How to Interpert System Monitor data

Asked by Alan Cline

I am having problems with grey screen and system locking up . In using System Monitor i am not sure what i should be looking for in terms of resource usage being abnormal .

Ubuntu 9.04
Intel Core 2 - 1.80
Memory - 992.3Mib 32% used Swap - 0%
CPU 1 - 6 -12 % CPU 2 - 8 - 10 %

Processes - %CPU - 0% Nice - Primarily 0 except for kthreadd which shows -5 to -10

Do these numbers appear to be in an acceptable range in terms of resource usage ? The system is basically useless as is and i have no clue as how to isolate problem but assume grey screen means resource issue based on reading other forums . Perhaps due to an update since problem has been rare in the past .

Any suggestions appreciated

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Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#1

Resources seem fine. Your CPU is running at about 10% which is relatively normal. Memory running at 32% again seems normal. The only thing that could worry me is that you have no swap at all.

When you say gray screen? Do you mean that a certain application grey screens? That isn't a resource problem, it just means that an application has crashed for any reason. Generally a force quite should sort it out.

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#2

I am getting grey screen across the board no matter what application is being used . System also takes an inordinate amount of time to do anything compared to the past ; boot up , shut down , etc .

I am not the shiniest cracker jack in the box when it comes to computers in general and Linux in particular so i am not sure where the problem might be . I have two kids that also use this computer and install various crossover apps via Wine that i wonder about but unless they were running i don't know they would have an effect . ?

And to be honest i don't know what the Swap function is supposed to do in the first place . :-) If swap is o what does is that saying specifically ?

Thanks Rohan

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#3

Hi Alan,

The grey screen across the board would imply that the whole system has frozen or crashed. While that happens to me on occasion, it is very rare and my laptop is nowhere near as large as yours in terms of specs. I'm running a single core AMD Turion with 2gb of RAM. When you say compared to the past... how long ago and what Ubuntu Version at the time?

Can you share some more information about your PC's specs? Any idea what your kids have installed on this computer? Though you are right, as long as the app is off, it isn't using resources.

As for the swap function, it is a portion of the disk used as RAM. It shouldn't be making a difference to you though.

If you can provide more specs it would be helpful. Also how you installed 9.04 and when you did.

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#4

Rohan

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the systems resources are not the problem based on research i did yesterday and i did take the time to read about the swap function . :-) Apparently swap function reads 0 simply because it isn't being required to be used as yet .

I did a new install of Ubuntu 9.04 from a clean copy disk mailed to me by Cannocial in the UK about a month ago because i previously had left Windows XP on the machine and this time wanted to devote the entire hard drive to Linux . I really don't know a great deal about the machines specs as i purchased from an American soft - wear developer here in the Philippines second - hand . I do know he basically basic built the machine himself with parts brought from the US . I do know it uses an Intel motherboard but not much else .

I have had grey screen issues with previous installs or upgrades but minor previously . The current problems just started within the past few days so i was thinking perhaps related to an update as in the past i have always just accepted them as necessary without really knowing exactly what they do . :-)

Kids have downloaded third party applications designed for Windows and execute via the cross platform Wine program but i have also with no particular problems . I am not smart enough to know how to back track and perhaps revert the machine to a state prior to most recent up dates just to see if they effects the issue . Was going to see if i could get some help on that today via Linux forums . May be that i have some sort of hardwear going bad but i don't have applications installed that might tell me that as yet .

Feel free to offer any possible avenues to explore as i either get this corrected soon or wipe the system clean and do a new install . My concern with that of course is that if the problem comes from an update then it will just happen again . :-)

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#5

System Monitor - Network History

Does anyone know what range is "normal" for the data flow shown in the Network History section of the System Monitor ? Normal meaning the minimum data flow required to have a stable connection . The numbers i see seem low to me but i am not clear on what one needs so i am wondering if this is related to my computer constantly grey screening . I live in a part of the world where internet connectivity is poor at best due to a variety of reasons . Just wondering if poor data exchange/flow would cause Grey Screening .

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#6

Hey....

Network history should have nothing to do with grey screening. Can you do open a terminal (applications --> accessories --> terminal) type in lspci and copy and paste the output here.

Thanks!

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#7

Ok

Did that - "Command not found"

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#8

You probably spelled it wrong, it is LSPCI (lowercase) not ISCPI (lowercase). Common mistake. Paste in lspci directly into the terminal.

Thanks!

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#9

Ditto

alan@alan-desktop:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ/P/PL Memory Controller Hub (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82945G/GZ Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 01)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR (ICH7 Family) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
04:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation PRO/100 VE Network Connection (rev 01)
alan@alan-desktop:~$

Hope this tells you something worthwhile .. :-)

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#10

Thanks for that information. Can you also open the system monitor and from the first tab (system)... give the hardware and system status information.

Thanks

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#11

Ubuntu - Release 9.04
Kernal Linux - 2.6.28-17 generic
GNOME 2.26.1

Hardware

Memory - 992.3MiB
Processor 0 - Intel Core (TM) 2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz
     " 1 " "

System Status

Available disk space - 51.3 GiB

On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 9:05 AM, Rohan Kapoor <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Rohan Kapoor requested for more information:
> Thanks for that information. Can you also open the system monitor and
> from the first tab (system)... give the hardware and system status
> information.
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#12

You seem to have more than enough RAM for what you are doing and your CPU seems to be fine. Disk space also isn't a problem. My only possible thoughts are that either your system is over-heating (not very likely because of the low CPU usage) or your memory has gone bad. To check this you would need to open the grub menu (hit escape when booting up) and run memtest for a couple of hours. You can then report it's findings here and we can see if that will rule it out or not.

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#13

Ok , i will do that when i can get time .

The only reason i questioned the Network History within System Monitor was
based on the following observations . Good internet connectivity for me here
is in the 20 - 30kbs range and with in the past few days i have only been
getting 2 - 4kbs on downloads with constant grey screening . Today i texted
the provider and complained and all of a sudden my downloads have increased
to 20 - 30 kbs . Not speedy by first world standards for sure but i could
not help but notice that grey screens are much fewer and further between .
When i previously ran Windows XP connection speeds that slow would not get
me on -line or keep me on line so i was thinking maybe Linux just requires
less resource and is able to get me on line but frequently stalls /greys out
? Not sure if my thinking is illogical or not , but then , that's why i am
here . :-)

On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Rohan Kapoor <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Rohan Kapoor proposed the following answer:
> You seem to have more than enough RAM for what you are doing and your
> CPU seems to be fine. Disk space also isn't a problem. My only possible
> thoughts are that either your system is over-heating (not very likely
> because of the low CPU usage) or your memory has gone bad. To check this
> you would need to open the grub menu (hit escape when booting up) and
> run memtest for a couple of hours. You can then report it's findings
> here and we can see if that will rule it out or not.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112/+confirm?answer_id=11
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#14

While I do understand your point completely, unless you were doing a
download at the time you shouldn't be getting a gray screen. Even then, you
really shouldn't be having the entire computer grayscreen.

Please check your RAM and let me know after that.

-- Rohan Kapoor

On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 8:54 PM, Alan Cline <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Status: Answered => Open
>
> Alan Cline is still having a problem:
> Ok , i will do that when i can get time .
>
> The only reason i questioned the Network History within System Monitor was
> based on the following observations . Good internet connectivity for me
> here
> is in the 20 - 30kbs range and with in the past few days i have only been
> getting 2 - 4kbs on downloads with constant grey screening . Today i texted
> the provider and complained and all of a sudden my downloads have increased
> to 20 - 30 kbs . Not speedy by first world standards for sure but i could
> not help but notice that grey screens are much fewer and further between .
> When i previously ran Windows XP connection speeds that slow would not get
> me on -line or keep me on line so i was thinking maybe Linux just requires
> less resource and is able to get me on line but frequently stalls /greys
> out
> ? Not sure if my thinking is illogical or not , but then , that's why i am
> here . :-)
>
> On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Rohan Kapoor <
> <email address hidden>> wrote:
>
> > Your question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
> >
> >
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
> >
> > Status: Open => Answered
> >
> > Rohan Kapoor proposed the following answer:
> > You seem to have more than enough RAM for what you are doing and your
> > CPU seems to be fine. Disk space also isn't a problem. My only possible
> > thoughts are that either your system is over-heating (not very likely
> > because of the low CPU usage) or your memory has gone bad. To check this
> > you would need to open the grub menu (hit escape when booting up) and
> > run memtest for a couple of hours. You can then report it's findings
> > here and we can see if that will rule it out or not.
> >
> > --
> > If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> > know that it is solved:
> >
> >
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112/+confirm?answer_id=11
> >
> > If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> > following page to enter your feedback:
> >
> >
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
> >
> > You received this question notification because you are a direct
> > subscriber of the question.
> >
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#15

Rohan

I attempted to run the memory test and fear i have opened Pandora's Box :-)

This is message i got when trying to do memory test :

Error 28 : Selected item can not fit into memory .

I also tried doing some other things :

Repair Function: This function could not retrieve what it needed to repair anything
File System Check - Ran for awhile then just stopped functioning

Misc:

 Have lost Graphical Interface that allows User Switching
 Firefox 3.5.5 shows 0 extensions ( not sure if this matters )
 Everything about the machine is performing under par . Log Out and Log In takes much longer than previously as does Restarts .

I am thinking maybe only resort is a fresh install but before i do that would appreciate your ideas/suggestions .

Thanks

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#16

Alan it appears to me that your system is flying into a vortex of doom.
Honestly, I would say just do a full system reinstall with a 9.10 disk. It
would save you a lot of hassle.

Sorry there is no better solution.

-- Rohan Kapoor

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 12:42 AM, Alan Cline <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Status: Answered => Open
>
> Alan Cline is still having a problem:
> Rohan
>
> I attempted to run the memory test and fear i have opened Pandora's Box
> :-)
>
> This is message i got when trying to do memory test :
>
> Error 28 : Selected item can not fit into memory .
>
> I also tried doing some other things :
>
> Repair Function: This function could not retrieve what it needed to repair
> anything
> File System Check - Ran for awhile then just stopped functioning
>
> Misc:
>
> Have lost Graphical Interface that allows User Switching
> Firefox 3.5.5 shows 0 extensions ( not sure if this matters )
> Everything about the machine is performing under par . Log Out and Log In
> takes much longer than previously as does Restarts .
>
> I am thinking maybe only resort is a fresh install but before i do that
> would appreciate your ideas/suggestions .
>
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#17

Thanks Rohan

I don't have a 9.10 disk and it would take about 6 weeks for me to receive one via mail so i will probably just reinstall 9.04 and upgrade to 9.10 .

Thanks for the assistance

Alan

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#18

Alan... My recommendation would not be to run the upgrade. The ubuntu
mirrors are running VERY slowly and the upgrade status crashed on two of my
three Ubuntu installs rendering them useless.

Your internet is the problem right? Where are you located (country)? If you
are nearby I might be able to help you.

-- Rohan Kapoor

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 4:16 PM, Alan Cline <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Alan Cline posted a new comment:
> Thanks Rohan
>
> I don't have a 9.10 disk and it would take about 6 weeks for me to
> receive one via mail so i will probably just reinstall 9.04 and upgrade
> to 9.10 .
>
> Thanks for the assistance
>
> Alan
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#19

Rohan

I am located in the Philippines . Internet here is very slow but seems like i may just have a corrupted install . Not sure why as it ran fine for a few weeks . I will reinstall 9.04 while i wait to receive a new 9.10 disk .

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#20

Ah I see. If you were a little closer to the US, I would have mailed you a
disk myself.

I would say that if the install was corrupt, chances are the disk was
defective. Boot off of the disk and have it check the disk.

How slow is your internet? Would a torrent work quickly for you?

-- Rohan Kapoor

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 6:34 PM, Alan Cline <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Alan Cline posted a new comment:
> Rohan
>
> I am located in the Philippines . Internet here is very slow but seems
> like i may just have a corrupted install . Not sure why as it ran fine
> for a few weeks . I will reinstall 9.04 while i wait to receive a new
> 9.10 disk .
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#21

Appreciate your offer Rohan and i have used torrents and sometimes they work ok but sometimes not . :-) You could be right about a bad disk but i doubt it given that it came direct from Canonical and ran fine for several weeks . More likely corrupted via an update or the fact that my 23 yr old Filipina step-son has been installing Windows programs on the machine . I have Wine installed for cross - platform Windows applications but i do not have hard drive partitioned for Windows . :-)

Have posted on Cebu City forum to "borrow" a live cd as i know some guys there are running Linux so will just wait and see . If push comes to shove i can always buy a Windows clone cd for around 200 - 300p ( $ 4 - 5 ) and wait for the Linux cd to arrive . Yeah , i know it's not nice but this part of the world has piracy rate of over 80% which makes Linux great because you don't have to steal it . :-)

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#22

Do what you need to, :D. Personally I use the official torrents to get my
ubuntu disks. Works out fine for me and downloads in 15 mins!

Some Canonical Disks are bad. I've got one, :P

-- Rohan Kapoor

On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 1:29 AM, Alan Cline <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Alan Cline posted a new comment:
> Appreciate your offer Rohan and i have used torrents and sometimes they
> work ok but sometimes not . :-) You could be right about a bad disk but
> i doubt it given that it came direct from Canonical and ran fine for
> several weeks . More likely corrupted via an update or the fact that my
> 23 yr old Filipina step-son has been installing Windows programs on the
> machine . I have Wine installed for cross - platform Windows
> applications but i do not have hard drive partitioned for Windows . :-)
>
> Have posted on Cebu City forum to "borrow" a live cd as i know some guys
> there are running Linux so will just wait and see . If push comes to
> shove i can always buy a Windows clone cd for around 200 - 300p ( $ 4 -
> 5 ) and wait for the Linux cd to arrive . Yeah , i know it's not nice
> but this part of the world has piracy rate of over 80% which makes Linux
> great because you don't have to steal it . :-)
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#23

Though i have yet to use the built in torrent i will give it a shot .

On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 4:06 AM, Rohan Kapoor <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> Rohan Kapoor proposed the following answer:
> Do what you need to, :D. Personally I use the official torrents to get my
> ubuntu disks. Works out fine for me and downloads in 15 mins!
>
> Some Canonical Disks are bad. I've got one, :P
>
> -- Rohan Kapoor
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 1:29 AM, Alan Cline <
> <email address hidden>> wrote:
>
> > Question #93112 on gnome-system-monitor in ubuntu changed:
> >
> >
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
> >
> > Alan Cline posted a new comment:
> > Appreciate your offer Rohan and i have used torrents and sometimes they
> > work ok but sometimes not . :-) You could be right about a bad disk but
> > i doubt it given that it came direct from Canonical and ran fine for
> > several weeks . More likely corrupted via an update or the fact that my
> > 23 yr old Filipina step-son has been installing Windows programs on the
> > machine . I have Wine installed for cross - platform Windows
> > applications but i do not have hard drive partitioned for Windows . :-)
> >
> > Have posted on Cebu City forum to "borrow" a live cd as i know some guys
> > there are running Linux so will just wait and see . If push comes to
> > shove i can always buy a Windows clone cd for around 200 - 300p ( $ 4 -
> > 5 ) and wait for the Linux cd to arrive . Yeah , i know it's not nice
> > but this part of the world has piracy rate of over 80% which makes Linux
> > great because you don't have to steal it . :-)
> >
> > --
> > You received this question notification because you are a direct
> > subscriber of the question.
> >
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112/+confirm?answer_id=21
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-monitor/+question/93112
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#24

Ok. Let me know how it works out. If you need another seeder, I can do it
for you.

-- Rohan Kapoor

Revision history for this message
Alan Cline (clinealant) said :
#25

Ok

Managed to get the iso downloaded but don't understand how to test the check sum value . I read the Ubuntu documentation for instructions but when i input into the terminal as:

cd download directory or ubuntu-9.10-alternate-i386.iso terminal - either says no such file or directory or command not found .
The Transmission download app is on the desktop but i don't see a way to check the MD5Sum value .

Revision history for this message
Rohan Kapoor (rohankapoor) said :
#26

If you downloaded the iso through transmission (default torrent program) it
should automatically check the md5sum for you. I wouldn't worry, it is
likely to be perfectly fine.

-- Rohan Kapoor

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask Alan Cline for more information if necessary.

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