this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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My computer randomly freezes, but only on my Linux drive. How do I even begin troubleshooting this? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by GooseFinger@sh.itjust.works to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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It started freezing maybe a month or two ago. It happens anytime between a few seconds after the OS loads, to hours or days later. I do not recall downloading anything around when this issue began that could be suspect.

I've put off fixing this because I have no idea how to even begin troubleshooting it. Internet searches for "Linux freezes" returns practically countless potential problems.

What are some recommendations? I have my root directory on a 30 GB partition separate from my home directory, which I think makes reinstalling my base image (Debian) easy without losing personal data, so that's an option. Maybe there's a system log file that would provide some insight?

I'm Linux dumb so please teach me how to fish!

I'll add that my Windows install (on a separate drive) doesn't freeze, and my Linux install is on a new Samsung drive that didn't report issues, so the problems unlikely hardware related.

02:05 18OCT: Thanks for all the quick responses, a lot of helpful suggestions so far. I should clarify that "my computer freezes" means it is 100% unresponsive until it is rebooted. Ctrl+alt+del spam or changing terminal sessions when its frozen does not get a response. The last few entries in my most recent journalctl boot outputs are different from one another, and the I did not see any errors. For now, I'll boot a live USB and let it sit for while, see if it crashes again.

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[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)
  1. Would be good to know the hardware you're working, especially if it's a laptop and the model.
  2. What kind of freeze is this? Black screen, frozen graphics, mouse frozen...etc. Also whether is time-bssed, and how long it takes to freeze.
  3. As a test, boot, and play music continuously until it freezes. Does the sound stop as well?

In all practical reality, Linux takes A LOT to topple over like this. It certainly would fair better than Windows with wonky hardware, but if it's a laptop for example, maybe your fans aren't working and therefore it's a heat. Just try and define what kind of freeze it is first.

[–] GooseFinger@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I'm running a desktop with relatively new hardware. Amd 5900x CPU, AMD 7900 GRE GPU, 32 GB ram, plenty of space and good airflow for stable thermals.

The freeze is definitely at least frozen desktop and mouse/keyboard. I also tried changing terminal sessions after a freeze tonight and this had no effect, so it's probably the whole system?

Good idea with playing sound, I will try this on my next boot.

[–] IsoKiero@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 days ago

You could try to ping your machine from another device and see if it responds. I had issues with older nvidia card on a old system where it would lock up keyboard/mouse and video but the underlying system was still running and I could ssh into the machine and debug the problem that way. Another computer is obviously preferred but in a pinch a cellphone is better than nothing.