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#1 2003-11-02 13:43:28

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

the last few weeks I sometimes found my computer completely frozen when I had been away for a while, but this was rare so I didn't pay attention to it

however since a few days, it crashes everytime, and ctrl-alt-tab doesn't help, I need a hard reboot to fix it. it can even happen when I'm not touching my box for 10 seconds! (so no, it's not the screensaver)

I started looking which application it causes, apparently none, it does it in fluxbox and kde, and by eliminating the programs that are usually open, I discovered that it can't be one of those. so not one of my apps, not the window manager, not the server apps

I figured it might be a hardware problem, maybe the network cable because it only seems to crash when there's network activity around, but windows runs like a rock with the same network activity

I have a 2500+@2800+ (yes it's stable, this can't be the problem), an a7n8x deluxe mainboard, 512mb ram, geforce fx 5600, maxtor 120gig HD

does anyone have a clue? or advice how I can pin down the problem?

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#2 2003-11-02 14:31:53

andy
Member
From: Germany
Registered: 2002-10-11
Posts: 374

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

=X¥®µ§= wrote:

I have a 2500+@2800+ (yes it's stable, this can't be the problem),

*are* *you* *sure* ?
Seriously, that it runs under Win but not under Linux is not necessarily saying anything.

an a7n8x deluxe mainboard, 512mb ram, geforce fx 5600, maxtor 120gig HD

does anyone have a clue? or advice how I can pin down the problem?

When you say NIC, what NIC do you have ?

Otherwise, try :
http://users.ev1.net/~redelm/
http://users.bigpond.net.au/cpuburn/
http://petertodd.ca/lucifer.php
http://www.memtest86.com

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#3 2003-11-02 14:32:38

jlvsimoes
Member
From: portugal
Registered: 2002-12-23
Posts: 392
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

i point to the overclock not becouse the stability but becouse the cpu cache can do that 
if its runnig overclocked i say this by my one esperience
not only the cpu but all you hardware may be overclocked to wath is your front side bus and is you soundcard , vga bord , discs etc overclocked to and can they keep up with it
remove the overclock just to be shure and see if the box freazes again


-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GU/ d- s: a- C L U P+ L+++ E--- W+
N 0+ K- W-- !O !M V-- PS+ PE- V++ PGP T 5 Z+ R* TV+ B+
DI-- D- G-- e-- h! r++ z+ z*
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

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#4 2003-11-02 14:44:28

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I'm using the onboard nvidia network card

I'm saying that it can't be caused by the overclocking because I'm only getting these problems a few days, and it happens when the cpu is idle!

I've also tested my cpu with specialized programs like the ones you mention, and it never gave any problems, the barton 2500+ is like one of the best cpu's to overclock...

however I will try underclocking it again and I will try all those programs to make sure...

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#5 2003-11-02 14:48:27

andy
Member
From: Germany
Registered: 2002-10-11
Posts: 374

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

Did you test your machine *recently* with these programs ? I vaguely remember that overclocking can cause problems *over time*. I.e. permanently stressing the hardware will eventually damage something or lower the tolerance. I could be wrong, though.

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#6 2003-11-02 15:03:42

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

just stress tested it, worked fine - in windows at least, but I'm stuck here for a while since I need to dl a huge ammount of data, and since linux always crashes I have to use windows for a while -> I noticed something strange as well, in windows, my transfer rate is 800-1100kb/sec, while in linux it ranges from 500-800kb/sec with the same data, same server and even the same ftp program

this couldn't have anything to do with the crashes, can it? as I said, I suspect the network to have something to do with it since it doesn't seem to crash when there's no network activity (I'm not 100% sure of that though)

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#7 2003-11-03 10:44:54

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

heh check your power supply - in fact, don't check it just replace it - shoot big (420-500 watts) and you'll be fine - I guarentee this is due to power usage.

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#8 2003-11-03 19:11:30

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

hmm that could be a good point, we have very bad elektricity here (I'm not at home but in a residence)
the lights get darker for a sec a lot
maybe it has something to do with that yes
btw the past 24 hours it never crashed, and I didn't do a thing... really weird

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#9 2003-11-03 19:29:03

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I take that back
just crashed - wasn't even idle

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#10 2003-11-03 21:17:25

kakabaratruskia
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2003-08-24
Posts: 596

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I have a similar problem. I bought some new ram for my compaq, but it was not original (it was kingston, but not fot compaq). Now I've had many crashes, but they're less in win. In arch I get much morecrashes, and it's really crapy.


And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.

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#11 2003-11-11 09:46:06

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

instead of using the standard nv driver, I'm now using the proprietory nvidia driver and it hasn't crashed since

the person who told me this had a similar problem once (not with arch) and it was the gfx driver as well

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#12 2003-11-11 11:31:36

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

sometimes it s the card itself. my old gf2 was vey buggy


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#13 2004-09-12 22:43:24

longhornxtreme
Member
Registered: 2004-07-10
Posts: 131

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I'm now hard locking myself under Arch .7....

its not any screensaver... it's not an idle nor a full load condition...  it doesn't seem to have anything to do with any specific programs...

I've run memtest86 for over 12 hours now with not a single error...

Under windows its prime 95 stable for another 12 hours...

Which is leading me to believe that its not a hardware issue... 


During the hardlock I'm also getting the locked audio sound... so i tried turning off all my sound modules... to no avail... still getting the hard lock about 5 minutes in....   

MY usb optical mouse still lights up when I move it and the keyboard lock keys still change the lights on my kb... BUT a cntrl tab or a cntrl alt del don't do a single thing...

X won't cancel with a cntrl alt backspace either...

I'm up to my wits end right now... I've NEVER experienced a hard lock situation with Linux until these last 2 days... especially not one that happens every boot....

any ideas?

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#14 2004-09-15 09:00:07

Namlook
Member
From: France / Montpellier
Registered: 2004-05-30
Posts: 74

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I got the same problem. It crash randomly on my ArchBox 0.7 but ArchLinux 0.6 (whith upgrade of course) work just well.

On my computeur, it crash even in text-mode (no X). So, it can't be an X server and graphic card problem.

In the begining, I thought that it was a hardware issue. So I changed my ram but it continue. I suspected 2.6 kernel to be unstable with my hardware but it doesn't seem to be that...

Curiously, I noted that those crash begin whith my alcatel router problem. 'Don"t know why. For exemple, when dhcpcd is running and my router is disconected (can't connect to internet), it take very long time to start X (startx). I really don't understund cause X is independant of the network connection...

So, I have big problem to during those days and I can't find this issue. If anyone have other idea...

Namlook

PS : I'm terrible sorry for my bad english
PSS : There was stroms with ligthning bolts in my region. power supply issue ?

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#15 2004-09-15 12:38:04

longhornxtreme
Member
Registered: 2004-07-10
Posts: 131

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I believe it has something to do with my ALSA configuration... oh well... I reinstalled Arch and I haven't had a lock up yet...

Tu parles anglais tres bien, je veux que je parlais francais comme tu parles anglais.  Excusez-moi pour ma mauvais francais.

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#16 2004-09-15 14:14:14

xirus
Member
Registered: 2002-12-01
Posts: 113

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

Should've posted this a long time ago... the crashes on my box were caused by a certain option in the kernel that I compiled into it. It had something to do with graphics (agx or something like that - can't remember), but I can't find it in the 2.6 branch anymore. Once I was pointed at my mistake (the guy that found it had the same problem a few months before me) I recompiled the kernel without that option and it's rockstable since. (I'm not using the kernel that comes with pacman) So using the nvidia driver was only a temporary solution, now I can use the nv driver as well without crashes.

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#17 2004-09-15 15:04:02

rehcra
Member
From: Distant galaxy
Registered: 2004-09-15
Posts: 120
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

Namlook wrote:

(...) For exemple, when dhcpcd is running and my router is disconected (can't connect to internet), it take very long time to start X (startx). I really don't understund cause X is independant of the network connection...

I had very long X startups some time ago when I was using CRUX.
I determined it wasn't due to X server, but because of some apps including Mozilla and GNOME. This happened exactly because I hadn't properly set up loopback network device (only eth0).


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#18 2004-09-15 15:49:43

longhornxtreme
Member
Registered: 2004-07-10
Posts: 131

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I'm quite positive my loopback device is set correctly...

I'm not getting the lock sitting on the stock kernel that came on the .7 beta iso...

I wonder what I did on my old install when i modified the kernel?  I used arch's config as a base and only pulled things that i was positive I didn't need and switched the architecture over to suit my Athlon XP... which leads me to believe i didn't mess up the compilation...

I wonder if it had to do with ATI's drivers... I had finally gotten 3d acceleration going with my 9700pro but no open gl functionality was being used at the time of any of the past crashes...

for now I'm knocking on wood... but rest assured if it starts up again there will be an exhaustive investigation instead of a quick reinstall...

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#19 2004-09-16 12:50:20

Namlook
Member
From: France / Montpellier
Registered: 2004-05-30
Posts: 74

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

rehcra wrote:
Namlook wrote:

(...) For exemple, when dhcpcd is running and my router is disconected (can't connect to internet), it take very long time to start X (startx). I really don't understund cause X is independant of the network connection...

I had very long X startups some time ago when I was using CRUX.
I determined it wasn't due to X server, but because of some apps including Mozilla and GNOME. This happened exactly because I hadn't properly set up loopback network device (only eth0).

It might be an explanation...

Today, I retried to start my computeur and it crashed at different step while the kernel was booting. After 3 hard reset, it finally start... --> power supply issue ? I need to know if I change this or if it's another problem...

Thanks very much
Namlook

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#20 2004-09-17 10:12:06

phunni
Member
From: Bristol, UK
Registered: 2003-08-13
Posts: 770

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I'm getting the same problem - or at least similar.  My computer froze this morning after I left it idle for a bit.

I have an ATI 9800 pro and a slightly overclocked amd processor.  I run KDE or fluxbox.

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#21 2004-09-17 11:43:44

zezaz
Member
From: Bordeaux, France
Registered: 2004-04-26
Posts: 80
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

Namlook wrote:

On my computeur, it crash even in text-mode (no X). So, it can't be an X server and graphic card problem.

Hello le Montpelliérain,

Are there any messages in your system logs (e.g. /var/log/kernel) just before your crashes?

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#22 2004-09-21 15:39:09

Namlook
Member
From: France / Montpellier
Registered: 2004-05-30
Posts: 74

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

nop ! My computer crash during the boot time and never at the same moment... I suspect the 2.6 kernel (2.6.8.1)... I'll try to downgrade it to 2.4

PS: Il fait beau à Bordeau ?   wink

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#23 2004-09-21 16:57:27

zezaz
Member
From: Bordeaux, France
Registered: 2004-04-26
Posts: 80
Website

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

Namlook wrote:

PS: Il fait beau à Bordeau ?   wink

« I'm siiiinging in the rain, just siiinging in the rain »  big_smile

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#24 2004-09-21 18:14:48

phunni
Member
From: Bristol, UK
Registered: 2003-08-13
Posts: 770

Re: arch completely freezes when my computer is idle

I upgraded to kernel 2.6.8 and it seemed to fix the problem, although I wonder if it was actually the latest version of xorg so I have also downgraded to the previous version...

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