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I'm relatively new to Linux, and while I know a fair amount about computers and programming, it certainly isn't my specialty.

I have a dual boot with Windows 7, and it has been working very well for me until recently. Just randomly the computer will freeze. The last time I was smart enough to keep the System Monitor open when it happened, and it looks like at the time of freezing "bash" and a bunch of other processes that I don't recognize seem to have flooded the memory. So it looks like my memory is getting overloaded and this is what is crashing the system, but I honestly have no idea what could be doing it.

Generally I have a bunch of programs running, but they don't take much RAM or CPU: Transmission, Libre Office Writer, Firefox, Empathy, and Banshee. Sometimes I also have Text Editor and Terminal open, but it crashes regardless. When it crashes, it seems that all of the programs are working fine but things like windows, the taskbar, and operations like Alt+Tab just stop working properly or at all. Sometimes the mouse and keyboard freeze and I have to power off manually.

Other than that I don't know what the problem is. The only irregularity I've experienced is that I can't download "Debian package management system" even though other updates download fine.

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This question should instead be filed as a bug report, and as such is off-topic, thanks! Instructions on filing a bug report are here. – Jorge Castro May 15 '12 at 1:54

closed as off topic by fossfreedom♦ May 15 '12 at 8:23

Questions on Ask Ubuntu are expected to relate to Ubuntu within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

1 Answer

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A couple of suggestions,

  1. Try install & run UNIX insdie a VM, free VMware Player download or try msft hyper-v which I haven't used (I have bought VMw workstation v8 to run my VM's.)

  2. Turn off or don't start a different app each time & see if it still crashes.

  3. Check out where dump files or error logs are saved too.

This should tell you where or what the error is from. I am not sure from your description if its only UNIX that dies but you do say dual boot..

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Thanks! I'll look into these and tell you how it works out. – varanoid May 4 '12 at 16:54
I just had a thought. My picture viewer locks up whenever I open it, and I remember trying to uninstall it but I was prompted with a message that I had to unload a package of programs. I didn't know what that entailed so I just didn't do it, but this might be the problem. Also, my system language is Arabic; I don't know if that would affect things. – varanoid May 4 '12 at 17:01
Alright, so I haven't had time to make time to try 1), but I've done number 2) and it seems like it locks up sometimes and sometimes not regardless of what I have open, and I don't know what to do about 3) because I don't even get error messages it just locks up and I have to shut it off; when I restart its like nothing's happened. – varanoid May 5 '12 at 23:43
I think that it is software related, however, because all of a sudden every time I press next (or a song finishes) Banshee just mysteriously shuts down. I still don't know how to uninstill the Picture Viewer, but I'm working on that – varanoid May 5 '12 at 23:44

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