Killing a process when desktop hang

[Marcus Aschenbrenner]

Haines Brown skrev:
>> Ctrl-Alt-F1 will bring you to a text login (F1 - F6 are configured
>> this way). When you're done killing your processes, you can go back
>> into Gnome by hitting Ctrl-Alt-F7 (Default for xwindows in Ubuntu) 
>>
>> -Anderson
>>     
>
> Thanks for the suggestion, but the problem is that my entire desktop
> is hung, not just the application. C-M-F3 does not take me to a
> console, and C-M-BkSp does not shut down the X server. 
>
> I'm setting ubuntu up for my wife, but on my own machine I've avoided
> desktop managers and have only a window manager. This is why I'm
> unfamiliar with how to deal with desktop hangs.  
>
> If I can't get to a console and can't shut down the X server because
> the machine is not responding to keyboard input, I'm not sure what to
> do. Years ago one simply did a dirty shutdown by powering off, but
> naturally I want to avoid that if at all possible.    
>
>   
I've had the same problem, the only solution I've found working is to 
login with SSH from another machine and kill the app that have hung the 
GUI. No keystrokes at all work. Quite serious bug imho, but I don't know 
what causes it :/

//Marcus