Help with computer not waking from sleep

[SuperKev]

I am glad to hear that at least some of the problems have been sorted out.

In your position, as soon as you are sure that the hardware is continuing to operate correctly, I would definitely do a reinstall.

You will just never be sure in the future, if something goes awry, if it is the fault of a bad update, or something new.

So yes ....  I recommend a new install ......  including /home ......  as harsh as that seems.

Aim for long term stability rather than short term easy-way.

When I took the Intel thermal pad off it seemed as if it was some black material covered with a tin foil like material, I don't know, but I wonder if that was supposed to be removed first.

If it was under the pad then it was meant to be there I would guess.


regards.

Check the sticky thread up top.

[SuperKev]

Apparently I spoke WAY too soon. Just tried to burn an .iso with k3b and the bloody thing froze up again. I am at my wits end with this thing, I have no idea what the issue could possibly be at this point.

[Was_Just19]

Apparently I spoke WAY too soon. Just tried to burn an .iso with k3b and the bloody thing froze up again. I am at my wits end with this thing, I have no idea what the issue could possibly be at this point.

Have you reinstalled since doing the thermal paste on the heatsink/CPU?

[SuperKev]

Apparently I spoke WAY too soon. Just tried to burn an .iso with k3b and the bloody thing froze up again. I am at my wits end with this thing, I have no idea what the issue could possibly be at this point.

Have you reinstalled since doing the thermal paste on the heatsink/CPU?

I was burning the 2010.10 CD (so not so many updates to do) with that very intent. Just burned it using Brasero and it seemed to work, have not booted up from the CD yet so I don't know if it is a good burn or not.

At this point I don't know that a reinstall is even going to help. Disappointing because it sure seemed like it was sorted last night.

[Was_Just19]

If Brasero worked doing the same job then the K3b problem may be due to a software problem ......  yes being optimistic  

[SuperKev]

If Brasero worked doing the same job then the K3b problem may be due to a software problem ......  yes being optimistic  

Yeah, I had heard some things about people having issues with k3b. Seems odd for the problems to go away and then resurface for no apparent reason. I used some generic thermal paste nothing like Arctic Silver or anything, but I would assume I don't need to for normal computing needs.

I am typing from the live CD now, so the burn went ok. But since I prefer to use GNOME as opposed to KDE I am wondering if installing from the Zen-Mini CD might be a better choice instead of having to install gnome-task and then uninstall KDE etc.

What do you think? I will hold off on the reinstall until you post back. Thanks for sticking with me on this, I don't think I am far from a lasting fix, at least I sure hope so.

[Was_Just19]

Depending on optical hardware to a certain extent, but it is wise to burn CDs at the slowest speed the drive will allow.
At minimum, first do a media check on the CD, to ensure it has burned reasonably well.

I doubt it matters which version of PCLOS you install, provided of course you get a good install.
Install what is most comfortable for you to work with.
I use KDE so am not very up to the mark with the means of achieveing things in Gnome.
Don't let that influence you. 
You will get a smaller install by using the ISO of preference rather than using a meta package after you install what you do not wish to use.

While running it is useful to have "top" running in a terminal, to see what is using the most resources.
It also will show if there might be a Zombie running at the time of a failure .....  a reboot fixes that.

You should be able to install in a few minutes and see how things go ...  whichever ISO you use.
To change the install will only take a few more minutes for a fresh install.

Whatever you decide should be OK, provided the ISO has checked out against the MD5sum and the media has passed the media test.

regards.

[SuperKev]

Got it all installed, got Gnome configured, spent about 2 hours on it continuously getting packages and setting up with no freeze ups so that the good news.

Left it for a while and even with a blank screen it came back with a mouse movement. Left it for a while longer next time and nada. It seems like somewhere in the 90+ minute mark is the sweet spot where it will no longer wake from sleep. Obviously it CAN wake as it will do so if the amount of time I am away is short enough. So I have no clue. I set a 6GB swap, twice my RAM amount, that seems to have no effect at all.

Is there a log of some sort I can pull up that will show what is happening internally that may shed some light on why it will not come back after a certain time??

Any ideas on something else I can try?? I did install suspend and hibernate packages from Synaptic. Very frustrating as this really should just work, it was working on 10 year old hardware before this.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Was_Just19]

I wonder what is controlling the suspend on a time-out, and if anything else is being invoked because of the 90 mins time-out.

Do you have some means of editing those settings in Gnome?

Also, have you used S2R and/or S2D from the shut-down menu?
Are they available to you to try?

Maybe they use a different means of s2r ....  maybe even work?
Well worth the time to try if not already tried.

Also you may get more Gnome specific help on the Gnome forum, here
http://74.54.219.50/~lxgator/gnome/forum/

I would try the shut-down options to see if they work without problems as that would indicate something within the software that is causing the problem.

regards.

[SuperKev]

I think I do have those options but I didn't even turn the darn thing on yesterday, just stayed on the laptop all day.

I have noticed that in Bios the CPU is running at 65C, I am not certain what a normal operating temperature for a P4 dual core would be but I think that may be a little too hot. The heat sink fan is working I am sure of that and it has a rather large heat sink as well.

I really wonder if it is still a heat issue and perhaps a tube of Arctic Silver or a better thermal paste than what I used might solve the problem.

[Was_Just19]

I think I do have those options but I didn't even turn the darn thing on yesterday, just stayed on the laptop all day.

I have noticed that in Bios the CPU is running at 65C, I am not certain what a normal operating temperature for a P4 dual core would be but I think that may be a little too hot. The heat sink fan is working I am sure of that and it has a rather large heat sink as well.

I really wonder if it is still a heat issue and perhaps a tube of Arctic Silver or a better thermal paste than what I used might solve the problem.

If that was soon after boot up ....  in the BIOS then I would agree .....  something is still not right thermally.

[SuperKev]

Been doing some looking and seems like 45-50C under load is what it should be. Been reading that the stock cooling is not typically adequate. But right now buying anything beyond a 10 dollar tube of thermal paste isn't going to happen.

I booted it up a little while ago and went in to Bios, started at about 40C and within about 3-4 minutes- still sitting in Bios- was up to 57-58C. Left it there for about 40 minutes and went back to check and it was 64C.

I have seen a chart that said 66C was the Max. operating temperature so that is too high if accurate and probably what is causing the lock ups. Sure is a classic symptom of a heat issue when it does that. The fans in the case seem a little anemic too. I may transfer the whole thing over to another case I have that I can fit bigger fans in and has a fan on the side of the case as well.

Think I will get some Arctic Silver later today.

[Was_Just19]

Well if it hit 64C when idling, there is no doubt but that it went waaaaay over that when working on burning an ISO or such.

Seems now like it was shutting down to protect itself from burning up.

Get the thermal paste on and have a good look at the mounting of the heatsink ......  ensure it is able to sit correctly on the CPU for best thermal conductivity.

Is it being held firmly in place?

You may not need to change the case .........  just ensure that you have a good airflow through the case so that there is little stable air in there that could get heated.

One big intake fan and an outake fan that moves slightly less air, is ideal IMO.

I have, on some cases, cut out the grill the fan sits against .....  just cause noise and interfere with airflow. Then I put a wire grill on the outside of the case to stop my fingers getting caught    More airflow and quieter using the same fans!

Good luck. I hope you get it sorted.

regards.

[Dragynn]

Well if it hit 64C when idling, there is no doubt but that it went waaaaay over that when working on burning an ISO or such.

Seems now like it was shutting down to protect itself from burning up.

Yep, seconding that assessment, thermal shutdown, may even be a value listed for the specific temp it shuts down at in bios, my Gigabyte board has it.

The CPU may have already partially cooked itself, though hopefully it's just a temp issue that can be fixed. My dual-core chip (AMD) has been on for around 4 hours and both cores are at 34 c right now.

[SuperKev]

Yeah, mine is a Gigabyte board as well. GA-8IPE1000-G. I used it continuously without lock up for about 2 hours a couple nights ago so I imagine the CPU is still ok. I have read that they are designed to shutdown before any damage occurs.

@just19: I just tried the suspend option on the pc a few minutes ago and it simply shutdown the whole rig. I do have both that and Hibernate options on the shutdown dialogue.

I have also read that the plastic heat-sink mount was not the best design in the world and others have had issues with it. I wonder if maybe I should not have removed the default thermal pad on the bottom of the heat-sink, but from what I read it should not be reused. Or used in conjunction with thermal paste.

I think this will make a good workstation if I can get the heat issues under control. The more I look at it, the more I think it has been a heat issue all along.