Sam Varshavchik wrote:
Khoa Ton writes:
This could be the new RAM DIMMs being not quite compatible with my
ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard, but I wanted to check with the group to
see whether it may be because the swap is only 1.91GB and not more
than 2GB, the amount of physical RAM?
Nope, not unless you're running into a kernel bug due to your new memory
configuration. It's very likely that the RAM is bad, but there's a
small chance of a kernel bug, that's worth exploring.
The only good way to test for that would be by setting up a serial
console. You'll need another PC. Connect both of them via the serial
port, using a null-modem adapter. See the boot prompt howto for
instructions on setting up a serial console. Run minicom on the other
PC, make sure that your ASUS PC's boot messages are getting captured,
then leave everything running. When the screensaver locks up, see if
you captured an OOPS or a BUG.
PS: I'm running XGL/Compiz (very sexy 3D GUI) which is not
production quality, but it's not hanging with my 1GB RAM in place.
You can also ping the machine, off the network, to see if it's just X
that's locked up, but the machine itself is funny. Once a month
something gets screwed up when I boot my laptop, and X won't come up.
The keyboard is dead, but the kernel itself is up. I log in from
another machine, over the network, kill and restart X, then everything's
fine.
Thanks for the instructions on tracking down hangs, Sam. As it
turns out, the RAM was the problem. However, I will keep your email
for future system hang diagnosis. I am certain I will be using it.
Best regards,
Khoa
