On Fri, 3 Jul 2020 09:36:04 -0400 Michael via PLUG-discuss wrote: > sometimes my computer freezes. is iut the power supply? > Nobody has a crystal ball to tell you whether your computer's power supply is dying. This question pops up every few years for every computer user. The best practice test is to have a known-good, modern power supply on hand, and swap it for the one currently in the machine. Your problem is intermittent, as evidenced by your statement that your computer *sometimes* freezes. If, after switching power supplies, your computer goes 4 times longer than usual without a freeze, you almost certainly uncovered the root cause, in which case you should mark the old power supply with a sharpie as "intermittent", throw it away, and order a new spare power supply so you're ready to do this test in the future. If the symptom continues to happen, replace the known good power supply with the original (put the original back) and troubleshoot other subsections of the computer, including software. More to the point, please read, reread, and read again the article "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way", by Eric Raymond and Rick Moen, at http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html . Following the advice in this article enables you to ask questions that can be answered, without all sorts of speculation, interrogation, and back-and-forth on a nice mailing list like plug-discuss, or a deafening silence on less tolerant mailing lists. I answered the literal question you asked. How you came to suspect the power supply is unknown. Later you speculated it might be the graphics, or it might be chrome, oh wait, you meant chromium, then a suggestion from "the computer gal", whoever that is, then ram, then the hard drive. Your most recent post was a top post that said simply "hard drive". What about the hard drive? We just don't know. Mike, when you ask for help on a mailing list, you need to do your due diligence. That means asking questions the smart way. That means learning just a little bit about computers and software so you can perform several consecutive troubleshooting steps in a row, without asking for help. And it means learning the mindset and structure of troubleshooting. Here's a hint: Effective troubleshooting involves binary search, not sequential search. Binary search means to keep dividing in half. Start with *major* subsections, such as: "Is it hardware or software?" Boot up a live Linux system such as Knoppix: Anything different from your distribution. If the problem ceases (and in the case of an intermittent, ceases for four times the interval between typical occcurrences), it was a software problem. Then try dividing your original software situation in half. If the problem still occurs in the live CD, it's probably hardware. Find ways of quickly dividing that in half, then in half again, and soon you'll fix the problem. Sequential search means to test all the tiny sub-subsystems. Maybe it's the power supply, let's test that. Maybe it's Cromium, let's test that. Maybe it's the hard disk, let's test that. Maybe it's the graphical hardware, let's test that. Maybe it's the Ram, let's test that. Maybe it's the mobo/cpu combination, let's test that. Sequential search takes huge amounts of time, and usually leads to confusion rather than a root cause. In summary, learn the contents of "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way". Learn not just the major subsystems of a computer loaded with Linux, but the interactions between those subsystems and the sub-subsystems they contain. Learn enough troubleshooting methodology that you rule out approximately 1/2 the remaining root cause scope with each test (this is a gross oversimplification, but serves as a starting point). When you learn these things, not only will you no longer be dependent on others every single step of the way, but you'll start being one of the people who advises others on *their* technical problems. These skills can't help but improve your career. SteveT --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss