external HD

[Basil Chupin]

On 24/01/13 10:28, Errol Sapir wrote:
>
> On 01/22/2013 07:52 AM, Basil Chupin wrote:
>> On 22/01/13 02:44, Errol Sapir wrote:
[pruned]


>> Now THAT is a most unusual situation. I have never heard of an USB 
>> port failing. Was it the cable or is the mobo on its last legs?
>>
>> BC
>>
> The latter I'm afraid. The front USB's have been out of action for a 
> while and now it seems to be spreading. I have another phenomena  ONLY 
> happening in Kubuntu - not in Windows but maybe that is because I use 
> it for short spurts and only when I have no choice like using Visio 
> which I use for work.
> The phenomena is the sudden "freezing" of he computer where nothing 
> works and the only way to "solve" the problem is to press the computer 
> button and hold it until the computer shuts down. I then restart the 
> computer and all works well until the next time. As this only happens 
> when I'm working on the computer (and not while the computer is idle) 
> I am deliberating whether it is a hardware or software problem. My 
> deep suspicions are the something in Kubuntu is malfunctioning. Maybe 
> people here know about this. I use Kubuntu 12.10 with all upgrades as 
> they come out.
> My computer is quite old. A Gigabyte GA-F8NF motherboard with a AMD 
> 3500 cpu and 2 giga memory.
> Errol


My immediate reaction is that you need to check 3 things:

1   RAM  - do a memtest64 and if doesn't show any errors within 20 
minutes or so then let it run overnight;

2   check if you cpu is overheating - it may be stopping because it has 
reached a high temp;

3   check your bank account balance re available funds to buy a new mobo 
or, better still, build a new system (look at Newegg.com for parts) :-) .

BTW, the sudden "seizure" of the system is not due to Kubuntu - although 
it could be the video card....... So, add number 4 to the list above :-) :

4   check condition of video card (and clean the fans etc inside the box 
to ensure proper air circulation)

BC

-- 
Using openSUSE 12.2 x86_64 KDE 4.10.0 & kernel 3.7.4-1 on a system with-
AMD FX 8-core 3.6/4.2GHz processor
16GB PC14900/1866MHz Quad Channel Corsair "Vengeance" RAM
Gigabyte AMD3+ m/board; Gigabyte nVidia GTX550Ti 1GB DDR5 GPU