0

Issue

Slow System

When I log into the system it takes quite some time to "get ready" for use. When I open applications like File System takes a long time to open them.

Frozen Screen(s)

In three days that I used this system, the computer froze more than 4 times. The screens froze but the system keeps running (tested during a zoom call where the camera and microphone kept working after the incident).

Every time the system freezes the only solution is rebooting with Alt + SystemKeyit + R E I S U B. No other key combinations works (I tried Alt + F2 and any other function key)

What I tried

I tried reinstalling the OS (still Ubuntu 20.04 LTS)

System

hardware

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT 3.9 GHz 8-Core
  • Motherboard MSI B550-A PRO (BIOS: A.10)
  • Ram: 32GB (4x8GB) 3600
  • SSD: 512GB M.2-2280
  • HDD: 3TB 7200RPM
  • Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB (2 monitors connected)

Operative System

  • OS: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Partitions

  • EFI: 500MB (SSD)
  • Swap: 38GB (SSD)
  • /boot: 500MB (SSD)
  • root: 473GB (SSD)
  • /home: 3TB (HDD)

What's on it

I have just built this System and freshly installed Ubuntu on it. The only applications on the system currently are:

  • Default applications installed with 'Normal Installation'
  • Zoom.us client
  • gphoto2 to connect my camera as a webcam
  • Virtual box with 2 virtual machines
  • Telegram

Edits

In the log file there is a persistent error:

Nov 27 00:08:45 chale-MS gnome-shell[2441]: JS ERROR: TypeError: windowActor is null#012_addWindowEffect@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/closeDialog.js:90:28#012vfunc_show@resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/closeDialog.js:162:14

Other errors in the log file on latest reboot (after installing the drivers for the video card)

gnome-shell[1948]: Error looking up permission: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.portal.Error.NotFound: No entry for geolocation

colord[1089]: failed to get session [pid 2140]: No data available

gnome-shell[1308]: Failed to set CRTC gamma: drmModeCrtcSetGamma on CRTC 68 failed: Permission denied

gsd-color[2140]: failed to connect to device: Failed to connect to missing device /org/freedesktop/ColorManager/devices/xrandr_Dell_Inc__DELL_U2717D_J0XYN655A7MS_gdm_125

fwupd[2413]: 19:09:31:0182 FuPluginUefi Error opening directory “/sys/firmware/efi/esrt/entries”: No such file or directory

tracker-miner-f[1240]: Error while sending AddMatch() message: The connection is closed

running ls -al /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions
returns:

total 20
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 lug 31 18:29 .
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 nov 25 19:40 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 nov 25 19:41 desktop-icons@csoriano
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 lug 31 18:29 ubuntu-appindicators@ubuntu.com
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 nov 25 19:40 ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com

running free -h
returns:

              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           31Gi       4,6Gi        22Gi       201Mi       4,2Gi        26Gi
Swap:          30Gi          0B        30Gi

running sudo lshw -C memory
returns:

*-firmware                
       description: BIOS
       vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
       physical id: 0
       version: A.10
       date: 07/01/2020
       size: 64KiB
       capacity: 32MiB
       capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer acpi usb biosbootspecification uefi
  *-memory
       description: System Memory
       physical id: f
       slot: System board or motherboard
       size: 32GiB
     *-bank:0
          description: DIMM DDR4 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 2133 MHz (0,5 ns)
          product: CMK32GX4M4D3600C18
          vendor: Unknown
          physical id: 0
          serial: 00000000
          slot: DIMM 0
          size: 8GiB
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 2133MHz (0.5ns)
     *-bank:1
          description: DIMM DDR4 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 2133 MHz (0,5 ns)
          product: CMK32GX4M4D3600C18
          vendor: Unknown
          physical id: 1
          serial: 00000000
          slot: DIMM 1
          size: 8GiB
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 2133MHz (0.5ns)
     *-bank:2
          description: DIMM DDR4 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 2133 MHz (0,5 ns)
          product: CMK32GX4M4D3600C18
          vendor: Unknown
          physical id: 2
          serial: 00000000
          slot: DIMM 0
          size: 8GiB
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 2133MHz (0.5ns)
     *-bank:3
          description: DIMM DDR4 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 2133 MHz (0,5 ns)
          product: CMK32GX4M4D3600C18
          vendor: Unknown
          physical id: 3
          serial: 00000000
          slot: DIMM 1
          size: 8GiB
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 2133MHz (0.5ns)
  *-cache:0
       description: L1 cache
       physical id: 12
       slot: L1 - Cache
       size: 512KiB
       capacity: 512KiB
       clock: 1GHz (1.0ns)
       capabilities: pipeline-burst internal write-back unified
       configuration: level=1
  *-cache:1
       description: L2 cache
       physical id: 13
       slot: L2 - Cache
       size: 4MiB
       capacity: 4MiB
       clock: 1GHz (1.0ns)
       capabilities: pipeline-burst internal write-back unified
       configuration: level=2
  *-cache:2
       description: L3 cache
       physical id: 14
       slot: L3 - Cache
       size: 32MiB
       capacity: 32MiB
       clock: 1GHz (1.0ns)
       capabilities: pipeline-burst internal write-back unified
       configuration: level=3

Screenshot of Smart data HDD: enter image description here

memtest report: enter image description here

2 Answers2

1

BIOS

MSI B550-A PRO

You have BIOS: A.10

There's a newer BIOS available, version A4, and can be downloaded at here. There IS a newer BIOS available, version A51, but it's a beta, so I wouldn't install it now.

Note: Confirm that I have the correct web page for your motherboard.

Note: Have good backup before updating the BIOS.

memory/swap

Your swap partition is excessive, and a fresh install of 20.04 prefers a /swapfile instead of a swap partition. Your root partition is also excessive.

Ryzen processors are notorious for memory compatibility issues.

See here and determine your processor family type, and then check the memory lists to verify that your current memory DIMMs are supported.

Go to https://www.memtest86.com/ and download/run their free memtest to test your memory. Get at least one complete pass of all the 4/4 tests to confirm good memory. This may take many hours to complete.

Radeon RX 5500 XT

The Linux driver for this is found here.

enter image description here

heynnema
  • 70,711
  • I'e updated the question with the infos. I am going to try to update the BIOS and try to run memtest. In regards to the swap and root partition are excessive, I've search around the internet and found different guides. most of them sayed that I should have my swap partition double my ram but I followed a chart that showed that for 32GB ram it was enough 38GB (with hibernation, I'm not sure if I am going to use it but I left the chance). What would you recomend? is there a guide I can follow? – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 28 '20 at 16:54
  • Checking on the link you gave me I can't find my memory ram in the list under 'Matisse' nor in any other family. What does that mean? and what should I do? – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 28 '20 at 17:24
  • @AlessandroCandeloro Thanks for the info. You forgot ls -al ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions. The swap is ok if you're going to hibernate. If the memory isn't in any of the lists, run the memtest and let's see if it finds any problem. Is your CPU or RAM overclocked? – heynnema Nov 28 '20 at 17:29
  • Thank you for your support, ls -al ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions returns: "No such file or directory". My CPU and RAM are not yet overclocked, I didn't know if it was needed and guessed that is something I'll be able to do later on. – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 28 '20 at 17:52
  • @AlessandroCandeloro Report back after the BIOS update and memtest. – heynnema Nov 28 '20 at 17:56
  • No error from memtest and BIOS updated – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 29 '20 at 05:15
  • @AlessandroCandeloro Do you have the latest video drivers for your MSI Radeon RX 5500 XT? I've run out of ideas for you. Sorry. – heynnema Nov 29 '20 at 13:46
  • I was trying to install the drivers for ubuntu but on the MSI's website only shows Windows ones. – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 29 '20 at 13:59
  • @AlessandroCandeloro See the update in my answer. – heynnema Nov 29 '20 at 14:31
  • After installing the driver, how can I be able to see if there are any error? does the log file reports the last session or the life time of the system? – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 29 '20 at 19:07
  • @AlessandroCandeloro /var/log/syslog and /var/log/syslog.1 will show you approx the last 2 days. – heynnema Nov 29 '20 at 19:25
  • is it normal that after rebooting the system the login screens appear pretty quickly but after inserting the password it gives me a black screen for about 30sec before being able to see the Desktop? – Alessandro Candeloro Nov 29 '20 at 19:32
  • @AlessandroCandeloro No, that's not normal. Log into a different account and see if the same problem occurs. – heynnema Nov 29 '20 at 20:17
  • @AlessandroCandeloro Status please... – heynnema Dec 03 '20 at 01:34
  • I reinstall the OS once again an manage to fix the speed issue. I still experienced the freezing issue and I am currently waiting for the new (supported) ram to replace. – Alessandro Candeloro Dec 04 '20 at 11:27
  • @AlessandroCandeloro Don't you have Corsair RAM now? And it passed memtest, yes? I don't know if I'd replace RAM yet. You can remove DIMMs, two at a time, to eliminate a RAM issue. – heynnema Dec 04 '20 at 15:01
0

Hardware:

Everything with the hardware is fine.

Partitions:

the partitions should be:

  • EFI: 1024MB (SSD)
  • Swap: 38GB (with hibernation)
  • root: 473GB (SSD)
  • /home: 3TB (HDD)

Solution:

To fix the computer from stop freezing and being slow an upgrade of the kernel did the job. in my case I update it to the last signed update: 5.8.0-33~20.04.1

sudo apt install linux-image-5.8.0-33-generic 
sudo apt install linux-headers-5.8.0-33-generic
sudo apt install linux-modules-5.8.0-33-generic
sudo apt install linux-modules-extra-5.8.0-33-generic

and rebooted the system

reboot