It started freezing maybe a month or two ago. It happens anytime between a few seconds after the OS loads, to hours or days later. I do not recall downloading anything around when this issue began that could be suspect.

I’ve put off fixing this because I have no idea how to even begin troubleshooting it. Internet searches for “Linux freezes” returns practically countless potential problems.

What are some recommendations? I have my root directory on a 30 GB partition separate from my home directory, which I think makes reinstalling my base image (Debian) easy without losing personal data, so that’s an option. Maybe there’s a system log file that would provide some insight?

I’m Linux dumb so please teach me how to fish!

I’ll add that my Windows install (on a separate drive) doesn’t freeze, and my Linux install is on a new Samsung drive that didn’t report issues, so the problems unlikely hardware related.

02:05 18OCT: Thanks for all the quick responses, a lot of helpful suggestions so far. I should clarify that “my computer freezes” means it is 100% unresponsive until it is rebooted. Ctrl+alt+del spam or changing terminal sessions gets a response. The last few entries in my most recent journalctl boot outputs are different from one another, and the I did not see any errors. For now, I’ll boot a live USB and let it sit for while, see if it crashes again.

  • Xylight@feddit.onlineEnglish
    4·
    9 hours ago

    this is important, and will help you find solutions much more specific than just “system freeze”

    • Right after a crash, once you reboot, run journalctl -b -1 and scroll to the bottom. Look for any big red text, all of that will be very helpful to diagnose this issue

    Otherwise,

    • Does it freeze permanently, requiring a reboot, or for a few seconds?
      • If it’s just for a few seconds, and you’re on an AMD system, it would sound like an fTPM stutter. A BIOS update would likely fix that, it was a widespread issue.
    • Are you using an AMD or NVIDIA GPU?
    • Do you play any games or use any software that uses OpenGL? (Blender and minecraft are some I’ve had problems in before)
    • GooseFinger@sh.itjust.worksOP
      2·
      9 hours ago

      No red text from journalctl unfortunately. My last few sessions each end with different messages too. One is a KDE Connect warning, a few others echoing some commands I sent in the terminal, etc. No red errors.

      The system freezes permanently, requiring a reboot.

      I have an AMD GPU, and likely have OpenGL installed.