Linux Mint 20.2 Performance Issues and DE Locking Up SOLVED

Plugged in a LIve USB of Debian 12 to my friends tower at 12:20 p.m.
At 12:30 p.m. the DE crashed and the screen was gray and unresponsive.

Memtest86 is running now....testing the RAM
 

Attachments

  • MT86.jpg
    MT86.jpg
    522.9 KB · Views: 59


How many errors or faulty passes does it take to know new RAM is needed?
How to tell if one or all sticks of RAM are bad?
 

Attachments

  • MT86 2.jpg
    MT86 2.jpg
    452.9 KB · Views: 58
That is not looking good....however I would be tempted to let it run until it finishes.

I have used that test myself.....and I just had to leave the room and find somehting else to do.

I honestly forget just how long it took....but the amount of time was substantial !....hours, certainly not minutes.
 
These are more up to date :


 
In the process of getting ready to clean off the dust on the mobo, fans and the like.

If you, @Condobloke , @CaffeineAddict and @KGIII can give me a definitive answer on how to clean the ram sticks. Not what folks say online but something that you have done yourselfs and had success.

I'm thinking I can use a clean eraser or isopropyl alcohol to clean the ram.
And, then re-run Memtest 86 to confirm if the program throws errors showing the ram is bad.

A picture of mobo and picture of what the display showed on all 3 distro's.
 

Attachments

  • MSI Mobo.jpg
    MSI Mobo.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 60
  • Graphic Tears.jpg
    Graphic Tears.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 57
In the coming weeks I'll be writing an article on my Linux Fixes Blog about all these things. This way, folks can be well educated and know how to handle this type of situation.:)
 
I'm thinking I can use a clean eraser or isopropyl alcohol to clean the ram.
You can put small amount of alcohol on a piece of clean cloth so that it's drain enough to not release alcohol if pressed.
Then clean only connectors on RAM stick but do not touch other parts of RAM.

After that's done wait a few minutes until connectors are dried out.
While you wait blow out the dust from RAM slots as much as you can making sure you don't blow saliva into RAM slots.

This is not guarantee to work, alcohol cleaning is most useful when you see DIMM error on your screen during boot up, upon which no boot is possible and the boot in that case will stuck already in BIOS initialization stage and won't even reach boot loader boot phase.

The fact that you can boot the system suggests RAM failure is more likely than dirty connectors, but it's worth a try.
If this doesn't work you can of course try another RAM slot, therefore blow dust out of all of them.
 
Deoxit in the socket and an eraser (and maybe Deoxit) on the tab that inserts into said socket.
 
Since 19 80's when servicing any machine I have never used any liquid cleaner, with the ram often the problem is a "dry joint" all I do is remove the ram , wipe the contacts [downwards away from e chips] with a soft cotton or linen cloth [do not use synthetic or wool of any type as this can cause a static discharge] then replace the ram take it out and replace again, and this will cure any dry joints , oh and the same method can be used on PCIe cards but with anything with slip joints make sure you do not damage the thin contact film
 
Since 19 80's when servicing any machine I have never used any liquid cleaner, with the ram often the problem is a "dry joint" all I do is remove the ram , wipe the contacts [downwards away from e chips] with a soft cotton or linen cloth [do not use synthetic or wool of any type as this can cause a static discharge] then replace the ram take it out and replace again, and this will cure any dry joints , oh and the same method can be used on PCIe cards but with anything with slip joints make sure you do not damage the thin contact film

Since 19 80's when servicing any machine I have never used any liquid cleaner, with the ram often the problem is a "dry joint" all I do is remove the ram , wipe the contacts [downwards away from e chips] with a soft cotton or linen cloth [do not use synthetic or wool of any type as this can cause a static discharge] then replace the ram take it out and replace again, and this will cure any dry joints , oh and the same method can be used on PCIe cards but with anything with slip joints make sure you do not damage the thin contact film
My friend is asking, what is this thing about 'dry joints' as it will help him to understand what he should or shouldn't do with that.
He feels that anything that is a liquid like contact spray or isopropyl alcohol may be needed as his pc is 12 going on 13 years old.
It's been exposed to grease (lot's of olive oil) from cooking because it's close to the kitchen.
May need some extra cleanup sauce

He really appreciates the detailed assistance that all of you have given-:)
 
My friend is asking, what is this thing about 'dry joints'
A dry joint forms by contamination of the electrical contacts, it can be formed by dampness, dust, or arcing, it is not uncommon,
using solvents can damage circuit boards and components, as I said,I have been building/repairing/updating computers sin
ce the early 80's and have never used any form of cleaners, If this is a tower/desktop dont forget to remove the heat sink from the cpu [this is now the only time i will carefully use alcohol to clean off the heat paste fro the CPU and heat sink which will by now be past its best, and re-seat using a garden pea size dollop of heat joint paste,[available in small quantities from e-bay or your local parts store]
 
I had to work the last 2 days and wasn't able to assist my friend with his desktop issues.

He's gathering together all the things he needs to clean out the dust in the desktop and clean the ram sticks.
Be back tomorrow with more details.
 
Cleaned out all of the dust on the mobo, cpu fan, ram slots and etc.
Cleaned the ram sticks well.
In the process of getting ready to put the ram back in place.
bb later with the news.

The mobo book says DDR3 Memory modules are not interchangeable with DDR2 and DDR3 standard is not backwards compatible.
 

Attachments

  • Ram onboard.jpg
    Ram onboard.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 46
  • Clean Ram Eraser.jpg
    Clean Ram Eraser.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 48
  • Ram Cleaned.jpg
    Ram Cleaned.jpg
    855.8 KB · Views: 49
  • MOBO.png
    MOBO.png
    341.7 KB · Views: 43
Reseated the ram after cleaning and plugged the desktop.
Plugged in the USB with Memtest on it and pressed the power button on the desktop.
Monitor and keyboard are not lighting up and the BIOS screen isn't showing.

The desktop isn't beeping. Folks say online that if the ram isn't seated properly the desktop will beep alot. I'm not sure what's going on.
He said he'll try taking the ram sticks out and try one at a time an see.
Tomorrows another day.

If you have any thoughts or ideas let me know.
 
Last edited:
reseat the ram again.

Line the slot in the ram up so you are quite confident that itis in the correct position....then press it down quite firmly

in your first pic it shows the ram is installed in slots 1 and 3 ...?....there is a vacant slot between them. Copy that when you reinstall

In my screenie below it has red arros pouinting to the grey coloured clips at the end of both sticks of ram.....just give them a gently push in towards the raam stick....that will tell you if the ram stick is all the way down in its slot.

2024-09-24_10-58.png

if it is not all the way down, the grfey tab will not push into place.

Pushing the ram sticks sometimes need to be done quite firmly....Just be CAREFULL you dont push the stick of ram over on its side hwich may just snap the ram stick !....be sure to push straight down....and make sure the little slot under the stick is in the right place ....The slot is usually more towards one end than the other....be sure the positioning is correct before you push firmly
 
Last edited:
There are two ram sticks...separated by an empty slot......that is unusual.

Usually the slots are numbered 1,2,3, etc....and the slots are filled sequentually....starting at 1 , 1,2,3,4,etc..
 
Last edited:
Reseated the ram after cleaning and plugged the desktop.
Plugged in the USB with Memtest on it and pressed the power button on the desktop.
Monitor and keyboard are not lighting up and the BIOS screen isn't showing.

The desktop isn't beeping. Folks say online that if the ram isn't seated properly the desktop will beep alot. I'm not sure what's going on.
He said he'll try taking the ram sticks out and try one at a time an see.
Tomorrows another day.

If you have any thoughts or ideas let me know.
Motherboards have their own configurations for the insertion of memory sticks, so the best approach is to look at the motherboard manual.

Memory slots are usually spread on the motherboard from closest to the cpu out to the furthest from the cpu.
Code:
          slot1  slot2 slot3 slot4
+------+  |      |     |     |
|      |  |      |     |     |
| cpu  |  |      |     |     |
+------+


For example, in the case of a motherboard here: AsRock BCM760 PG, the following is recommended in the manual where the X indicates which slot to insert the dimm given the number of dimms one is using:

Code:
        slot1   slot2   slot3  slot4
1 dimm                           X
2 dimms           X              X
4 dimms   X       X        X     X

Further recommendations are:
1. For dual channel configuration, you always need to install identical (the same brand, speed, size and chip-type) DDR4 DIMM pairs.
2. It is unable to activate Dual Channel Memory Technology with only one or three memory module installed.

It's clear that simple sequential insertion of RAM with fewer than 4 dimms in this machine is sub-optimal.

In the past here, incorrect positioning of RAM sticks has actually resulted in failed boots, but they were machines quite a few years ago now.

If by chance one is unable to access a motherboard manual, then the above configuration I've found is quite common in motherboards of different brands like Gigabyte and Intel, but there are no guarantees of course. If there's no information, it becomes a matter of experimentation.
 
Last edited:
reseat the ram again.

Line the slot in the ram up so you are quite confident that itis in the correct position....then press it down quite firmly

in your first pic it shows the ram is installed in slots 1 and 3 ...?....there is a vacant slot between them. Copy that when you reinstall

In my screenie below it has red arros pouinting to the grey coloured clips at the end of both sticks of ram.....just give them a gently push in towards the raam stick....that will tell you if the ram stick is all the way down in its slot.

View attachment 22177
if it is not all the way down, the grfey tab will not push into place.

Pushing the ram sticks sometimes need to be done quite firmly....Just be CAREFULL you dont push the stick of ram over on its side hwich may just snap the ram stick !....be sure to push straight down....and make sure the little slot under the stick is in the right place ....The slot is usually more towards one end than the other....be sure the positioning is correct before you push firmly
Looking at page 29 of his mobo there are 4 dimm slots. He has one stick of ram in the 2nd slot and one stick of ram in the 4th slot.
 

Attachments

  • Dimm Slots.png
    Dimm Slots.png
    242.5 KB · Views: 49

Members online


Latest posts

Top