Manjaro System Freeze

A Moment ago I had the issue that manjaro froze complete.

How can I troubleshoot the issue?

It only happend after the last update.

[sandro@sandro-pc ~]$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Kernel: 5.10.2-2-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.0 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.20.4 Distro: Manjaro Linux 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: ASUS product: All Series v: N/A serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: H87-PLUS v: Rev X.0x serial: <filter> BIOS: American Megatrends v: 0502 date: 07/16/2013 
CPU:       Info: Quad Core model: Intel Core i5-4670K bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Haswell rev: 3 L2 cache: 6 MiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 27148 
           Speed: 3394 MHz min/max: 800/3800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3394 2: 3393 3: 3392 4: 3393 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA TU117 [GeForce GTX 1650] vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: nvidia v: 455.45.01 bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.10 driver: nvidia resolution: 1: 1920x1080~60Hz 2: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1650/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 455.45.01 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
           bus ID: 00:1b.0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.10.2-2-MANJARO 
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 
           bus ID: 03:00.0 
           IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 297.28 GiB (25.5%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 850 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Samsung model: SSD 840 Series size: 232.89 GiB 
           ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 45.58 GiB used: 21.06 GiB (46.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1 
           ID-2: /home size: 396.85 GiB used: 276.22 GiB (69.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc5 
Swap:      Alert: No Swap data was found. 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 41 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Info:      Processes: 241 Uptime: 4m Memory: 31.3 GiB used: 2.86 GiB (9.1%) Init: systemd Compilers: gcc: 10.2.0 clang: 11.0.0 
           Packages: 1301 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.0 inxi: 3.2.01

Only a side note: It is advisable to have a swap partition or swap file, even if you have 32 GiB memory.

I would check for a firmware update as well.

Checking the journal for any errors could help you of course.

journalctl -p err..emerg --since "1 day ago"

Should throw out any issues.

I am guessing that this… :arrow_down:

… will have something to do with it. That’s a proprietary driver which comes as a binary blob only, and which runs in the kernel’s address space, and with kernel privileges.

:man_shrugging:

here the kernel results:

[sandro@sandro-pc ~]$ journalctl -p err..emerg --since "1 day ago"
-- Journal begins at Sun 2020-08-23 10:29:54 CEST, ends at Mon 2021-01-11 09:05:04 CET. --
Jan 10 10:02:50 sandro-pc kernel: ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.SAT0.SPT2._GTF.DSSP], AE_NOT_FOUND (20200925/psargs-330)
Jan 10 10:02:50 sandro-pc kernel: ACPI Error: Aborting method \_SB.PCI0.SAT0.SPT2._GTF due to previous error (AE_NOT_FOUND) (20200925/psparse-529)
Jan 10 10:02:50 sandro-pc kernel: ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.SAT0.SPT2._GTF.DSSP], AE_NOT_FOUND (20200925/psargs-330)
Jan 10 10:02:50 sandro-pc kernel: ACPI Error: Aborting method \_SB.PCI0.SAT0.SPT2._GTF due to previous error (AE_NOT_FOUND) (20200925/psparse-529)
Jan 10 10:02:50 sandro-pc kernel: 
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: Duplicate cookie detected
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie c=00000000d47220e2 [p=00000000974bd75f fl=222 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000836b5dfd
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie c=00000000b884dd0e [p=00000000974bd75f fl=2 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000eadd1894
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: Duplicate cookie detected
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie c=00000000d47220e2 [p=00000000974bd75f fl=222 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000836b5dfd
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie c=00000000f467f62b [p=00000000974bd75f fl=2 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000f44eb45b
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: Duplicate cookie detected
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie c=00000000d47220e2 [p=00000000974bd75f fl=222 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000836b5dfd
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie c=00000000b884dd0e [p=00000000974bd75f fl=2 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000c9a8807c
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: N-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: Duplicate cookie detected
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie c=00000000d47220e2 [p=00000000974bd75f fl=222 nc=0 na=1]
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-cookie d=0000000055f10a78 n=00000000836b5dfd
Jan 10 10:02:54 sandro-pc kernel: FS-Cache: O-key=[8] '020001bdc0a8b219'
lines 1-31

Is there a way to add a swap partition after set up the system?

And with the driver should I only install the open source drivers for the NVIDIA card? Or install annothr NVIDIA driver?

If you have free space for an extra partition, then the answer is “yes”. If you do not, then you can create a swap file. But quite frankly, with 32 GiB of RAM, I wouldn’t bother. I have 16 GiB of RAM in this machine here, and I’ve simply disabled swap.

That is very difficult to answer. The nouveau driver will be more stable than the proprietary Nvidia drivers, but it lacks all of the advanced functionality like CUDA support, and you won’t be playing any high-end games with it either.

As for which of the proprietary drivers to choose, that’s a can of worms I’d rather not open. The forum is full of Nvidia-related problems. :frowning:

In general, I too get freezes like this. And I am also leaning towards the Nvidia drivers as the reason (I am on proprietary btw). The last few times it happened during a video call and despite the screen being totally frozen, I could still chat. Which means that both “sound” and “network” were still functioning.

Next month is my one-year anniversary on Manjaro (and linux in general) and in all this time the most buggy parts that I often deemed as the reason for freezes are Plasma, Firefox and Nvidia drivers.

I updated my BIOS and enabled the Swap file.

The strange think is I have Manjaro in use for month and only had this one freeze since the last monthly updates.

Does the log posted above hint to something?

It does suggest ACPI errors, and it is possible that your BIOS upgrade took care of that. :thinking:

Same… nvidia 340.108 KDE Plasma
Happened twice in the past week, both times freezes happened while interacting with firefox: the first when I opened ff and the second when I refreshed the page. Also the keyboard was disabled.
No errors and warnings are noted in the journalctl within 10min before the freeze.

inxi -Fxz
System:    Kernel: 5.4.85-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.0 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.20.4 
           Distro: Manjaro Linux 
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: Vostro 200 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core2 Duo E8400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Penryn rev: A L2 cache: 6 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 11974 
           Speed: 2292 MHz min/max: 1998/2997 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 2292 2: 2430 
Graphics:  Device-1: NVIDIA GT215 [GeForce GT 240] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia v: 340.108 bus ID: 01:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.10 driver: nvidia resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GT 240/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 
           Device-2: NVIDIA High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.85-1-MANJARO 
Network:   Device-1: Intel 82562V-2 10/100 Network vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: ff00 
           bus ID: 00:19.0 
           IF: enp0s25 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 966.89 GiB used: 850.46 GiB (88.0%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST3160815AS size: 149.01 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD7501AALS-00J7B0 size: 698.64 GiB 
           ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Apacer model: AS350 128GB size: 119.24 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 39.12 GiB used: 28.15 GiB (72.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1 
           ID-2: /home size: 77.5 GiB used: 41.67 GiB (53.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc2 
Swap:      ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 4 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) dev: /dev/sda6 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 40.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 61 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0% 
Info:      Processes: 164 Uptime: 34m Memory: 7.78 GiB used: 3.05 GiB (39.3%) Init: systemd Compilers: gcc: 10.2.0 
           clang: 11.0.0 Packages: 1780 Shell: Bash v: 5.1.0 inxi: 3.2.01

That’s a legend I read often here from people not using Nvidia cards. This is not true. Nouveau is garbage for Nvidia cards in general.

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I like to add when my freeze occurred I had open two Windows VMs and Chrome. No Firefox here.

But for sure not enough to hit 32 GB Ram.

I will see how it goes. Maybe the BIOS update fixxed my issues already.

You have a quad core processor, which has no multithreading. So you have 4 threads. If I remember correctly you assign(at least in virtual box) a integer count of threads to each virtual machine. I now make some maths:

  1. If you have on each VM 1 thread, your host system has two threads left.
  2. If you have on each VM 2 threads, you host has zero.
  3. If you have on one VM 1 thread and on the other two your host has one to run.

Case one should be fine. In case two a freeze or a crash occurs. In case three a freeze/crash could occur, depending on the load on the host. And since it is said that chrome uses much power…

thanks for the info. Indeed the value Processors was set to 2 in the settings:

So I changed it to 1. Hopefully that should be fine now.

I run these two VMs many time with Chrome together but only one time I got unlucky with a freeze.

In my case, it was a problem with the hardware. Memtest86+ showed a lot of errors for the first pass.

I’ve not used a swap partition in like 15 years, during that time I’ve never had need for it having enough RAM.

If your ever need swap, there’s also a little utility called swapspace that dynamically creates swap file(s) when needed.

That’s fine for you and if you are happy, why changing it but what many people don’t realize is that Linux uses all available memory for I/O caching if needed. When it realizes that memory claimed by a program isn’t used very often, it will move it to swap (if available) and use the freed memory for caching. When Linux doesn’t have enough memory, time it takes to access data on disks will rise. Since all programs leak memory, over the time Linux will have less and less memory for caching and disk access speed will drop.

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Just for curiosity, does that mean that when Linux does not have any ram or swap memory available it just does not uses ram itself and tries to get all the files directly from disk without loading them before in ram?