Hi! I’m new to Manjaro – I installed it months ago but mostly haven’t used it since then. It seems very possible that this problem has been present the whole time, I just didn’t notice until recently.
The problem
Occasionally (once every few hours) firefox becomes completely unresponsive; the longest I’ve waited is 10 minutes, and it was still unresponsive. This seems to happen more often when I have a lot of tabs open, and am switching between them or closing them. This sounds to me like a RAM issue or a swap space issue, but I don’t really know how to diagnose it.
Today I had htop open and was keeping an eye on RAM/swap when it happened again. My swap space never went above ~20% full, and my RAM was about 60% to 80% full, so the culprit might be something else. The CPU usage was low, even while firefox was frozen. I had 10 tabs open in a single firefox window (another window with 1 or 2 tabs may have also been open). The specific thing I did right before it froze this time was press “ctrl-c” to copy some text. This htop screenshot was taken seconds after the freeze:
I think the relevant parts of the screenshot are: “Mem 4.99G/7.66G”, “Swp 197M/1024M”, the cpu usage of firefox (10% or so, spread across a few processes), and the cpu usage of my system (8 cores: 3.1%, 15.2%, 8.9%, 0.6%, 6.7%, 4.9%, 2.6%, and 1.9%). (I read [HowTo] Post command output and file content as formatted text but am not sure if there’s a better option here than posting the screenshot; I’m not expert enough to know what I’m looking for in the htop output)
While it was still frozen, I filtered htop by “firefox” and didn’t see anything that seemed suspicious. Lots of processes but no suspiciously-high usage numbers (e.g. RAM or CPU). After 10 minutes of waiting (with no change – still unresponsive) I manually closed firefox (right click in desktop bar, “close”, wait for dialog, confirm). Afterwards, htop showed lower RAM usage: 2.78G/7.66G RAM, 117M/1024M swap, and 1~8% cpu usage on each of my 8 cores. This seems normal and expected to me.
Why does this happen / how do I stop it from happening?
Another instance of the problem
A few days ago this freezing behavior happened every few minutes while playing an HTML game – if I tried to do too many things in-game at once the browser would start to chug, often fully freezing the browser. I’m fairly sure the freezing was happening before I started playing this game last week, and the problem continues to happen on days when I don’t have the game open in another tab. This seems unrelated to me (just an unoptimized game), although one bad tab freezing all of firefox is a bit surprising.
My system info
firefox --version says Mozilla Firefox 107.0.1
inxi and free:
Summary
Here’s inxi -v7azy:
System:
Kernel: 5.15.81-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15-x86_64
root=UUID=5cca366c-3f6c-47f2-8665-504baa926be5 rw quiet apparmor=1
security=apparmor udev.log_priority=3
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.26.4 tk: Qt v: 5.15.7 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 1 dm: SDDM
Distro: Manjaro Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M5A97 R2.0 v: Rev 1.xx
serial: <superuser required> BIOS: American Megatrends v: 2201
date: 12/10/2013
Battery:
Device-1: sony_controller_battery_04:76:6e:1f:01:99 model: N/A serial: N/A
charge: N/A status: N/A
Memory:
RAM: total: 7.66 GiB used: 4.83 GiB (63.0%)
RAM Report: permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required.
CPU:
Info: model: AMD FX-8350 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Piledriver level: v2
built: 2012-13 process: GF 32nm family: 0x15 (21) model-id: 2 stepping: 0
microcode: 0x6000852
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB
desc: d-8x16 KiB; i-4x64 KiB L2: 8 MiB desc: 4x2 MiB L3: 8 MiB desc: 1x8 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 1469 high: 1640 min/max: 1400/4000 boost: enabled
scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 1569 2: 1640
3: 1404 4: 1404 5: 1404 6: 1405 7: 1448 8: 1484 bogomips: 64245
Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm aes aperfmperf apic arat avx bmi1 clflush cmov
cmp_legacy constant_tsc cpb cpuid cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists
extapic extd_apicid f16c flushbyasid fma fma4 fpu fxsr fxsr_opt ht
hw_pstate ibpb ibs lahf_lm lbrv lm mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor
msr mtrr nodeid_msr nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw pae pat
pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_nb pfthreshold pge pni
popcnt pse pse36 rdtscp rep_good sep skinit ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2
sse4a ssse3 svm svm_lock syscall tbm tce topoext tsc tsc_scale vmcb_clean
vme vmmcall wdt xop xsave
Vulnerabilities:
Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
Type: l1tf status: Not affected
Type: mds status: Not affected
Type: meltdown status: Not affected
Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
Type: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
prctl and seccomp
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines, IBPB: conditional, STIBP:
disabled, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
Type: srbds status: Not affected
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GM107 [GeForce GTX 750 Ti] vendor: eVga.com. driver: nvidia
v: 525.60.11 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 520.xx+
status: current (as of 2022-10) arch: Maxwell code: GMxxx
process: TSMC 28nm built: 2014-19 pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 8
link-max: lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1380 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Logitech HD Webcam C910 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
bus-ID: 10-2:2 chip-ID: 046d:0821 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.4 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.5
compositor: kwin_x11 driver: N/A display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3840x1242 s-dpi: 94 s-size: 1038x335mm (40.87x13.19")
s-diag: 1091mm (42.94")
Monitor-1: DVI-I-1 pos: primary,bottom-r res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 94
size: 521x293mm (20.51x11.54") diag: 598mm (23.53") modes: N/A
Monitor-2: HDMI-0 pos: top-left res: 1920x1080 dpi: 92
size: 530x300mm (20.87x11.81") diag: 609mm (23.98") modes: N/A
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 525.60.11 renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750
Ti/PCIe/SSE2 direct render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: AMD SBx00 Azalia vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
bus-ID: 10-2:2 chip-ID: 046d:0821 bus-ID: 00:14.2 class-ID: 0e02
chip-ID: 1002:4383 serial: <filter> class-ID: 0403
Device-2: NVIDIA GM107 High Definition Audio [GeForce 940MX]
vendor: eVga.com. driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s
lanes: 8 link-max: lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fbc
class-ID: 0403
Device-3: Logitech HD Webcam C910 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
Device-4: Shure MV5 type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
bus-ID: 4-3:4 chip-ID: 14ed:1000 class-ID: 0300
Sound API: ALSA v: k5.15.81-1-MANJARO running: yes
Sound Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.21 running: no
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: yes
Sound Server-3: PipeWire v: 0.3.61 running: yes
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASUSTeK P8 series driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
class-ID: 0200
IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
broadcast: <filter>
IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Message: No bluetooth data found.
Logical:
Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 577.55 GiB used: 436.06 GiB (75.5%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 840 EVO 120GB
size: 111.79 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: BB6Q scheme: MBR
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital
model: WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 40WD
scheme: MBR
Optical-1: /dev/sr0 vendor: ASUS model: DRW-24B1ST i rev: 1.00
dev-links: cdrom
Features: speed: 48 multisession: yes audio: yes dvd: yes
rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: running
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 87.89 GiB size: 85.95 GiB (97.80%) used: 46.22 GiB (53.8%)
fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18 label: N/A
uuid: 5cca366c-3f6c-47f2-8665-504baa926be5
ID-2: /run/media/pancelor/6EF3AF59591C039D raw-size: 103.89 GiB
size: 103.89 GiB (100.00%) used: 97.91 GiB (94.2%) fs: ntfs dev: /dev/sda1
maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A uuid: 6EF3AF59591C039D
ID-3: /run/media/pancelor/data raw-size: 377.87 GiB
size: 377.87 GiB (100.00%) used: 291.93 GiB (77.3%) fs: ntfs dev: /dev/sdb1
maj-min: 8:17 label: data uuid: 462C821B2C8205E1
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 1024 MiB used: 768 KiB (0.1%) priority: -2
file: /root/swapfile01
Unmounted:
ID-1: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 size: 1 KiB fs: <superuser required> label: N/A
uuid: N/A
USB:
Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 4 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Hub-4: 4-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0001 class-ID: 0900
Device-1: 4-1:2 info: Logitech G402 Gaming Mouse type: Mouse,HID
driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s power: 300mA
chip-ID: 046d:c07e class-ID: 0300 serial: <filter>
Device-2: 4-2:3 info: Razer USA BlackWidow Tournament Edition Stealth
type: Keyboard,Mouse driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 3 rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 1532:011c class-ID: 0300
Device-3: 4-3:4 info: Shure MV5 type: Audio,HID
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid interfaces: 4 rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s power: 100mA chip-ID: 14ed:1000 class-ID: 0300
Hub-5: 5-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0001 class-ID: 0900
Hub-6: 6-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 2 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0001 class-ID: 0900
Hub-7: 7-0:1 info: Full speed or root hub ports: 4 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0001 class-ID: 0900
Hub-8: 8-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Device-1: 8-2:2 info: Sony Batoh Device / PlayStation 3 Controller
type: HID driver: sony,usbhid interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
power: 500mA chip-ID: 054c:0268 class-ID: 0300
Hub-9: 9-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
Hub-10: 10-0:1 info: Hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Device-1: 10-2:2 info: Logitech HD Webcam C910 type: Audio,Video
driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo interfaces: 4 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
power: 500mA chip-ID: 046d:0821 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
Hub-11: 11-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s
chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 23.2 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 22 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 42%
Info:
Processes: 267 Uptime: 3h 36m wakeups: 1 Init: systemd v: 251
default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 clang: 14.0.6
Packages: 1409 pm: pacman pkgs: 1395 libs: 367 tools: pamac pm: flatpak
pkgs: 0 pm: snap pkgs: 14 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 default: Bash v: 5.1.16
running-in: yakuake inxi: 3.3.23
And here’s free:
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 7842 4382 308 240 3151 2909
Swap: 1023 0 1023
Some more maybe-relevant info
- I think my swap space is smaller than it should be (8GB RAM + 1GB swap), but I don’t think that directly caused this issue (based on htop, as described above)
- I ran a “windows memory diagnostic” RAM check from Windows (I’m dual-booted) and it found no issues with my RAM hardware.
- My motherboard is 8 years old. It gave me a lot of trouble when installing Manjaro, something to do with UEFI or GPT/MBR tables, if I remember right.
- I had some issues with my graphics card when I installed Manjaro, but iirc they went away when I (1) switched from Wayland to X11, and (2) switched from the
nouveaudriver to thenvidiadriver.
I’m probably going to upgrade my motherboard and maybe my RAM soon (mostly unrelated to this), but I’d like to understand the problem properly and be able to troubleshoot future issues without resorting to replacing bits of hardware that I vaguely think might be the problem! It’d be nice to feel knowledgeable enough to track this sort of thing down myself in the future.