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my laptop is an acer aspire 5630, 5 yers old, running just ubuntu. in the last few days, it did restart randomly in middle of work. 2-3 times. and when it restarts, and arrive to the login screen, it restart itself again... and then go normal for a while...

is it a hardware issue? related maybe to the power stuff? or is it the O.S ? or is it the kernel power issues?

ubuntu 11.04, updated, kernel: 2.6.38-10

thanks in advance.

Amith KK
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suli8
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  • sounds like overheating, can you check your temps in the bios? – Dirk Hartzer Waldeck Aug 04 '11 at 16:14
  • are your laptop running on ac power? and also check power option in ubuntu. uncheck 'put sleep computer'. Another option: see the log files after abnormal restart /var/log/boot /var/log/dmesg /var/log/faillog /var/log/kern.log – shantanu Aug 04 '11 at 16:21
  • @ Dirk Hartzer Waldeck - i do check it with psensors, and it's around 56-63 most of the time. there is another way to check it? @ shantau, since i wrote the question it didn't happen, but the next time if it happens, i'll copy all logs and post it here. thanks a lot... – suli8 Aug 05 '11 at 11:23
  • @suli8 it seems like the problem is in hardware firmware part and you fixed updating the Bios. right? so, can you post it your fix and accept your own answer? Thanks :) – Achu Feb 23 '12 at 17:13
  • @achu , no i didn't solve it yet. i'm using another laptop now, but the problem is not solved yet. it seems that the problem did change since it did restart when moving the screen slightly here is my another question http://askubuntu.com/questions/58116/laptop-restarts-sometimes-when-i-move-the-lid --- i do'nt know what's the problem since i did not send it for a check yet. – suli8 Feb 23 '12 at 22:25

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How long have you been running the laptop with "just Ubuntu". If it's recent then it could very well be an overheating problem as suggested by Dirk Hartzer Waldeck. Removing Windows and installing Ubuntu means ditching the Acer "bloatware" which in many cases runs the fan! Therefore the fan may work when you first start Ubuntu but will not restart from hibernate or suspend or sleep. I had this problem with my old Acer Aspire 5315 and flashed the BIOS with an update and this solved the problem.

JohnBUK
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  • thanks for the answer, i got rid of windows 4 months ago, and there was no problem at all till now, (i use it everyday). but in case, can you post how did you update your bios? thanks. – suli8 Aug 05 '11 at 11:25
  • You need to go to the Acer website to look for the current BIOS and check against your own installed version. If there is a later version you'll need to download it. – JohnBUK Aug 06 '11 at 10:10
  • Sorry, cut off in mid stream as it were! Having downloaded it you may find you can only flash (install it) via Windows!!! – JohnBUK Aug 06 '11 at 10:11
  • Whoops done it again - I'll learn not to hit the Enter button to get a new line. I had to backup and copy my Home Directory, then create a new small partition to install an old version of Windows. Copy the new BIOS file to Windows and double-click it and follow instructions. I then removed the Windows partition and carried on as before. I've had no overheating or shutting down problems now for over 3 months whereas previously it happened many times each day. – JohnBUK Aug 06 '11 at 10:16