random system freeze

[eric-yrHdaQSNc4gdnm+yROfE0A at public.gmane.org (eric c)]

Kristian Hermansen wrote:
> First remove any unnecessary drivers from the kernel.  So, make sure
>  you don't have VMware drivers, or proprietary nvidia/ati drivers, or
>  TV tuner card drivers, etc.  Then, ensure your network card driver
> is stable.  Unload any ndiswrapper modules, etc.  Then, see if you
> still reach the same points.
> 
> You can grep around for "oops" or "aieee" to see if the kernel is 
> encountering any unstable conditions...

i pretty much only use free software in the fedora repository, other
than a codec or two. no flash, sun java or proprietary video drivers.
for my tv tuner i removed ivtv. as far as a stable network card driver,
i'm not using the testing repo... is that what you mean? if you're
already not laughing, is there a particular directory i should be
grep'ing for "oops" like /var/log?

> I would also add to remove any new or extra peripherals other than 
> the mandatory ones - monitor and keyboard.   I do exclude the mouse 
> as you can always run a system without it, but it may be needed in 
> your case.  Also, if you have an inline kvm, you way want to plug 
> your devices directly into the PC and leave the kvm on the side.
> 
> Any recent changes to the system?
> 
> Scott

okay. I've also removed my external usb hard drive. no bittorrent this
evening. :-( no recent changes to my system. this problem seemed to
happen most often while playing netpanzer. so i blamed the game. now
it happens a couple of times per week. no game needed.

> I've had something similar; it seems to be tied to drivers for my ATI
>  video card (OS and proprietary), or perhaps a kernel-version/video 
> driver interaction.  I've never gotten a good resolution to it, but 
> the frequency seems to be down to once every few months by now. -Don

i'm using an hp media center m7334n with an ati radeon xpress 200g. if
ati is the problem i don't mind buying a mid level nvidia card.

alright, so i've got basically a fedora box with no extras sitting
in front of me. i shall surf around this evening for a couple of hours
and see if it freezes again.

thanks for the tips. - eric c.

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