Problem with random freezes

[f.bluedevil]

I have been having a problem lately with random freezes. Specifically my screen will freeze and I have no ability to input anything via the keyboard or the mouse. I have to power off and restart, at which point all is well again.

My problem is I don't know how to capture any information to help troubleshoot the problem since I have no access to my system during the freeze. And there has been a notable increase in the frequency of this problem in the past few days. Is there a log somewhere that can be reviewed in order to get some possible input into the problem after I restart? Note: I also had this problem occur occasionally when running Slack 14.0.

If it's helpful, I am running Salix 14.0 XFCE on a System 76 laptop with i7-3630QM Processors and an Intel HD Graphics 4000 card.

[mimosa]

Could this be an emerging hardware problem? If so, you might expect to see the output of kernel panics in any open terminal. You could try running 13.37 Live (or Another Distro) and see if the problem also occurs there - or maybe you've already done that? This sort of thing usually does turn out to be hardware-related, though. Did you run 14.0 for a while without trouble? or did it start when you upgraded (to Slack and Salix 14)?

[f.bluedevil]

If so, you might expect to see the output of kernel panics in any open terminal.

Not sure what you mean, are you suggesting I keep a terminal window open continuously during each session to see if I get output prior to a freeze? There is nothing I can point to that would give me an indication that the screen is about to freeze. When it does it's instantaneous and without warning.

You could try running 13.37 Live (or Another Distro) and see if the problem also occurs there

I dual boot and I have a Debian distribution on another partition. I have not experienced any problems when running the other distro. I have had problems with application windows while using KDE ( Debian or Slack ) doing strange things, specifically when shrinking a window it would freeze in one area of the screen. I could re-size the window by dragging the corners or sides but I could no longer reposition the window by dragging the top bar. I could also maximize or minimize the window without issue, but whenever I tried to shrink the window it return to it's former position and remain locked into that position. The other distribution I'm running is also XFCE and I have not experienced either problem ...yet.

But, the other partition is basically just a sandbox to play with other distributions, while I consider Salix as permanent.

[mimosa]

Yes, try and keep a terminal open (and visible) and then you may see something informative, even if you can't copy it.

I still incline to blame the hardware. It may be, for instance, that your pattern of use in Salix makes the problem more common there. But if it *is* Salix, well, either it's something the matter with Salix (and SLack) 14.0, or it's something you did at some point after installation. A possible test (if you have a spare partition) would be to do a fresh install of 14.0, tweaking it as litle as possible and noting the tweaks, and try using it. I do appreciate that might not be that pracitcal to do ...

What makes me think it's the hardware is the fact the fault is intermittent. If it were an OS problem, you'd expect it to just work, or else just not work.

Memory is a likely culprit. As Thenktor posted here recently, the only half-way effective way to check is to run memtest for periods of many hours. You could also try my home-baked fix: taking appropriate precautions for static damage (the drier your climate, the more need), remove the memory cards and give the business end a thorough clean with a rubber. Reinsert, making sure they go in properly. Also, try swapping them round if you have two or more.

[f.bluedevil]

Hi mimosa,

Thank you for your responses. I have found some threads on this problem in the Slackware LQ forum. It seems at least some of the people who experienced the same problem had an Ivy Bridge controller and an Intel HD4000 graphics card, both of which I share. Some people say they have resolved the problem by upgrading the kernel, although at least one person reported continued problems even after updating his kernel.

At this point it seems my best bet is to figure out how to update my kernel and hope that it turns out to be the solution. And while I'm goggling kernel upgrades, I'll keep my terminal open and see if the terminal alerts me to any possible issues.

[mimosa]

Upgrading the kernel isn't actually very hard, it's just a bit scary the first time. Or I thought so, anyway. There is a *very* long thread here somewhere in which another user and I worked it out together, a while back. Basically you just download and install the packages (I suppose the Slackware current repo might be a good source), do lilo -v, and reboot. Is there a step I've forgotten? Probably

A user on the Portuguese forum has been experiencing somewhat similar (though unrelated) trouble, which she also had with Slack 14, and I also told her I suspect the hardware. However, it's possible the 14.0 kernel has some regressions. You might find it interesting to test with Slackel Live (which should have a more recent kernel, though perhaps not as recent as the latest Slackel install disk).

[f.bluedevil]

I did some more research last night specifically regarding the Ivy Bridge controller, Intel HD4000 card and random freezes and was able to find a couple of articles confirming that there are known incompatibilities with that hardware combination and 3.2 series kernels. The suggested solution was to upgrade to either 3.4.10 or 3.5.3.

I also found a couple of wiki entries/how-tos on the Slackware-docs site on how to upgrade the kernel. I will cross my fingers and follow along later today and see if that fixes the problem and I feel pretty optimistic that it will.

If I am successful and able to fix my freezing problem. I will attach a few links to the articles, so any 'future' users experiencing the same problem can use it as a resource..

[Akuna]

checking /var/log/syslog could be useful.

[mimosa]

I take it the kernel upgrade didnt do the trick. Do please post with an update!