linux mint hangs and freezes randomly. maybe its GPU driver?

[kingkoopa]

Hello experts
so i had this freezing hanging issue earlier so i decided to upgrade my laptop from 4GB to 8GB RAM.
and it did that again today. laptop frozen and screen went all white.
in my last post someone said something about installing nouveau open source driver for linux mint because what i have isnt supported anymore.
i just dont know how to do that.

also here is the output of the command inxi -Fxpmrz

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inxi -Fxpmrz
System:    Host: m4400-Precision-M4400 Kernel: 5.4.0-137-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 
           Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:   Type: Portable System: Dell product: Precision M4400 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0NY980 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A29 date: 06/04/2013 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 17.2 Wh condition: 17.2/93.2 Wh (18%) model: Sanyo DELL WG35103 status: Full 
Memory:    RAM: total: 7.76 GiB used: 1.96 GiB (25.3%) 
           RAM Report: permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required. 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core2 Extreme Q9300 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Penryn rev: A L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 20216 
           Speed: 1596 MHz min/max: 1600/2535 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1596 2: 1596 3: 1596 4: 1596 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA G96GLM [Quadro FX 770M] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1280x800~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Quadro FX 770M/PCIe/SSE2 v: 3.3.0 NVIDIA 340.108 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-137-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel 82567LM Gigabit Network vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: efe0 bus ID: 00:19.0 
           IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Broadcom and subsidiaries BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN vendor: Dell driver: wl v: kernel port: df00 
           bus ID: 0c:00.0 
           IF: wlp12s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 194.89 GiB (81.7%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: SPCC Solid State Disk size: 238.47 GiB 
RAID:      Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 bus ID: 00:1f.2 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 232.02 GiB used: 194.72 GiB (83.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1 
           ID-2: /boot size: 702.1 MiB used: 179.5 MiB (25.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 980.0 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 57.0 C mobo: N/A sodimm: 42.0 C gpu: nvidia temp: 56 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 3120 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/graphics-drivers-ppa-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/graphics-drivers/ppa/ubuntu bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lutris-team-lutris-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/lutris-team/lutris/ubuntu bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list 
           1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x bionic main
           2: deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com tricia main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
           2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/persepolis-ppa-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/persepolis/ppa/ubuntu bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list 
           1: deb https://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main
Info:      Processes: 253 Uptime: 15m Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 inxi: 3.0.32 

any help is monumentally appreciated
sincerely
-KK

[mikeflan]

I don't understand why that system is freezing up. It might be a problem with the RAM.
Please post the output of this in a terminal:

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inxi -Sxxx

You can start Driver Manager from the main menu and check for other drivers besides the 340 driver. You can try any you like, including nouveau. I don't think that is going to fix your problem, but please try.

Please post the output of this in a terminal:

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sudo dmidecode --type memory | grep Size; echo ""; sudo dmidecode --type 17

Post the output in "Code" tags.

I would also do a stress test of the RAM, but I don't know how to do that.

[kingkoopa]

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inxi -Sxxx
System:
  Host: m4400-Precision-M4400 Kernel: 5.4.0-137-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 wm: muffin 4.4.4 
  dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 

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sudo dmidecode --type memory | grep Size; echo ""; sudo dmidecode --type 17
	Size: 4096 MB
	Size: 4096 MB

# dmidecode 3.1
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 2.4 present.

Handle 0x1100, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x1000
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: DIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM_A
	Bank Locator: Not Specified
	Type: DDR2
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MT/s
	Manufacturer: AD00000000000000
	Serial Number: 5F42BDFA
	Asset Tag: 411007
	Part Number: HMP351S6AFR8C-S6  

Handle 0x1101, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x1000
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: DIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM_B
	Bank Locator: Not Specified
	Type: DDR2
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MT/s
	Manufacturer: AD00000000000000
	Serial Number: 5D52E257
	Asset Tag: 411007
	Part Number: HMP351S6AFR8C-S6  

i was able to change the the driver from proprietary to nouveau and im waiting for something to happen. i hope it doesnt and hopefully that was the issue. i can google to see if tehre is a way to stress test RAM from linux mint but i posted the output above in code tags

thank you so much for helping me sir

[kingkoopa]

are there any logs i could look at after the freeze & laptop restart to look for any errors?

[SMG]

so i had this freezing hanging issue earlier so i decided to upgrade my laptop from 4GB to 8GB RAM.
and it did that again today. laptop frozen and screen went all white.
in my last post someone said something about installing nouveau open source driver for linux mint because what i have isnt supported anymore.

Your computer's Quadro FX 770M used the Nvidia-340 driver which is supported in LM19 (which goes end of life in a couple of months) and is supported in LM20 (which goes end of life in April 2025). It is not officially supported in LM21, although some people have been able to get it to work with a PPA. That driver officially stopped receiving support from Nvidia in December 2019.

Was the screen going all white when freezing before you installed the new RAM?

One suggestion I have is to clean your computer's root partition. Performance, especially graphics related, can happen more often when the driver is more than 75% full and lower is better. Make sure to remove old kernels you are no longer using.
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 232.02 GiB used: 194.72 GiB (83.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1
ID-2: /boot size: 702.1 MiB used: 179.5 MiB (25.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
ID-3: swap-1 size: 980.0 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2

are there any logs i could look at after the freeze & laptop restart to look for any errors?

After you reboot, run the following in a terminal.

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journalctl -rb -1 | nc termbin.com 9999

That command prints the journal log information of the prior boot cycle (the one which you stopped with the power button) in reverse order (so the reason for the freeze should be near the top) and sends it to termbin. It will return with a url address that you should post should you want us to help you analyze it.

[kingkoopa]

it either goes white or just does not respond at all.
and it hasnt frozen yet so i did not run the log command but as soon as it does ill reboot , run the command and upload the logs and send you.
yeah i might look into upgrading it but sucks i wont be able to upgrade past that version

[kingkoopa]

how do i clean up like u said below?

One suggestion I have is to clean your computer's root partition. Performance, especially graphics related, can happen more often when the driver is more than 75% full and lower is better. Make sure to remove old kernels you are no longer using.
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 232.02 GiB used: 194.72 GiB (83.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1
ID-2: /boot size: 702.1 MiB used: 179.5 MiB (25.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
ID-3: swap-1 size: 980.0 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2

[SMG]

how do i clean up like u said below?

A lot of people have old kernels or snapshots they are no longer using. You can see your installed kernels in Update Manager. View > Linux Kernels and click Continue. Select a kernel series on the left panel. Any which have "Installed" in the middle column on the right panel are on your system.

Here are more ways you can reduce how much space is consumed on your install How to Clean Linux Mint Safely.

[kingkoopa]

thank you so much...ill try the steps

[kingkoopa]

ok it froze again.
mouse was moving but the windows were frozen
i ran the command

journalctl -rb -1 | nc termbin.com 9999

and i got this

https://termbin.com/kgfm

can an expert look and help me figure out what the issue is?
please and thank you

[SMG]

ok it froze again.
mouse was moving but the windows were frozen

If the mouse was moving, then the operating system was not frozen.

How long did you wait before deciding the system was frozen and you pressed the power button?

Approximately 3 minutes before the log ended, CPU1 hit a high temp and the system responded by throttling it to get the temperature back under control.

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Feb 02 13:54:55 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: mce: CPU1: Core temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 1)
Feb 02 13:54:55 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: mce: CPU1: Core temperature/speed normal

I also noticed you are using the open-source nouveau driver and it is missing firmware. The below (which is in reverse order) is the first of multiple times I saw these messages in the logs.

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Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: bsp: init failed, -2
Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: bsp: unable to load firmware nouveau/nv84_xuc103
Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for nouveau/nv84_xuc103 failed with error -2
Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: vp: init failed, -2
Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: vp: unable to load firmware nouveau/nv84_xuc00f
Feb 02 09:21:03 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: nouveau 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for nouveau/nv84_xuc00f failed with error -2

You are more likely to have freeze problems when using the nouveau driver than you would if you use the Nvidia driver. I found the following when searching for that error message Firmware : failed to load nouveau where several people indicate that to be the case and advise using the Nvidia driver.

While it is probably not related to your issue, your hotkeys do not have the drivers to work (and those drivers may no longer be available--I'm not sure).

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Feb 02 12:54:50 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: dell_wmi: Unknown key with type 0x0011 and code 0xffd1 pressed
Feb 02 12:54:49 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: dell_wmi: Unknown WMI event type 0x12
Feb 02 12:54:49 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: dell_wmi: Unknown key with type 0x0011 and code 0xffd0 pressed
Feb 02 12:54:49 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: dell_wmi: Unknown key with type 0x0011 and code 0xffd1 pressed
Feb 02 12:54:49 m4400-Precision-M4400 kernel: dell_wmi: Unknown key with type 0x0011 and code 0xffd0 pressed

Here is an explanation from 5 years ago. dell-wmi-dkms errors when updating

[mikeflan]

ok it froze again.
mouse was moving but the windows were frozen
i ran the command
journalctl -rb -1 | nc termbin.com 9999

As soon as you see this I recommend you run htop in the terminal. You will probably need to install htop.
Just running htop can free up the system in my case. Then close htop and all is good again.
If it doesn't fix the problem, at least you can often see what process is "freezing" the system by sorting by %CPU.