2

e.g. "reboot" by use of menus: 10-30 seconds delay to just bring up the first menu!

As you can see (below), I have folding at home client running;
it runs close to 24/7 since quite long; closing up on 10k WUs.

All runs on a basically "vanilla" Ubuntu 20.04, fully updated (done daily).
I use specific selected software packages, less than 10 of them, a larger selection of packages (PPA-based mostly, deb's in some cases; e.g. fahclient) gets used in bash. I avoid other types of installs, not impressed by snap.

So: Some time ago i noticed that the computer became less and less responsive with growing uptime. For long I thought it was the FAHClient processes, as pausing them allowed the computer to be used. But recently this has shown to not have much effect any longer.

Launching top and having it running finally revealed one more possible problem:
gnome-shell shows with very high CPU% -numbers.

Launching top for specific pids, like:

$ top $(ps -ax \
| grep -E 'fahc|gnome-shell' \
| grep -v grep \
| sed -re 's/ *([0-9]+) .*/-p\1/')

Still probing this... not that experienced with similar issues.

Ref:

$ inxi -F
System:    Host: wkbx Kernel: 5.4.0-52-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Gnome 3.36.4 Distro: Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (Focal Fossa) 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: ASUS product: All Series v: N/A serial:  
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: MAXIMUS VI HERO v: Rev 1.xx serial:  UEFI: American Megatrends 
           v: 1603 date: 08/15/2014 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-4770K bits: 64 type: MT MCP L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
           Speed: 1098 MHz min/max: 800/3900 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1097 2: 1099 3: 1097 4: 1097 5: 1098 6: 1098 7: 1098 
           8: 1098 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA TU106 [GeForce RTX 2060 Rev. A] driver: nvidia v: 450.80.02 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa 
           resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce RTX 2060/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 450.80.02 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
           Device-2: NVIDIA TU106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-52-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Ethernet I217-V driver: e1000e 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: e0:3f:49:17:11:b4 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 21.15 TiB used: 9.31 TiB (44.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 850 EVO 250GB size: 232.89 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: HGST (Hitachi) model: HUH721212ALN604 size: 10.91 TiB 
           ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Western Digital model: WD30EFRX-68EUZN0 size: 2.73 TiB 
           ID-4: /dev/sdd vendor: Seagate model: ST8000VN0022-2EL112 size: 7.28 TiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 227.74 GiB used: 18.47 GiB (8.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
           ID-2: /home size: 2.69 TiB used: 1.85 TiB (68.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 46 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Info:      Processes: 335 Uptime: 1d 2h 04m Memory: 31.30 GiB used: 2.85 GiB (9.1%) Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.38 

Top as show on first lines:

top - 08:20:19 up 1 day,  1:25,  1 user,  load average: 7,25, 7,17, 7,12
Tasks:   7 total,   0 running,   7 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  0,5 us,  2,6 sy, 85,1 ni, 11,6 id,  0,2 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  18277,8 free,   2975,4 used,  10801,4 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28580,6 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,3   0,5   2:56.60 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743472 428260 126736 S   0,3   1,3  62:40.00 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.79 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,0   0,0   0:31.30 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs     
 
top - 08:21:27 up 1 day,  1:27,  1 user,  load average: 7,92, 7,41, 7,20
Tasks:   7 total,   2 running,   5 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  6,3 us,  7,0 sy, 80,2 ni,  6,1 id,  0,3 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17797,5 free,   3418,7 used,  10838,4 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28121,8 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 452388 126740 R  26,7   1,4  62:56.02 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.81 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 R   0,0   0,0   0:31.32 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,0   0,5   2:56.75 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
top - 08:21:44 up 1 day,  1:27,  1 user,  load average: 7,96, 7,45, 7,22
Tasks:   7 total,   1 running,   6 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  1,9 us,  4,9 sy, 83,0 ni,  9,8 id,  0,4 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17817,8 free,   3398,3 used,  10838,6 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28142,8 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 451036 126740 R   7,3   1,4  62:59.25 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,3   0,5   2:56.78 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.81 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,0   0,0   0:31.33 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
top - 08:22:02 up 1 day,  1:27,  1 user,  load average: 7,75, 7,42, 7,21
Tasks:   7 total,   1 running,   6 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  4,7 us,  6,7 sy, 80,7 ni,  7,7 id,  0,2 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17838,0 free,   3372,0 used,  10844,6 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28169,1 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 453788 126740 R  20,5   1,4  63:02.79 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,5   0,5   2:56.86 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,1   0,0   0:31.34 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.81 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
top - 08:22:17 up 1 day,  1:27,  1 user,  load average: 7,58, 7,40, 7,21
Tasks:   7 total,   1 running,   6 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  4,8 us,  7,4 sy, 79,8 ni,  7,9 id,  0,1 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17839,1 free,   3370,8 used,  10844,7 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28170,3 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 451040 126740 R  23,3   1,4  63:06.26 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,1   0,5   0:27.82 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,1   0,0   0:31.35 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,1   0,5   2:56.87 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
top - 08:22:32 up 1 day,  1:28,  1 user,  load average: 7,53, 7,40, 7,21
Tasks:   7 total,   0 running,   7 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  4,7 us,  5,8 sy, 81,6 ni,  7,8 id,  0,1 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17827,4 free,   3373,1 used,  10854,1 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28167,9 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 453792 126740 S  21,9   1,4  63:09.61 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,5   0,5   2:56.95 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.82 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,0   0,0   0:31.35 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
 
top - 08:22:47 up 1 day,  1:28,  1 user,  load average: 7,71, 7,45, 7,23
Tasks:   7 total,   1 running,   6 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  3,9 us,  8,2 sy, 79,3 ni,  8,4 id,  0,2 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17837,7 free,   3373,4 used,  10843,6 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28178,3 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 453668 126740 R  19,7   1,4  63:12.66 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,1   0,0   0:31.37 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,1   0,5   2:56.97 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.82 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          
 
top - 08:23:00 up 1 day,  1:28,  1 user,  load average: 7,62, 7,44, 7,23
Tasks:   7 total,   1 running,   6 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  5,0 us,  7,1 sy, 80,6 ni,  7,1 id,  0,2 wa,  0,0 hi,  0,0 si,  0,0 st
MiB Mem :  32054,6 total,  17838,9 free,   3363,1 used,  10852,7 buff/cache
MiB Swap:   2048,0 total,   2048,0 free,      0,0 used.  28188,5 avail Mem 
Change delay from 3,0 to 
    PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU  %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND                                                                                                      
   2040 hannu     20   0 4743328 451036 126740 R  23,7   1,4  63:15.76 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1736 fahclie+  20   0 9925684 165052  14600 S   0,2   0,5   2:56.99 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   1482 gdm       20   0 3979452 172612  94724 S   0,0   0,5   0:27.82 gnome-shell                                                                                                  
   1538 gdm       20   0 2933040  27220  22180 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.04 gjs                                                                                                          
   1734 root      20   0   86004   3344   2796 S   0,0   0,0   0:31.37 FAHClient                                                                                                    
   2100 hannu     20   0  580956  19812  17232 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.07 gnome-shell-cal                                                                                              
   2142 hannu     20   0 2933144  27080  21704 S   0,0   0,1   0:00.25 gjs                                                                                                          

 
2
  • note1: turning off clock seconds had no long-lasting effect
    – Hannu
    Nov 8, 2020 at 8:10
  • Alt-F2, r, enter -> Hmm... temporary fix? time will tell.
    – Hannu
    Nov 8, 2020 at 8:11

1 Answer 1

0

Status 2021-01-13:

It appears as fahclient_7.6.21_amd64.deb IS the culprit.
Stopping it entirely, and then restarting it seems to clean out the problem - for the duration of a few days (client running 24/7).

Stopping it: save this as killfah.sh

pids="$(ps -ax      \
| grep -i fah       \
| grep -v grep      \
| tr   -s ' '       \
| cut  -d ' ' -f2   \
| tr   '\n' ' ')";  \
if [ -z "$pids" ] ; then \
  echo "no fah-related processes running." ; \
else                \
  echo "About to kill $pids"; sudo kill -9 $pids ; \
fi

then run it with source killfah.sh

Restart the client with sudo /etc/init.d/FAHClient start &
note that <same> restart seems to NOT remedy the problem.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.