linux hangs

wasn't sure where to post this, but it has to do with a linux issue so this seemed appropriate.
anyway i just recently installed red hat linux 9, and the install and setup was flawless, but whenever im cruising AO with mozilla and i have Gaim (instant messenger) running, linux sometimes hangs, im not sure if its a sound issue or not but i was wondering if anyone else has had something similar to this happen, im running athlon XP 1900, 256MB DDR pc2100 ram, 20 gig western digital 7200 rpm HDD, geforce 4 Ti4600, onboard ac97 sound card, mother board is MSI k7t266 pro2. any help is greatly appreciated. thx :rolleyes:

When you say linux hangs, exactly what do you mean? Can you do anything or does the entire system freeze, or are only certain programs affected.

DeafLamb

sorry i didn't clarify, when i say hangs i mean everything freezes, can't move mouse or anything, im forced to turn off the power, and reboot.

Check the computer cables, I had this happened to me before when I tried to use aMSN, check the cables in the computer, and clean it as best you can, make sure everything is nice and tight and secure.

-MB

try testing your memory or if the fans are working properly, does it frezzes only with those programs or even if youre not using them ? ? ? ?

GraphicTron is right, try checking the system memory, most of the time system hangs occur due to bad memory sticks....Also, this might be an outlandish idea, assign some more swapspace if you feel adventurous, you shouldn't have to with 256 megs of system ram, however, it doesn't hurt :)

when your linux box hangs, did you notice the NumLock and/or CapsLock led(s) blinking ??

that would mean it's a kernel panic (blue screen of linux ;))

Also when your system hangs, try pressing ALT + CTRL + 'F2' . This should bring you to another virtual console (remember linux is multi-user) If this works then it might just be your Graphical interface that is freezing up. If this is the case login as root, and use the 'ps -A' command to list all current process. Find the Login on tty1 and use the 'kill 1234' command where 1234 is the PID of tty1 login.

The reason X maybe crashing could be due to your original suspecion of sound server crashing, your video hardware could also be configured incorrectly.

Just an Idea, Hope this helps.

DeafLamb

it freezes sometimes when im using terminal too, i have had some memory problems with this motherboard for a long time though, i think its time for a new one. i never noticed the numlock lights blinking though, i'll try adding some more swap memory, and checking all the connections. thanks again for your help

[edit]
well gnome is my GUI im using right now, would it be wise to try using a differen't one like KDE? or should i try working out the problems with my sound first? if it is a sound problem is it possible to get different sound drivers, and where can i find them, im assuming i should just look on the manufacter's website

Deflamb may be right. The same thing was happening to me. My problem was caused by X crashing because of a nVidia driver that was screwed up. Once I re-installed X stopped crashing.

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Originally posted here by lucktsm
Deflamb may be right. The same thing was happening to me. My problem was caused by X crashing because of a nVidia driver that was screwed up. Once I re-installed X stopped crashing.

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I think he is right... btw have you installed your Nvidia driver?, if you haven't install your Nvdia driver..your linux box will be hang all the time .I have same problem as you along time ago, but as soon as I've got Nvidia driver installed everything running smoothly..


Cheerrs

Make sure that the system is being cooled properly. You said something about sound before. Does it lock when sound is going?

You might want to use a test program like Quick Tech Pro, it's a boot floppy that checks all the system devices and does an exhaustive memory check.

I'm sure if it's a hardware issue that it will come to light with that program. Were you getting these lock-ups before installing RH9?


--PuRe

yes, i have not yet installed my sounds drivers or nVidia drivers, so i will attempt to try that next and see what happens, thanks again, all your help was greatly needed. i thought the general drivers would get my by and be the most stable but i suppose thats not the case with linux.

If your goingn to install the new shell script drivers from Nvidia, remember to go to init 3.

as root type init 3 and usually that works. Then as Root, install the drivers and then reboot if you wanna, that should get you passed the driver install.

On the command line in init 3 type:

sh NVIDIA-Linux bla bla bla and hit enter. After that when its done, type init 5 to get back to X.

sweet. thanks again for the help

ok so i installed the nvidia drivers, do i need to do anything else so that linux knows what drivers to use for my video card?, whe n i check the display settings it still says "generic" in next to the driver name. what do i do?

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Deflamb may be right. The same thing was happening to me. My problem was caused by X crashing because of a nVidia driver that was screwed up. Once I re-installed X stopped crashing.

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NVIDIA Drivers have slight issues, but NVIDIA works hard to correct them.

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ok so i installed the nvidia drivers, do i need to do anything else so that linux knows what drivers to use for my video card?, whe n i check the display settings it still says "generic" in next to the driver name. what do i do?

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I assume you downloaded the drivers ftp from download.nvidia.com. For me the file path was "XFree86/Linux-x86/1.0-4496/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run" The install should also include a sample XFree86Config file. This needs to go into /etc.
-Sam-

EDIT: Back, here is my XF86Config file to make things easier.