Ubuntu getting locked up

[Chuck Kuecker]

Liam Proven wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 20, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Chuck Kuecker <ckuecker at ckent.org> wrote:
>   
>> Hello,
>>
>> I have a strange thing going on with my system. Three times now, Ubuntu
>> has gotten locked up somehow such that I cannot open a terminal window
>> or restart or reboot the system. I cannot stop the X-windows either. I
>> am running Ubuntu 9.10 with all the latest updates.
>>     
<snip>

>> Freescale for their embedded processor running Linux.
>>
>> Chuck Kuecker
>>     
>
> You've not told us anything about your machine's hardware, but this
> sounds like a possible hardware problem to me.
>
> I'd suggest:
>
> Step 1
>
> Open the machine up & give it a thorough clean, ideally with a
> compressed-air spray or something similar. "Airduster" these are
> sometimes called.
>
> I suggest paying special attention to the graphics card & processor
> heatsink & fan. If you know how, carefully remove the heatsinks & fans
> from both the CPU and the GPU & give them a thorough clean. Your
> problems sound a little like they might be caused by overheating to
> me.
>
> Step 2
>
> When reassembling, get and apply some fresh TIM
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_interface_material) when
> refitting them, making sure to remove all trace of the old stuff.
>
> Step 3
>
> When it's all back together, boot from an Ubuntu CD and run memtest86.
> I suggest you leave it going for a few hours or overnight.
>
>   
I built this box out of an old Windows machine - Pentium III, 1000 MHz. 
I've got 1.5Gb RAM, two 500 Gb hard drives, and a 250 Gb drive. I 
cleaned it out thoroughly when I put it together.

All the heatsinks are properly greased and tight. Nothing seems to be 
running excessively hot.

The video card is a ATI Radeon X800XL that my son bought for his gaming. 
It seems to work OK. No obvious errors show up in the logs.

I ran the memory test - no problems seen.

If it happens again, I will post the errors I see.

Chuck Kuecker