I have read this question and tried to follow the selected answer's advice. I have also read this question but the second question I believe is unrelated to my issue. (But I'm not sure.)
When Ubuntu (Or possibly just Unity) crashes everything stops working. I have to completely turn the machine on and off. I cannot do the SysReq soft-reboot because I have not been able to find a key-equivalent for my keyboard/laptop model.
I can provide logs upon request, but to be honest I don't know which ones would be of use, or how much of those logs would be of use.
My computer is a Dell Inspiron 11 3000 series. I believe this is my model, assumed after cross-checking system specs with the listing I linked. The PC is running the newest LTS release of Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.
At first I believed this to be a problem that only occurred during video playback, but while the system doesn't crash near as often when not playing back video, it still will occasionally.
I'm a software engineer, so I HAVE to have a reliable computer. I've recently decided to open-source all of my company's non-client-specific code, and changed all of my servers to Debian, and also installed Ubuntu on my main workstation. The company now uses 100% open source software on all of its machines. However, I will be forced to return to Windows if I can't resolve this issue, and I would really be bummed about that.
- What are the steps, in plain language for an Ubuntu novice, of diagnosing crashes on Ubuntu?
- Once discovered, what resources can I use to fix these issues?
- And finally, is there a chance that I will be forced to use proprietary software in order to correct these issues?
Thanks.