptop freezes randomly - starting points for error search

        This should get you started with the hard drive:

        http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3097029.0

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