[Gllug] Serious operation

[Formi]

 If I were offered a P4 laptop for free as long as I wouldn't sell it, I
 wouldn't take it.

 Q1: Have you run hdparm -v /dev/hda1? And the same with the CD/DVD
     whatever thing. Do you have any scsi module in the middle.

 Q2: Have you tried gkrellm with the processor speed plugin? To check
     if the processor speed is being modified.

 Might be some irq/dma weirdness...

 Piece of "nasty" advice, get a knoppix cd, and do some testing, at
 least you should be able to find out if it is because of hardware of
 software.


 Formi
 FreeBSD 4.7 ThinkPad 570
 Linux Registered User #235743


On Tue, 28 Jan 2003, Norman Duncan wrote:

> Ok
>
> I think I am ready, scalpel, mask, oxygen, ...... a serious operation is
> necessary.
>
> Running Suse 8.1, KDE3 on a P4 laptop with plenty capacity and little
> activity to justify it. Am running nothing complicated. Have ADSL
> connected and working fine (to get the bbc) ..... but
>
> I seem to goo very slowly til I grind to a halt.
>
> I launched a question in mid december (Audio conflict)  which is till
> not resolved.
> But I think I have something  at a deeper level, more compounded,
> influencing the audio,video, internet and other operations (sorry if I
> cant describe this any clearer, but I'm sure your questions will help to
> clarify).          Basic symptoms:
>
> Basic start up.... it seems to take ages to do anything:
> - first open of KDE  - 65 seconds
> - open netscape - 35 seconds
> - - -  and so on
>         what the hell is it doing & why? and how can I stop it?
> I have read people saying KDE is fat and unwieldy (sounds like me) but
> this seems too much.
> Closure the same --- on this fast linux: 65 seconds, ... on other old
> slow P2 w98: 30 seconds ¿¿¿¿¿**¿¿¿¿¡¡¡*¡¡*?? (sorry for the
> exclamations, but that is how I feel right now)
>
> Audio:
> - Sometimes works for hours,sometimes for a minute ot two
> - In either Realplayer or bbc player, in Netscape 7 or Konqueror ... all
> the same
> - When it starts going, there are are clicks,   it might come and go a
> few times saying that it is rebufferring, and then it just goes .....
> - but always (when it stops) the Realplayer or other windows open at the
> time go slow (leaving tracks on screen), they don't close, they dont
> click and draw
> - with or without arts it is the same
> - Usually what I do to get it going again is to open KDEGUARD  which
> seems to show all the stuff that is running ..... I kill variously arts,
> kmix, realplay, .. and whwtever else i think might be interferring. ...
> and it usually gets going again (not always)
>
> Also my tmp file seems to be getting filled with locked numbered
> directories (several for each day since I started). I  try to open them
> from su but cannot... so don't know what they are.  ..... but I suspect
> my early process of trying to install mozilla, then netscape 7 (I need
> some special java to get into an essential chat for me) then realplay
> .... and puting them on tmp (not knowing where else to put them)
>
> Often when I look in KDEGUARD there is a bunch of stuff running ... much
> of it seems to be duplicating itself (Filling the RAM, buffers, cache,
> ....)  Mengetty, nscd, java, ...and realplay ..... I kill one of these
> and the whole family goes with it. Am I barking  up a wrong tree herein
> thinking that these are filling up space and blocking each other:
>
> I was also having screen driver problems  (lines and flashing) until
> Suse told me to run with fbdev, whilst I have a ATI radeon M6 mobile (15
> "). But this seems like a quick patch for the time being ..... not
> optimal system.
>
> I am sure that  all of this is connected, I would like to know how to
> begin to tackle it and what questions to ask Suse..... within the warranty.
>
> I have another 10 days of my warranty (free support) from Suse. But they
> keep telling me that this is not their problem .... that I have to pay
> on their expensive phone line (excellent customer service marketing
> this). I think that some of the problem is theirs, but have no idea even
> which questions to begin to ask them. So I feel powerless against the
> big authority (familiar theme .... no?)
>
> Thanks for any pointers
>
> Norm
>
>
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