How to Troubleshoot (Seemingly) Random Freeze?

statikregimen

Hi,

Well, this one is tricky as I cannot willfully reproduce it. The issue is what the subject says. Usually, it just wont wake up from sleep, but this computer idles a lot. I have also had it freeze during normal use (in which case, it's sudden, without any warning and doesn't seem dependent on task or system load).

The machine is a Lenovo Yoga 2 11" laptop.

Here is the last of syslog from the most recent freeze, when I tried to wake the system up and it was dead:

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 20067

To clarify, by freeze you mean that it permanently locks up until you force the power off, correct?

How much time passed from those messages to the crash? It doesn't seem likely to be related, but you could trun them off temporarily as well.

Normally hardware is the first culprit to eliminate. Often power supplies and memory. But since you changed kernels, those changes are also high on the list.

If you still have the hardened kernel available, I'd switch back to that to verify if the problem goes away. If it goes away, then kernel changes are more likely the issue. But it still might be a good idea to test the memory.

If you switch back to hardened and it seems fine after a while, then I'd save that configuration so you can revert back if necessary. I'd then try to use a gentoo-sources kernel of the same version, without making any new changes (hibernate, governor, etc.). Try to match it as closely to the good kernel as possible.

If you can't find a close version of gentoo-sources, then I'd use the hardened kernel and disable the hardened features in an attempt to make it closer to a gentoo-sources kernel. It might then be easier to migrate from that "unhardened" kernel.

Also, /usr/src/linux/scripts/diffconfig can help you compare kernel config files.

And one more thing. Since it is passively cooled, it may be overheating. Does the system have any temperature sensors which can be monitored?
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bunder · Bodhisattva Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 5934

Try enabling magic sysrq and seeing if the reboot button works. If it does, then its not a complete hardlock. You might be able to generate a stack trace. I remember ages ago when video drivers weren't so great, that x11/xorg would freeze and give the appearance of a hardlock.

statikregimen · Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:50 pm Post subject:

Thanks very much for the replies! I will try these suggestions ASAP.

As for memory, I feel like it's soldered on to the mainboard on this machine, but I can at least run memtest86 or so. Unfortuately for me, this is pretty much a disposable computer, tho it is nice so I hope it's not hardware!!

Again, I thank you. I shall report back my findings...hopefully within the next 48hrs from this writing

EDIT: So it's definitely not overheating. I'm pushing it hard right now, and not only is it running really hot, but it's running smooth. My current load average is >6 on the minute.The major task running, is an emerge @world update. Yet still, my GUI apps are responsive as ever. I mean, there are a few lags here and there, but truly impressive for a Baytrail. No other OS/distro has performed so well on this machine to date. Heavy load, but still feels like it's prioritizing me. Battery life has improved, too.

EDIT2: The load condition has been sustained for at least an hour now....no freeze so far.

EDIT3: It did complete the update after a great deal of time (hours - I went to bed eventually), and it stayed alive over night. I'm not sure I've had a freeze since then, so currently, I am monitoring the situation.

EDIT4: It froze again, eventually... Should have some time to apply the provided strategies this weekend.