possible BUG: gnome freeze for a wile every some minutes
Hi, I'm having a problem after an update some weeks ago, every few minutes the pc is freezing for a while and after it recover, it seem to be the same as writte on this: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1861294 I'm getting also the same errors: [50928.830285] GpuWatchdog[27129]: segfault at 0 ip 55622c3b4fa2 sp 7f337299d4c0 error 6 in chrome[55622846e000+7287000] [50928.830296] Code: 83 c3 e8 75 e9 41 8b 85 00 01 00 00 85 c0 0f 84 99 00 00 00 48 8d 3d f3 60 4b fb be 01 00 00 00 ba 03 00 00 00 e8 be 17 a6 fe 04 25 00 00 00 00 37 13 00 00 c6 05 fc 76 b9 03 01 80 7d 8f 00 I'm using Linux moleub 5.4.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.4.19-1 (2020-02-13) x86_64 GNU/Linux on Debian GNU/Linux bullseye/sid \n \l I would like to report a possible bug but I don't know on which package and how to do, as this freezing happens also if chrome is not running. Thanks Enrico Maria
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
> /proc/pci shows IRQ 10 in three places. Could this be > a problem? I don't see any way to change any of these > IRQs. Your system supports IRQ sharing. It should *not* be a problem... You may be able to turn this off in your BIOS though. Doing so may cause you to run out of available resources though. Hall
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Wed, 5 Sep 2001, dman wrote: > | > I don't know. Do you have all DMA channels, io addressed, irqs, etc, > | > configured right? > | > | There isn't anything to configure. Well, you can change a "clocking" > | parameter (for special cases), but that's all. > > I had configured my card when I still had RH installed using sndconfig > (or some similar abbreviation). In my modules.conf I had several > options for the module including IO base address, IRQ (I think), and > DMA channel to use. My problem was that I had picked the wrong DMA > channel the first time I configured it so it didn't work right. /proc/pci shows IRQ 10 in three places. Could this be a problem? I don't see any way to change any of these IRQs. [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~$ cat /proc/pci PCI devices found: Bus 0, device 0, function 1: Multimedia audio controller: Intel Unknown device (rev 0). Vendor id=8086. Device id=7195. Fast devsel. IRQ 10. Master Capable. No bursts. I/O at 0xe000 [0xe001]. I/O at 0xef00 [0xef01]. Bus 0, device 3, function 1: CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments Unknown device (rev 1). Vendor id=104c. Device id=ac1c. Medium devsel. IRQ 10. Master Capable. Latency=168. Min Gnt=192.Max Lat=4. Bus 0, device 5, function 0: VGA compatible controller: ATI Unknown device (rev 100). Vendor id=1002. Device id=4c52. Medium devsel. Fast back-to-back capable. IRQ 10. Master Capable. Latency=64. Min Gnt=8. Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfd00 [0xfd00]. I/O at 0xe800 [0xe801]. Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfebff000 [0xfebff000]. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Wed, 5 Sep 2001, dman wrote: > | > What happens if you play an mp3 with xmms? OK, I've tried playing 3 mp3 files. They mostly race through one minute's worth in a few seconds with just noisy static sounds. One of them, if I keep trying, will race part way through and then slow down and play properly. It kinda sounds like some sort of conflict (and considering the original problem that it hung gnome/sawfish when window sound events were turned on). As far as I can tell there isn't any config option anywhere for DMA. Here's some info in case anybody can spot a problem. The sound card is using IRQ10. One suspicious thing I notice below in the "dmesg" is "00:03.1 -> irq 10" but I don't know what it refers to. [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~$ cat /proc/modules xirc2ps_cs 13920 1 vmnet 16224 2 vmmon 17792 1 ds 6384 2 [xirc2ps_cs] i82365 22384 2 pcmcia_core44320 0 [xirc2ps_cs ds i82365] i810_audio 10144 1 ac97_codec 7200 0 [i810_audio] [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~$ cat /proc/dma 2: floppy 4: cascade [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~$ cat /proc/interrupts CPU0 0: 21917603 XT-PIC timer 1: 2924 XT-PIC keyboard 2: 0 XT-PIC cascade 3:4169128 XT-PIC xirc2ps_cs 5: 2 XT-PIC i82365 6: 28 XT-PIC floppy 8: 1772 XT-PIC rtc 10: 64719 XT-PIC Intel 440MX, i82365 12: 67810 XT-PIC PS/2 Mouse 13: 1 XT-PIC fpu 14: 128399 XT-PIC ide0 NMI: 0 [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~$ cat /proc/ioports -001f : dma1 0020-003f : pic1 0040-005f : timer 0060-006f : keyboard 0070-007f : rtc 0080-008f : dma page reg 00a0-00bf : pic2 00c0-00df : dma2 00f0-00ff : fpu 01f0-01f7 : ide0 02e8-02ef : serial(auto) 02f8-02ff : serial(set) 0300-030f : xirc2ps_cs 03c0-03df : vga+ 03f0-03f5 : floppy 03f6-03f6 : ide0 03f7-03f7 : floppy DIR 03f8-03ff : serial(set) e000-e0ff : Intel 440MX ef00-ef3f : Intel 440MX ffa0-ffa7 : ide0 ffa8-ffaf : ide1 >From dmesg: Intel 810 + AC97 Audio, version 0.17, 22:00:48 Sep 2 2001 PCI: Increasing latency timer of device 00:01 to 64 i810: Intel 440MX found at IO 0xef00 and 0xe000, IRQ 10 ac97_codec: AC97 Audio codec, vendor id1: 0x8384, id2: 0x7644 (Unknown) i810_audio: Found 1 audio device(s). Linux PCMCIA Card Services 3.1.22 kernel build: 2.2.19 unknown options: [pci] [cardbus] PCI routing table version 1.0 at 0xf6030 00:03.0 -> irq 5 00:03.1 -> irq 10 Intel PCIC probe: TI 1225 rev 01 PCI-to-CardBus at slot 00:03, mem 0x6800 host opts [0]: [pci + serial irq] [pci irq 5] [lat 168/176] [bus 32/34] host opts [1]: [pci + serial irq] [pci irq 10] [lat 168/176] [bus 35/37] ISA irqs (scanned) = 3,4,7,11,15 PCI status changes cs: IO port probe 0x0c00-0x0cff: excluding 0xcf8-0xcff cs: IO port probe 0x0800-0x08ff: clean. cs: IO port probe 0x0100-0x04ff: excluding 0x378-0x37f 0x400-0x44f 0x4d0-0x4d7 cs: IO port probe 0x0a00-0x0aff: clean. cs: memory probe 0xa000-0xa0ff: clean. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Wed, Sep 05, 2001 at 05:30:19PM +0200, Danie Roux wrote: | > I had configured my card when I still had RH installed using sndconfig | > (or some similar abbreviation). In my modules.conf I had several | > options for the module including IO base address, IRQ (I think), and | > DMA channel to use. My problem was that I had picked the wrong DMA | > channel the first time I configured it so it didn't work right. | | I strongly suggest you run a 2.4 series kernel. I think this is a good suggestion. | I had a hard time configuring my ESS 1868. With the 2.4 kernel it just works. The card I used to have was an ESS 1869 (I don't have any sound card at the moment). I had no trouble with it once I picked the right DMA channel. If you're interested I still have the config options commented out in my modules.conf, I could send them to you. -D
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
> I had configured my card when I still had RH installed using sndconfig > (or some similar abbreviation). In my modules.conf I had several > options for the module including IO base address, IRQ (I think), and > DMA channel to use. My problem was that I had picked the wrong DMA > channel the first time I configured it so it didn't work right. > > -D I strongly suggest you run a 2.4 series kernel. It autodetects all these things. I had a hard time configuring my ESS 1868. With the 2.4 kernel it just works. -- Danie Roux *shuffle* Adore Unix
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Tue, Sep 04, 2001 at 07:31:45PM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, dman wrote: | | > | If I try to play the same file with xanim, the sound is all choppy and | > | fast (sounds like The Chipmunks). | > | > I know nothing about xanim. | > | > What happens if you play an mp3 with xmms? | | I left the laptop at the office today. Just now from home I logged on and | installed xmms, but if I try to play anything I can't hear it from home. | ;-) :-). | I'll try tomorrow. | | > | Maybe the i810 support isn't very good? | > | > I don't know. Do you have all DMA channels, io addressed, irqs, etc, | > configured right? | | There isn't anything to configure. Well, you can change a "clocking" | parameter (for special cases), but that's all. I had configured my card when I still had RH installed using sndconfig (or some similar abbreviation). In my modules.conf I had several options for the module including IO base address, IRQ (I think), and DMA channel to use. My problem was that I had picked the wrong DMA channel the first time I configured it so it didn't work right. -D
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, dman wrote: > | If I try to play the same file with xanim, the sound is all choppy and > | fast (sounds like The Chipmunks). > > I know nothing about xanim. > > What happens if you play an mp3 with xmms? I left the laptop at the office today. Just now from home I logged on and installed xmms, but if I try to play anything I can't hear it from home. ;-) I'll try tomorrow. > | Maybe the i810 support isn't very good? > > I don't know. Do you have all DMA channels, io addressed, irqs, etc, > configured right? There isn't anything to configure. Well, you can change a "clocking" parameter (for special cases), but that's all. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Mon, Sep 03, 2001 at 11:38:04AM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | On Sun, 2 Sep 2001, dman wrote: | | > On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:22:23PM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | > | Worse! I think I had the wrong sound card driver. I've rebuilt the kernel | > | sound, but now I get the dreaded "Can't Open /dev/dsp device". I haven't | > | figured out why yet. | > | > I recommend building all the (potentially relevant) sound drivers as a | > modules so that you can toy with them and try different settings | > without going through a recompile and a reboot. If some specific | > kernel features aren't absolutely essential then you could use a stock | > kernel to figure out what you need for sound since the stock kernels | > come with just about everything in module form. | | Good idea. I still have the original potato kernel (since upgraded to | woody/sid) so I tried it. After trying several other drivers I went full | circle and convinced myself that I do have the right driver (i810_audio), | which is the one that caused sawfish to hang when gnome window events had | sound turned on. | | It does work somewhat: | | I can run "play english.au" and it sounds perfect but gives these | messages: | | playing english.au | sox: Sound card appears to only support singled word samples. Overriding | format | sox: Sound card appears to only support 2 channels. Overriding format This sounds to me like the .au file has multiple word samples and more than 2 channels, but since your sound card can't handle that then sox is adjusting for your sound card. | If I try to play the same file with xanim, the sound is all choppy and | fast (sounds like The Chipmunks). I know nothing about xanim. What happens if you play an mp3 with xmms? | Maybe the i810 support isn't very good? I don't know. Do you have all DMA channels, io addressed, irqs, etc, configured right? -D
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Sun, 2 Sep 2001, dman wrote: > On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:22:23PM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: > | Worse! I think I had the wrong sound card driver. I've rebuilt the kernel > | sound, but now I get the dreaded "Can't Open /dev/dsp device". I haven't > | figured out why yet. > > I recommend building all the (potentially relevant) sound drivers as a > modules so that you can toy with them and try different settings > without going through a recompile and a reboot. If some specific > kernel features aren't absolutely essential then you could use a stock > kernel to figure out what you need for sound since the stock kernels > come with just about everything in module form. Good idea. I still have the original potato kernel (since upgraded to woody/sid) so I tried it. After trying several other drivers I went full circle and convinced myself that I do have the right driver (i810_audio), which is the one that caused sawfish to hang when gnome window events had sound turned on. It does work somewhat: I can run "play english.au" and it sounds perfect but gives these messages: playing english.au sox: Sound card appears to only support singled word samples. Overriding format sox: Sound card appears to only support 2 channels. Overriding format If I try to play the same file with xanim, the sound is all choppy and fast (sounds like The Chipmunks). Maybe the i810 support isn't very good? ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:22:23PM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, dman wrote: | | > On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:24:08AM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | > | > | Jon Masters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked about sound. That makes a bit | > | of sense in my case, because sound doesn't work too well on the laptop | > | (choppy) and I probably had sound turned on for close window events. I | > | guess I'll look at that. | > | > You probably have the wrong DMA channel selected. This was the | > problem I had with my previous desktop system (that actually had a | > sound card). | | Worse! I think I had the wrong sound card driver. I've rebuilt the kernel | sound, but now I get the dreaded "Can't Open /dev/dsp device". I haven't | figured out why yet. I recommend building all the (potentially relevant) sound drivers as a modules so that you can toy with them and try different settings without going through a recompile and a reboot. If some specific kernel features aren't absolutely essential then you could use a stock kernel to figure out what you need for sound since the stock kernels come with just about everything in module form. -D
Re: Gnome Freeze
Keith O'Connell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Now I have to address the absence of sound. Would I be right in thinking > that I have built in the wrong module when installing? Have you tried to compile sound into the kernel and not to make a module? Ciao! juh -- Wo ist die Million geblieben? http://www.sudelbuch.de/1999/19991114.html
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, dman wrote: > On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:24:08AM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: > > | Jon Masters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked about sound. That makes a bit > | of sense in my case, because sound doesn't work too well on the laptop > | (choppy) and I probably had sound turned on for close window events. I > | guess I'll look at that. > > You probably have the wrong DMA channel selected. This was the > problem I had with my previous desktop system (that actually had a > sound card). Worse! I think I had the wrong sound card driver. I've rebuilt the kernel sound, but now I get the dreaded "Can't Open /dev/dsp device". I haven't figured out why yet. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze
On 01 Sep 2001 16:37:54 -0400, dman wrote: > On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 05:02:34PM +0100, Keith O'Connell wrote: > | I guess that is not the answer you were expecting? > > No, but it seems someone else has correctly guessed the problem. > Anyways, that is good information for the future :-). Hehe, it wasn't entirely guesswork :) I have had numerous difficulties with the sound server on GNOME before - and recently decided (having had some quality time with strace and gdb) that the easiest way to get GNOME starting for the users at work is to simply add them to a central NIS audio group than to faff around with modifying the default setup on each box to fix screwy brokeness. If users cannot access the sound device then things get confsckulated. Personally I would like to shoot the sound "service" :P --jcm [0] Having had some quality time with strace and gdb.
Re: Gnome Freeze
Jon, > Do you have a sound card installed and the "sound server" options > selected? If you do not have a sound card you may find that > something is indefinately waiting to open a non-existant sound > device to play audio - certainly I've had this with nautilus on > various GNOME desktops so I'm just guessing that it could also have > this effect. Please let me know whether you have audio? OK - I disabled sound events in Gnome and *bish-bosh-bash* Gnome now works perfectly, but in absolute silence. So it is the Linux malaise all over again "one-problem-out, one -problem-in". Now I have to address the absence of sound. Would I be right in thinking that I have built in the wrong module when installing? The board is a Gigabyte GA-7ZX. I have been using the module for ES1371 but it seems clear after all of this business that I may have made a mistake. Can anyone guide me as to the correct module for this board? Keith-- +--+ Keith O'Connell | "That which does not kill Maidstone, Kent (UK) | us, usually still hurts. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | That's just life, I'm afraid"
Re: Gnome Freeze
On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 05:02:34PM +0100, Keith O'Connell wrote: | | > When GNOME locks up, can you press Ctrl-Alt-F[1-6] to get to a virtual | > console? | | Yes - no problem. I ran top as per you instructions and the process | consuming the highest CPU value was "top" itself with a value of 0.3%. | There were no entries listed under top fox XFree86, or any Gnome app. In | fact Top was the only app with a value above zero in the cpu column. | | I guess that is not the answer you were expecting? No, but it seems someone else has correctly guessed the problem. Anyways, that is good information for the future :-). To change Gnome's config without running gnome, try running 'gnomecc' (Gnome Control Panel) from an xterm with a different window manager. Then you can disable Gnome's sound and it may work then. In addition you can edit /etc/modules and comment out (put a '#' in front of) the line that mentions your sound module. You may also want to edit the file in /etc/modutils and comment out the lines that refer to sound. The command "grep sound /etc/modutils" will list all the files that mention sound and the contents of that line. Then run 'update-modules' after editing those files. Those changes will be noticeable the next time you boot up. To see the currently loaded modules use 'lsmod', use 'rmmod' to unload one, and use 'modprobe' to load one. -D
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 11:24:08AM -0600, Rick Macdonald wrote: | Jon Masters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked about sound. That makes a bit | of sense in my case, because sound doesn't work too well on the laptop | (choppy) and I probably had sound turned on for close window events. I | guess I'll look at that. You probably have the wrong DMA channel selected. This was the problem I had with my previous desktop system (that actually had a sound card). -D
Re: Gnome Freeze
On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, Keith O'Connell wrote: > Jon, > > > This will sound weird... > > > Do you have a sound card installed and the "sound server" options > > selected? If you do not have a sound card you may find that something is > > indefinately waiting to open a non-existant sound device to play audio - > > certainly I've had this with nautilus on various GNOME desktops so I'm > > just guessing that it could also have this effect. Please let me know > > whether you have audio? > > Strangely enough this does not sound weird. The new board I have has a > sound chip which is supposed to be compatible with a ES1371, so I > selected this module at install time. When I tried to play a CD under > Ice, or WMaker, there was no sound. Fix the sound was one of the things > I have on my "fix-later" list. Are you saying that the sound freeze is > the cause of the Gnome desktop freeze? > > I am so new as to not be able to disable a sound module or re enable > another one. I am hopeful of a fix that does not require *another* full > installation As I mentioned in my "me too" post, I have just now disabled the "sound server startup" and "sound for events" in the gnome Multimedia/Sound config. I also turned off the "play sound effects" in the SawfishWindowManager/Sound options. It's only been a few minutes but so far it hasn't hung! Sound apps still work. For example, xanim, but the sound is still choppy as it has been since I first configured this laptop. Perhaps once I fix the sound driver or whatever is wrong such that sound works properly, then maybe sound events won't hang sawfish (if indeed this is my problem). Try disabling WM sound events as I describe above (for gnome itself and your WM) and see what happens. It sounds like you are able to make it hang at will. Mine is randomn and can take quite a bit of action before hanging. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze (me too!)
On Sat, 1 Sep 2001, Keith O'Connell wrote: > ...when I load the Gnome desktop into play the machine will freeze at > the first gnome action I try (selecting an icon of the desktop or > similar). Locks up tight. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Bkspace to get out. If I > try to log back in a xdm it won't progress beyond accepting the > password. To get into X again once Gnome has aborted I have to reboot! > > I am currently writing this message in Netscape under Ice with the > machine, so I fear Gnome as the culprit as everything else is fine. Why I have the exact hang problem. I'm running woody/sid on three machines. It only happens on an NEC laptop. All three machines run Gnome with sawfish. The two desktops have NVidia video. The laptop has an ATI of some sort. When the harddrive was in a different laptop, it was OK. The probelm started when I moved the harddrive to this newer NEC. Many things changed at the same time, however. Video, soundcard, and a refresh of woody and or sid to get newer versions. X on the laptop would hang randomly when a window was closing. Happened with windows from many different apps. If I did Ctrl-Alt-Bkspace right away I could usually kill X but not log back in via gdm as you describe. If I telnet in to the laptop and kill and restart sawfish, well, that didn't fix everything and I had to quit and reboot anyway. If I pressed keys or clicked too many times with the mouse, then Ctrl-Alt-Bkspace wouldn't work and I'd have to hit the power switch. I couldn't figure out if it was X, the window manager or the XServer. I switched ice-gnome, still using gdm and gnome as usual, and it hasn't hung up since. That doesn't necessarily prove that it is sawfish's fault. Jon Masters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked about sound. That makes a bit of sense in my case, because sound doesn't work too well on the laptop (choppy) and I probably had sound turned on for close window events. I guess I'll look at that. ...RickM...
Re: Gnome Freeze
Jon, > This will sound weird... > Do you have a sound card installed and the "sound server" options > selected? If you do not have a sound card you may find that something is > indefinately waiting to open a non-existant sound device to play audio - > certainly I've had this with nautilus on various GNOME desktops so I'm > just guessing that it could also have this effect. Please let me know > whether you have audio? Strangely enough this does not sound weird. The new board I have has a sound chip which is supposed to be compatible with a ES1371, so I selected this module at install time. When I tried to play a CD under Ice, or WMaker, there was no sound. Fix the sound was one of the things I have on my "fix-later" list. Are you saying that the sound freeze is the cause of the Gnome desktop freeze? I am so new as to not be able to disable a sound module or re enable another one. I am hopeful of a fix that does not require *another* full installation Keith -- +--+ Keith O'Connell | "That which does not kill Maidstone, Kent (UK) | us, usually still hurts. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | That's just life, I'm afraid"
Re: Gnome Freeze
On 01 Sep 2001 16:19:08 +0100, Keith O'Connell wrote: > ...when I load the Gnome desktop into play the machine will freeze at > the first gnome action I try (selecting an icon of the desktop or > similar). Locks up tight. This will sound weird... Do you have a sound card installed and the "sound server" options selected? If you do not have a sound card you may find that something is indefinately waiting to open a non-existant sound device to play audio - certainly I've had this with nautilus on various GNOME desktops so I'm just guessing that it could also have this effect. Please let me know whether you have audio? > To get into X again once Gnome has aborted I have to reboot! This is probably because your /tmp contains stale files which are preventing a correct login - when you reboot I suspect they are getting cleaned, etc. Remove any lockfiles from /tmp or just clean it and restart X. --jcm
Re: Gnome Freeze
> When GNOME locks up, can you press Ctrl-Alt-F[1-6] to get to a virtual > console? Yes - no problem. I ran top as per you instructions and the process consuming the highest CPU value was "top" itself with a value of 0.3%. There were no entries listed under top fox XFree86, or any Gnome app. In fact Top was the only app with a value above zero in the cpu column. I guess that is not the answer you were expecting? Keith -- +--+ Keith O'Connell | "That which does not kill Maidstone, Kent (UK) | us, usually still hurts. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | That's just life, I'm afraid"
Re: Gnome Freeze
On Sat, Sep 01, 2001 at 04:19:08PM +0100, Keith O'Connell wrote: | This is something I have not seen mentioned before, and fro which I have | run out of (limited) ideas. | | I have four machines of varying ages and specs (all intel/amd) and I am | moving them all away from windows on on to Debian. They are getting | there and the problems that do exist are ones that I will solve as I | move further along the learning curve. There is one I have just hit that | I cannot think how to approach. | | I built a PC around an AMD 1.2G on a Gigabyte board. There are no exotic | components but it is the fastest of the processors I have available to | me. I have loaded stable on to it and it works just fine. I have | configured X and it works just fine. I can run at a zippity-whizz pace | ice, wmaker and all the other regular window managers, However... | | ...when I load the Gnome desktop into play the machine will freeze at | the first gnome action I try (selecting an icon of the desktop or | similar). Locks up tight. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Bkspace to get out. If I | try to log back in a xdm it won't progress beyond accepting the | password. To get into X again once Gnome has aborted I have to reboot! When GNOME locks up, can you press Ctrl-Alt-F[1-6] to get to a virtual console? If so, what does 'top' say about the CPU usage of various processes? Since you are new you probably aren't familiar with top. When you run it, press "P" (case matters) to sort by CPU usage. The screen will look something like 11:36:12 up 2:43, 3 users, load average: 0.07, 0.10, 0.06 66 processes: 63 sleeping, 3 running, 0 zombie, 0 stopped CPU states: 4.3% user, 1.0% system, 0.0% nice, 94.7% idle Mem:255820K total, 233548K used,22272K free,17860K buffers Swap: 249472K total, 7620K used, 241852K free, 101660K cached PID USER PRI NI SIZE RSS SHARE STAT %CPU %MEM TIME COMMAND 2492 root 11 -10 15504 11M 3300 S < 1.9 4.4 0:06 XFree86 2636 dman 14 0 4280 4280 3492 S 1.5 1.6 0:06 deskguide_apple 2601 dman 11 0 4352 4352 3404 R 0.7 1.7 0:00 gnome-terminal 2658 dman 12 0 1000 1000 776 R 0.3 0.3 0:00 top 303 root 11 0 100 5656 S 0.1 0.0 0:03 gpm The first line tells you what time it is, how long the system has been running and what the load is for the last 5 , 10 , and 15 minutes. Then it gives some CPU and memory usage info, then lists all the running processes (that fit on the screen). See if the %CPU column has a really high number for some process. The process name will be in the right column. What happens if you kill that process? (login to a different vc and run 'kill -KILL ' where is the number in the left hand column. I suspect that even after you have killed the X server that there is some GNOME process (or lock) remaining such that you can't login via xdm. Do you have sshd (or telnetd) running? (Did you install ssh?) Sometimes an X app locks up and you can't really do anything with the keyboard/mouse that is plugged into the machine. The system isn't really dead because you can login via ssh (or telnet) from another machine on the network and then kill the offending process without restarting or killing other unrelated apps. HTH, -D
Gnome Freeze
This is something I have not seen mentioned before, and fro which I have run out of (limited) ideas. I have four machines of varying ages and specs (all intel/amd) and I am moving them all away from windows on on to Debian. They are getting there and the problems that do exist are ones that I will solve as I move further along the learning curve. There is one I have just hit that I cannot think how to approach. I built a PC around an AMD 1.2G on a Gigabyte board. There are no exotic components but it is the fastest of the processors I have available to me. I have loaded stable on to it and it works just fine. I have configured X and it works just fine. I can run at a zippity-whizz pace ice, wmaker and all the other regular window managers, However... ...when I load the Gnome desktop into play the machine will freeze at the first gnome action I try (selecting an icon of the desktop or similar). Locks up tight. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Bkspace to get out. If I try to log back in a xdm it won't progress beyond accepting the password. To get into X again once Gnome has aborted I have to reboot! I am currently writing this message in Netscape under Ice with the machine, so I fear Gnome as the culprit as everything else is fine. Why is this happening. I would like a solution that is not "Go to Woody". I am new and working with stable and learning is enough without intentionally adding another joker to the pack. Anyone? Keith -- +--+ Keith O'Connell | "That which does not kill Maidstone, Kent (UK) | us, usually still hurts. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | That's just life, I'm afraid"
