You are not logged in.

#1 2004-04-05 03:57:57

Xenon
Member
Registered: 2004-03-24
Posts: 14

Random and frequent freezes.

This is kind of an odd one. It's third computer I've installed Arch on, and this is the first time I've experienced this type of problem.

The whole thing will just randomly freeze up on me to the point where ctrl+alt+delete and ctrl+k have no effect. This has happened multiple times, in CLI, in Flux, in Gnome and in KDE. There really isn't any specific thing that I'm doing to trigger it as far as I can tell. I doubt it's anything having to do with xf86, since this has happened when I'm in command line and watching pacman download packages (no mouse or keyboard input). The very first time it happened was while I was using pacman to do a system-wide upgrade after base install. It's also not a networking problem because the freezes have happened when I click on various things in KDE.

At first, I just attributed it to Windows being in sleep mode on the other paritition (oops :oops:), but cleanly shutting down Win didn't seem to lessen the number of freezes.

It's a Toshiba Satellite, similar to my other laptop. The processor is a 2.0 Ghz Pentium 4. I might try recompiling the kernel sometime since I was in a rush when I did the install and didn't pay too close attention to the modules I was selecting and deselecting. In the meantime, feel free to leave some suggestions on what might be causing this.

Offline

#2 2004-04-05 10:09:00

fragilek
Member
From: UK
Registered: 2004-04-03
Posts: 31

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

Laptops rely considerably on ACPI, which is a BIOS interface that allows the operating system control aspects of the BIOS easily. However, occasionally it is a problem. Try booting Arch with the kernel option "acpi=off".


PGP Key: 0xAA86325D
Email: fragile_k@myrealbox.com
Jabber: fragilek@jabber.org

Offline

#3 2004-04-05 12:41:20

Xenon
Member
Registered: 2004-03-24
Posts: 14

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try it when I get home. Now that you mention it, the freezes do sometimes happen right before the fans power up  :? , and I do remember messing around with the power management settings in the kernel. Maybe that's what did it? Oh well, guess I'll find out later.

Offline

#4 2004-04-05 17:09:39

KalephOne
Member
From: Fortaleza, Brasil
Registered: 2004-04-02
Posts: 99

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

I'm also having this problem. I'm running arch on a Toshiba Satellite 1805-s203 and it's running with the default kernel. I will compile it and see if I can find anything interesting...


Kaleph
jabber: kaleph@jabber.org

Offline

#5 2004-04-05 19:09:51

Xenon
Member
Registered: 2004-03-24
Posts: 14

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

I think I have a different model (not the 1805-s203), but I'd imagine some of the parts are similar. I'm wondering if I somehow forgot to include Toshiba laptop support in the kernel. I don't think so, but I'll have to look into it. The majority (but not all) of these freezes seem to happen when I'm running pacman or using the Mozilla download manager, so I'll probably take a look at networking options too. Fluxbox seems to be fairly stable, more so than the CLI even, so I can at least get some work done.

Offline

#6 2004-04-05 21:27:46

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

Also check that you're not running out of /tmp space.  /tmp is a tmpfs partition in arch, so if that fills up your system has no memory.


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

Offline

#7 2004-04-05 22:27:35

Xenon
Member
Registered: 2004-03-24
Posts: 14

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

The /tmp directory seems ok to me. There's only about 8 mb in there.

I've recompiled the kernel without ACPI, APM, and the Toshiba Laptop Support modules (apparently that Toshiba module won't work with the Phoenix BIOS that's used on some models).

It seems ok so far  :?. The fans have spun up three times without the system freezing up. Only time will tell, I guess. Will let you know if the problem persists.

Offline

#8 2004-04-05 22:43:34

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

It's not your current tmp size, it's the size of your /tmp when the system freezes.  tmpfs is stored in memory and it's cleared every time you unmount it (ie, on a reboot).


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

Offline

#9 2004-04-11 14:25:15

fragilek
Member
From: UK
Registered: 2004-04-03
Posts: 31

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

Hang on, surely this degrades performance. Why can't /tmp be mounted on a disk?


PGP Key: 0xAA86325D
Email: fragile_k@myrealbox.com
Jabber: fragilek@jabber.org

Offline

#10 2004-04-11 16:22:08

Xentac
Forum Fellow
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2003-01-17
Posts: 1,797
Website

Re: Random and frequent freezes.

It could.  That's just the setup by default.


I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room
- Blaise Pascal

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB