Ubuntu Freezes on My ThinkPad
Computers can freeze up because their software load is exceeding their hardware resources and they're trying to catch up, or because an internal error is in the processing of crashing the computer. You can fix freezes from a lack of system resources by simply upgrading your hardware or running fewer programs, but if your Ubuntu system is freezing because of kernel panics, you must fix underlying firmware and hardware compatibility issues.
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Kernel Panic
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When the entire Linux system freezes up, the system has suffered a kernel panic. This occurs when the software that interacts with the computer's hardware on behalf of the Ubuntu operating system, called the kernel, encounters an unexpected error and isn't able to proceed in its operation. This could be because the kernel lacks the necessary drivers to work with the your ThinkPad's hardware, or because of a programming flaw in a piece of software running on Ubuntu.
Program vs Kernel
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There's a big difference between an individual program freezing up and the Ubuntu kernel freezing up. When an individual program freezes up, the problem is isolated to that program., which won't continue to operate, though the rest of the system will run as normal. You can check to see if the freeze is from an individual program or involves the entire system by trying to click out of the current program and open the Ubuntu main menu. If Ubuntu is responsive outside the current program, it's only the program that is frozen and not the entire system.
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Terminating Programs
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You can terminate an unresponsive program by clicking the Ubuntu main menu, and type "terminal" into the text box that pops up below the menu icon. Click the "Terminal" application from the cluster of programs below the search bar. Type "top" into the terminal's command line. Find the name of the unresponsive program from the list the terminal displays, and write down the number to the immediate left of the program's name. Press "q" to exit the program, then type "kill -9 PID" where "PID" is the number your wrote down.
Checking Hardware Compatibility
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Visit the Lenovo site (support.lenovo.com/en_US/guides-and-manuals/default.page?) to find the documentation and list of hardware for your particular ThinkPad. You can also go to the "Ubuntu" link in same section to find a full list of all the hardware that is compatible with the Ubuntu kernel. If one of your hardware components isn't on the website, this incompatibility could be the reason why the Ubuntu kernel is panicking and the system is freezing.
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