What Should I Do When Ubuntu Freezes?

20/10/2015 bug reporting - What should I do when Ubuntu freezes?
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What should I do when Ubuntu freezes?
All operating systems freeze sometimes, and Ubuntu is no exception. What should I do to regain
control when...
just one program stops responding?

nothing at all responds to mouse clicks or key presses?
the mouse stops moving entirely?
In what order should I try various solutions before deciding to pull the power plug?
What should I do when starting up Ubuntu fails? Is there a diagnostic procedure I can follow?
bug-reporting
edited May 29 '14 at 21:55 community wiki

11 revs, 7 users 57%
ndrk
42 Answers
1 2 next
When a single program stops working:
When a program window stops responding, you can usually stop it by clicking the X-shaped
close button at the top left of the window. That will generally result in a dialog box saying
that the program is not responding (but you already knew that) and presenting you with the
option to kill the program or to continue to wait for it to respond.
Sometimes this does not work as expected. If you can't close a window by normal means, you
can hit Alt + F2 , type xkill, and press Enter . Your mouse cursor will then turn into an X.
Hover over the offending window and left-click to kill it. Right clicking will cancel and return
your mouse to normal.
If your program is running from a terminal, on the other hand, you can usually halt it with
Ctrl + C . If not, find the name and process ID of its command, and tell the program to end
as soon as possible with kill[processIDhere]. It sends the default signal SIGTERM ( 15).
If all else fails, as a last resort send SIGKILL ( 9): kill9[processIDhere]. Note that you
should only use SIGKILL as a last resort, because the process will be terminated
immediately by the kernel with no opportunity for cleanup. It does not even get the signal -
it just stops to exist.
(Killing a process by kill9 allways works if you have the permission to kill. In some special
cases the process is still listed by ps or top (as "zombie") - in this case, the program was
killed, but the process table entry is kept, becuse it's needed later.)
When the mouse stops working:
If the keyboard still works, press Alt + F2 and run gnometerminal (or, if these fail to
launch, press Alt + Ctrl + F1 and login with your username and password). From there you
can troubleshoot things. I'm not going to get into mouse troubleshooting here, as I haven't
researched it. If you just want to try restarting the GUI, run sudoservicelightdmrestart.
This should bring down the GUI, which will then attempt to respawn, bringing you back to
the login screen.
When everything, keys and mouse and all, stop working:
First try the Magic SysReq method outlined in Phoenix' answer. If that doesn't work, press
the Reset button on the computer case. If even that doesn't work, you'll just have to power-
cycle the machine.
May you never reach this point.
edited May 20 at 3:29 community wiki

http://askubuntu.com/questions/4408/what-should-i-do-when-ubuntu-freezes 1/12
20/10/2015 bug reporting - What should I do when Ubuntu freezes? - Ask Ubuntu
koanhead
9 I've recently discovered that, rather than the "ps $options | grep $process_name" referenced above, one
can just enter "pgrep $process_name" to achieve approximately the same result (for certain values of
$options). koanhead Jun 4 '11 at 13:45
1 One should never recommend kill9 right off the bat. Once should instead attempt to kill the
process with less drastic signals first, and only use -9 if all else fails. Scott Severance Sep 28 '12 at 4:18
If it locks up completely, you can REISUB it, which is a safer alternative to just cold rebooting
the computer.
REISUB by:
While holding Alt and the SysReq(PrintScreen) keys, type R E I S U B .
R:SwitchtoXLATEmode
E:SendTerminatesignaltoallprocessesexceptforinit
I:SendKillsignaltoallprocessesexceptforinit
S:Syncallmountedfilesystems
U:Remountfilesystemsasreadonly
B:Reboot
REISUB is BUSIER backwards, as in "The System is busier than it should be", if you need to
remember it. Or mnemonically - R eboot; E ven; I f; S ystem; U tterly; B roken.
This is the SysReq key:
NOTE: There exists less radical way than rebooting the whole system. If SysReq key works,
you can kill processes one-by-one using Alt + SysReq + F . Kernel will kill the mostly
expensive process each time. If you want to kill all processes for one console, you can issue
Alt + SysReq + K .
NOTE: You should explicitly enable these key combinations. Ubuntu ships with sysrq default
setting 176 (128+32+16), which allows to run only SUB part of REISUB combination. You can
change it to 1 or, which is potentially less harmful, 244. To do this:
sudonano/etc/sysctl.d/10magicsysrq.conf
and switch 176 to 244; then
echo244|sudotee/proc/sys/kernel/sysrq
It will immediately work! You can test this by pressing Alt + SysReq + F . For me, it killed
active browser tab, then all extensions. And if you will continue, you can reach X Server
restart.
More info on all the Alt + SysReq functions here.
edited Sep 1 at 7:28 community wiki

Phoenix
78 In the event you're forced to do this, do it slowly. Let a few seconds pass in between each keypress so
that the commands you're invoking have a chance to finish before you go to the next one.
Andrew Lambert Apr 24 '11 at 8:22
18 In case you like mnemonics: Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring, or Reboot Event If System Utterly
Broken. I've also seen it as RSEIUB (Raising Skinny Elephants is Utterly Boring). Siegfried Gevatter Apr
26 '11 at 14:19
10 I actually came up with this one and try to remember it this way: "Reset System Environment In UBuntu".
or "Reset Environment In System UBuntu". Luis Alvarado Aug 14 '12 at 21:32
3 What do you do if you're using a Mac that has no SysRq key? Cerin Jan 9 '13 at 23:22
6 @Cerin How do I use REISUB with an Apple slim aluminum keyboard? ndrk Jan 12 '13 at 19:56
You can make the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Delete open the System Monitor, with which you can
kill any unresponsive applications.
1. Open up System Preferences Keyboard Shortcuts and click Add.

In the Command field, enter gnomesystemmonitor. Name the shortcut whatever you
want.
2. Click Apply and then click where it says Disabled. Now hit the keys Ctrl + Alt + Delete
3. Close Keyboard Shortcuts and try out the shortcut:
answered Apr 24 '11 at 3:47 community wiki

Alvin Row
2 but if X is locking up fully, or even the kernel is hung, you can't do much with a keyboard shortcut.
hexafraction Jun 14 '12 at 21:58
12 Unfortunately, System Monitor is quite CPU intensive. It typically consumes up to 20% of my CPU, so if
you're computer's bogged down, launching SM is only going to grind it into the dirt faster. Cerin Jan 9
'13 at 23:25
2 If you can open System Monitor you can get to a terminal, in which case your OS is not frozen. nbm Nov
11 '13 at 23:32
1 System Monitor is, unfortunately, not the trusty Task Manager on Windows. As commented above, it will
only launch if (ironically) Ubuntu isn't frozen. And even if it does, it's unresponsive anyway.
AsianSquirrel Mar 25 '14 at 22:07
Freezes such as you have described can be both software and hardware related and as you
have found sometimes frustratingly difficult to diagnose.
Hardware
If this is a desktop PC look at your hardware-cards. For both laptops and desktops possibly
acpi type issues.
It might be useful to temporarily simplify your configuration to have just the graphics card
connected with a standard keyboard and mouse. All other cards should be removed.
For acpi related issues, try booting with noapicnomodeset in your grub boot option. Its also
worth trying acpi=off although this could have other undesirable effects such as constant
fan usage.
Also worth checking the bios version level and seeing if the vendor has a newer bios version.
The readme notes should hopefully reveal if any newer version fixed crashes and freezes.
Software
I note you have tried the standard 270 drivers but have failed due to freezes. Can you clarify
if you had similar issues with the open-source driver? Obviously you will not get Unity during
testing this.
Graphics freezing can be one of/or a combination of the driver/compiz/X/kernel
If you are willing to try any of the suggestions below first backup your system with a good
backup tool such as CloneZilla. You will need an external media device to receive the image
such as a large USB stick/drive or separate internal hard-drive.
Installing newer nVidia driver

Deactivate (uninstall) your current 173-nvidia driver using the Additional Drivers window.
There are a small number of important fixes primarily in the 275 stable but a small number
also in the 280beta that fixed freezes - it is worth a shot to see if these apply to your
graphics card. Unfortunately nvidia dont go into detail on which cards they specifically fix
(readme.txt)
However - I would strongly recommend a backup unless you feel confident on reversing a
nvidia install - especially since you had serious issues with the slightly older 270 drivers. I've
used clonezilla countless times and it has always got me out of trouble. You do need a large
external drive though - USB stick/external drive or a separate drive.
X Updates
The latest graphics drivers have been packaged in the x updates ppa.
Note - this will lead you away from the standard baseline - if upgrading in the future ppa
purge the PPA itself before upgrading.
You can also manually install the drivers from nVidia:
Try installing the latest nvidia stable 275 or 280 drivers - 32bit 280 drivers: ftp site and 64bit:
280 drivers: ftp site
To Install
CTRL + ALT + F1 to switch to TTY1 and login
sudoservicegdmstop
To stop the X server
sudosu
To run as root
cd~/Downloads
shNVIDIALinuxx86280.04.run
To install the 32bit driver (equiv for 64bit) then reboot.
To uninstall
sudoshNVIDIA*uninstall
Also remove /etc/X11/xorg.conf
X/Kernel/Compiz
If you run classic Ubuntu with effects do you get the same freeze issues as standard Ubuntu?
If you cannot reproduce the freeze with classic Ubuntu (no effects) then this will point you
towards a compiz issue. I would raise a launchpad bug report with the compiz team.
If space is available (e.g. 20Gb), you could dual boot/install alongside the latest oneiric alpha.
Obviously this will itself be unstable, but it will come with the latest X and Kernel. You may
need to also install manually the beta 280 graphics drivers above since it probably will not be
offered in the Additional Drivers window.
If during testing you dont see the same freeze activity you could try uplifting your X version
with the x-edgers ppa and using kernel kernel 3.0 in Natty. Going this route is not really
desirable - and could cause you upgrade issues in the future - and may have other
unforeseen stability issue. Again, use ppapurge to remove the PPA.
Kernel 3.0 is packaged with the PPA - you'll need to install the headers as well as the kernel
itself from synaptic BEFORE rebooting if you intend to install the nvidia drive later.
This is a testing ppa - do have a ready backup if you want to try this route.
edited Jan 29 '13 at 16:20 community wiki

3 revs, 2 users 90%
fossfreedom
If you're getting a lot of freezes, there might be something wrong with your hardware. I used
to get hard lockups every 48 hours due to some less than optimal RAM. Memtest86+ showed
the fault after 40 minutes of testing. Swapped the RAM out for some more (under warranty)
and I'm now at 32 days, 1 hour of uptime.
Ubuntu doesn't tend to leak its guts all over your memory like Windows can over time. Even
if one application or a poor X video driver does, you can restart LigthtDM very simply and
just keep going and going and going. I've actually been through three beta versions of the
nvidia driver in this one boot :)
Anyway... While knowing how to restart softly is a very handy thing, finding, reporting and
fixing the system should be your next priority. If it's an always-on system, you should easily
be able to make it between kernel updates* without needing a restart.
*You should restart when you get kernel updates as they'll be security fixes that won't be
applied until you reboot into the newer kernel.
edited Aug 25 '12 at 14:24 community wiki

2 revs, 2 users 92%
Oli
When everything stops working, first try Ctrl + Alt + F1 to go to a terminal, where you
can likely kill X or other problem processes.
If even that doesn't work, try using holding down Alt + SysReq while pressing (slowly, with
a few seconds between each) R E I S U B .
This puts the keyboard in raw mode, ends tasks in various states, syncs the disks, etc, and
finally reboots the machine. You will get much better results doing this than just pulling the
plug. Of course, if this fails, you're pretty much left with pulling the plug.
edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:23 community wiki

2 revs, 2 users 75%
Octavian Damiean
8 A way to remember "REISUB" is "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken". Matthew Crumley Sep 20 '10 at
3:15
5 or "Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring" :P Axel Sep 20 '10 at 12:09
4 I remember it using "BUSIER" Backwards Nerdfest Sep 20 '10 at 16:33
4 Between Ctrl+ Alt+ F1 and trying to kill processes, and Alt+ SysRq+ R E I S U B, it's
worth pressying Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete. If you successfully got to a text-based virtual console (from
having pressed Ctrl+ Alt+ F1), this will virtually always reboot the machine. Eliah Kagan Jun 14 '12
at 21:24
Also, sometimes it's simply the X-Server which hangs - a case I've most often found when
you're using Compiz.
If this is the case you can kill X, which will restart and drop you back at the log-in screen.
The default sequence is Ctrl + Alt + Backspace
Although this is turned off by default (presumably new-users were accidentally hitting it)
and can be turned back on like this:
1. System Keyboard (i.e. the Keyboard Preferences Dialogue)

2. Layouts tab
3. Click the Options button
4. At the Key Sequence to kill the X server point check Ctrl + Alt + Backspace .
edited Sep 3 '12 at 19:06 community wiki

3 revs, 3 users 57%
thomas michael wallace
2 If your video driver is using kernel modesetting (KMS), it's unlikely this will be sufficient to fix lockups, you
have to use sysrq or power cycle. (Go ahead and try C-A-B, it obviously can't hurt; it does work when an
app (like compiz/unity) is stuck, rather than X itself, however other answers on this page would be better
in this case). But when it doesn't work, now you know why. :-) Bryce Jun 16 '12 at 0:53
My first favourite when total freeze occured - Alt + SysRq + K .
That combo kills X, and returns me to the graphical login screen. If that doesn't work, try
Alt + SysRq + R E I S U B .

3 revs, 3 users 50%
Octavian Damiean
In such cases you can try CTRL - ALT - F1 to get to a console. Then login with your
password.
Restarting the GUI
You can try to restart your graphical desktop with:
sudoservicelightdmrestart
If you're running Ubuntu 11.04 or earlier, you should use this instead (as gdm used to be the
default display manager):
sudoservicegdmrestart
If you're using Kubuntu instead, then the default display manager is kdm, so you should
instead use:
sudoservicekdmrestart
If you're using another display manager, replace ligthdm/ gdm/ kdm with its name.
Restarting the Machine
If you want to do a clean system reboot, use:
sudoshutdownrnow

3 revs, 3 users 44%
Eliah Kagan
What I do is opening a terminal with eg. Ctrl + Alt + F2
Login and use the terminal to kill the process that is lagging
pse|grep<procesname>
This shows the processID of the process with that name
(sudo)kill<processID>
This shuts down the process safely, in case that doesn't work use
(sudo)kill9<processID>
Use the man pages for more information about these commands.
You can get back to the graphical user interface with Ctrl + Alt + F7

2 revs, 2 users 78%
Chielus
8 ps and grepPROCESS can be replaced by a pgrepPROCESS call, and your whole thing can simply be
replaced by pkillPROCESS or a killallPROCESS. Martin Ueding Apr 24 '11 at 22:01
DoR and Phoenix has answered this well. To make this page more complete I
would add:
If it is only X that is "broken", than you can use kernel to kill it:
SysRq + Alt + K
For laptops (depends on the model, typically needed if "SysRq" is written in

blue):
Fn + SysRq + Alt + K (release Fn after pressing SysRq ).

4 revs, 3 users 80%
desgua
To diagnose the freezes you should be able to use the net console (or serial serial console
for that matter). Follow the set up instructions outlined here.
answered Aug 15 '10 at 5:32 community wiki

Li Lo
The first thing to look at is if it is just X that's frozen, or the whole system. Enable ssh and
then ssh into the system. If you can't ssh into it, then it's probably a kernel lock up. If you can
ssh in, then it might be just a gpu lockup.
Next try restarting X. Do this by restarting the display manager:
On Ubuntu 11.10 and later, LightDM is the display manager, so run:
servicelightdmrestart
On Ubuntu 11.04 and earlier, GDM is the display manager, so run:
servicegdmrestart
If that works, then it's perhaps an X bug. If it still doesn't work, then you may have a GPU
lockup in the kernel drm driver. It would be useful to know at this point whether you're
running the -ati (open source) driver, or -fglrx (closed source) driver.

4 revs, 4 users 59%
Bryce
If you have to do a hard shutdown I'd be wondering if the memory (RAM) was failing. On
your next boot, try running memtest86. To do this:
while booting, hold down a shift key

the GRUB menu will appear
use the cursor keys to select the last option "memtest86"
press enter
You'll get a basic display and it will try reading and writing lots of values to all of your RAM.
As long as there are no failures, you'll see a green status. If there is any failure it will turn
red. In that case you'll need to replace at least one stick of your RAM.
There is also community documentation of diagnosing hardware failures.

Hamish Downer
If you ever use the magic SysRq key as suggested in the first answer, just try getting the
keyboard to work first with Alt + SysRq + R ; then try Ctrl + Alt + F1 again.
It may work and you may save yourself a reboot. Only if it doesn't work you should try the
whole REISUB sequence.

2 revs, 2 users 60%
Octavian Damiean
Just press Ctrl + Alt + F1 on your keyboard to open TTY1. When it opens, run the Kill
command. Example below.
first you use: ps this will show you all processes running ("ps | less" if you want to see the
results page by page) Then you look for the PID of the process you want to terminate.
After this use: kill pid
kill command- Stop a process from running
Syntax: kill [-s sigspec] [-n signum] [-sigspec] jobspec or pid kill -l [exit_status]
Description: Most modern shells, Bash included, have a built-in kill function. In Bash, both
signal names and numbers are
accepted as options, and arguments may be job or process IDs. An exit status can be
reported using the -l option: zero when at least one signal was successfully sent, non-
zero if an error occurred. Using the kill command from /usr/bin, your system might
enable extra options, such as the ability to kill processes from other than your own
user ID and specifying processes by name, like with pgrep and pkill. Both kill
commands send the TERM signal if none is given.
Source: http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/newbie/53976-end-tasks-linux-like-task-
manager-windows.html
Source: http://webtools.live2support.com/linux/kill.php
edited Jun 18 '12 at 6:33 community wiki

3 revs
Mitch
I thinks there is no such thing as a perfect distro, even in Windows they have this
screen of death.
Open another terminal Ctrl + Alt + F2 .
Login with your username and password.
Issue this command:
sudo/etc/init.d/gdmrestart
This restarts or logs you out of your current session but it will not reboot.
Then Ctrl + Alt + F7 go get back to your graphical interface.

2 revs, 2 users 77%
dsaint
Some other resources:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troubleshooting/Freeze
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troubleshooting/BlankS
creen
answered Jul 14 '12 at 0:36 community wiki

Jorge Castro
The simplest solution is to add the "Force Quit" applet to your Gnome top panel and when a
program doesn't respond, click on the force quit and then on the application.
I am surprised with so many answers, this isn't mentioned. Of course, you can always do a ps
A and pipe that to grep for your program name. And kill9 that. I prefer simplicity.

2 revs, 2 users 67%
Lakshman Prasad
You can always do Alt + F2 and write killall<program> or xkill and click on the
window you want smashed!

2 revs, 2 users 67%
Konstapel Kask
(Community wiki answer - solution was originally buried in the OP question)
SOLUTION:
Solved it.
My particular problem was my graphics card (integrated Radeon 9000 series). netconsole
revealed I was getting the error: "reserve failed for wait". After trial-and-error, I manually
configured my video card and disabled hardware acceleration. Completely fixed the issue.
Here is what I did:
Manually Created xorg.conf
Ubuntu automatically configures xorg.conf and doesn't use a file. To edit this file, you have
to tell Ubuntu to explicitly create one and then edit it. Here are the steps:
1. Restart system
2. Hold Shift as GRUB boots
3. Select root terminal in GRUB login menu
4. Execute: X -config xorg.conf.new
5. Copy: cp xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Disable Hardware Acceleration
The following is specific to my Radeon card, but I'm sure other cards have a similar setup.
1. Edit xorg.conf
2. Find "Device" section for graphics card
3. Uncomment "NoAccel" option and set to "True"
4. Save + reboot
Hope that helps.
answered Jul 31 '12 at 9:31 community wiki

fossfreedom
Replace with the latest Linux kernel 2.6.35 or up that will solve your problem. Follow these
steps from this link http://www.ramoonus.nl/2010/05/linux-kernel-2-6-34-installation-guide-
for-ubuntu-linux-10-04/
answered Dec 31 '10 at 18:29 community wiki

Julius
My ubuntu is super prone to freezing (probably 20 odd times a day). I use the magic sysrq key
too, but instead of using it to reboot or kill xserver, I use the 'f' command which calls
oom_kill, effectively dropping a process. I've only ever seen this drop chrome tabs (as I tend
to have quite a few heavyweight ones open at a time). Anyway, this get's me out of this mess
95% of the time.
So when my ubuntu freezes (locks up, mouse stops responding etc), I hold alt + sysrq and
then hit f (if you don't do this correctly it will take a screenshot instead). I usually have to
repeat this combo a couple of times before ubuntu spurs back to life.
I'd have given up on ubuntu a long time ago if I hadn't discovered this, hope it helps
someone!
answered Mar 21 '14 at 14:16 community wiki

unohoo
if possible, try to open an ssh shell from another computer. this is an option If you knew in
advance that the computer might hang soon, open the connection first before you perform
that task.
I do this sometimes when I know vmware runs crazy and the GUI of ubuntu (the vmware
host) becomes unresponsive. I can do a suspend from the ssh shell, it might take a while until
it gets thru, and after a while the computer is idle again.
answered Apr 24 '11 at 9:18 community wiki

knb
Hit Alt + F2 to run a command. Type xkill and hit Enter.
Your mouse cursor will transform into a cross that can force to close any window
you click on.
If somebody can provide a screenshot, I think that would be useful.
answered Jun 12 '12 at 7:44 community wiki

Agmenor
In the very specific case you are using Virtualbox to run a 64-bit
guest on a 32-bit (Ubuntu) host using VT-x or AMD-V (hardware
virtualization technology built-in your CPU) only
Virtualbox may make your 32-bit host randomly crash when you run a 64-bit guest on it using
VT-x or AMD-V (hardware virtualization technology built-in your CPU). It is a known issue.
2 solutions:
1. You have to run 32-bit guests only on your current 32-bit host [recommended if you
have less than 2 GB of RAM];
2. You have to switch to Ubuntu 64-bit as host (you can even perform a 32-bit to 64-bit
"migration" by reinstalling Ubuntu 64-bit without touching to your "/home" folder)
[recommended if you have 2 GB of RAM or more].
Please note that you can run 64-bit and 32-bit guests on a 64-bit host using Virtualbox
without any problem.
Other answers have very well covered general cases...

Golboth
You might get some extra information when you switch to the TTY view. Press Ctrl + Alt +
F1 to get this, use Ctrl + Alt + F7 (or maybe F8 ) to get back to the GUI. You can have
different sessions on most of the F-keys but that's different question altogether.
edited Sep 3 '12 at 19:05 community wiki

2 revs, 2 users 67%
Skizz
On of the solutions I found that stopped my computer from freezing was to stop the cpu
scheduler setting its self to ondemand. This is found in the /etc/init.d/ondemand script.
I just renamed the file.
sudomv/etc/init.d/ondemand/etc/init.d/ondemand.bk
This breaks all the symbolic links to ondemand. So it won't start up at boot time. This will put
some error messages into your log.
A better way is to use update-rc.d. I was lasy and have not tried these commands.
sudoupdaterc.dfondemandremove
Or:
sudoupdaterc.dondemandstop2345S
To start it again:
sudoupdaterc.dondemandStart2345S
Although starting it again caused my computer to free again. So I left it disabled.

3 revs, 2 users 70%
nelaar
I was having similar issues with 10.04. X would hang and and nothing but a reset would fix it.
I updated my nvidia drivers to the latest version and I haven't had issues since.

Jason Lewis
If you are using motherboard of intel 8xx, then I would strongly recommend to migrate to
Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, I think they have solved the Xorg related bugs.
I had faced the same problems but once I installed Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, I have
never faced any Xfreeze issue.

2 revs
user9030
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20/10/2015 bug reporting - What should I do when Ubuntu freezes?

What should I do when Ubuntu freezes?

just one program stops responding?

edited May 29 '14 at 21:55 community wiki

When a single program stops working:

When the mouse stops working:

When everything, keys and mouse and all, stop working:

edited May 20 at 3:29 community wiki

While holding Alt and the SysReq(PrintScreen) keys, type R E I S U B .

This is the SysReq key:

and switch 176 to 244; then

More info on all the Alt + SysReq functions here.

edited Sep 1 at 7:28 community wiki

1. Open up System Preferences Keyboard Shortcuts and click Add.

3. Close Keyboard Shortcuts and try out the shortcut:

answered Apr 24 '11 at 3:47 community wiki

Graphics freezing can be one of/or a combination of the driver/compiz/X/kernel

Installing newer nVidia driver

You can also manually install the drivers from nVidia:

CTRL + ALT + F1 to switch to TTY1 and login

To stop the X server

To install the 32bit driver (equiv for 64bit) then reboot.

Also remove /etc/X11/xorg.conf

edited Jan 29 '13 at 16:20 community wiki

edited Aug 25 '12 at 14:24 community wiki

edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:23 community wiki

5 or "Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring" :P Axel Sep 20 '10 at 12:09

4 I remember it using "BUSIER" Backwards Nerdfest Sep 20 '10 at 16:33

The default sequence is Ctrl + Alt + Backspace

1. System Keyboard (i.e. the Keyboard Preferences Dialogue)

edited Sep 3 '12 at 19:06 community wiki

My first favourite when total freeze occured - Alt + SysRq + K .

edited Aug 25 '12 at 14:25 community wiki

Restarting the GUI

You can try to restart your graphical desktop with:

Restarting the Machine

If you want to do a clean system reboot, use:

edited Aug 25 '12 at 14:33 community wiki

What I do is opening a terminal with eg. Ctrl + Alt + F2

This shows the processID of the process with that name

edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:05 community wiki

For laptops (depends on the model, typically needed if "SysRq" is written in

Fn + SysRq + Alt + K (release Fn after pressing SysRq ).

edited Feb 25 '13 at 1:07 community wiki

answered Aug 15 '10 at 5:32 community wiki

Next try restarting X. Do this by restarting the display manager:

On Ubuntu 11.10 and later, LightDM is the display manager, so run:

On Ubuntu 11.04 and earlier, GDM is the display manager, so run:

edited Aug 25 '12 at 14:34 community wiki

while booting, hold down a shift key

There is also community documentation of diagnosing hardware failures.

answered Aug 15 '10 at 13:28 community wiki

edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:28 community wiki

kill command- Stop a process from running

edited Jun 18 '12 at 6:33 community wiki

Open another terminal Ctrl + Alt + F2 .

Login with your username and password.

Issue this command:

Then Ctrl + Alt + F7 go get back to your graphical interface.

edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:31 community wiki

Some other resources:

answered Jul 14 '12 at 0:36 community wiki

edited Feb 17 '12 at 16:32 community wiki