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Matthew avatar Ubuntu

Ubuntu crashes when physically moving my laptop

sa flag
Matthew

So Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS (linux 5.4.0-81-generic) seems to crash, more often than not, when I'm moving my laptop computer (Lenovo Yoga 920) from one place to the other.

Previously, Ubuntu seemed to sometimes pause for a few seconds to figure out what was going on, when I'd moved the computer enough that it thought I was rotating it from landscape to portrait.

I never want to use the computer in any sort of rotation mode, so I locked rotation. Soon after that, perhaps immediately after that, when I moved the computer, the computer would often completely freeze, and the only option I know to fix it is to do a hard reboot.

I unlocked the rotation, even though I don't want it, but that has not corrected the problem. To be fair, I'm not 100% sure, or even 80% sure, the problem has to do with the auto rotate - but it does seem to be much more likely to have a complete-freeze-up if I'm physically moving the computer. Sometimes, perhaps 2/3rds of the time, it freezes on a black screen (the black-out screen I'm accustomed to seeing briefly when rotating from portrait to landscape). The other 1/3rd of the time it freezes on whatever the display was previously, but the computer doesn't recognize any keystrokes or mouse movement.

I've been watching the temperature of the CPU and it seems to stay below 50C, but any other things to check would be helpful - thanks.

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guiverc avatar
cn flag
guiverc
You've provided no release details (nor product details; I assume you mean a desktop release but it's best if we're not guessing), but if it's crashes; I'd check /var/crash/ for details & if it's GNOME that crashes, what extensions (if any) you've added to it. You've not been specific as to what you mean by crash (system? do sysrq commands no longer work? app crash? gnome session crashes? etc) so please be specific.
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user10489 avatar
in flag
user10489
Have you tried commands to force a screen rotation? Does that cause it to crash?
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Matthew avatar
sa flag
Matthew
@guiverc It's Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS, apologies for omitting that. Please forgive my ignorance as well, I'm not really a sys admin. When I say crash, I mean a full system lockup-type-freeze, as I mentioned in the post, I am unaware of any way to proceed other than doing a hard reboot. The only extensions that are on are 'Block Caribou','Desktop Icons',and 'Simple Net Speed'. In addition, /var/crash doesn't have any log files for the past few days, when this has been happening.
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Matthew avatar
sa flag
Matthew
@user10489 , thanks, I didn't know those commands existed. They did not cause the system to lock up/crash.
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guiverc avatar
cn flag
guiverc
SysRq is a key on your keyboard (note many modern keyboards no longer printed, but the key is still there if you know about it; eg. *cheap* 2019-2021 dells don't have it printed but if you use the Fn + Printscreen key it's achieved (the SysRq was printed on the front of PrintScreen keys on older keyboards). It allows you to directly give commands to the linux kernel bypassing any locked GUI/UI (*if only my Android phone had a real keyboard*!). Search "magic sysrq" and wikipedia page should show... If it's a stuck GUI, switching to a text terminal (eg. Ctrl+Alt+F4) should allow login ...
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guiverc avatar
cn flag
guiverc
I would disable those extensions and see if the *crash* still occurs; assuming it doesn't, add them back one at a time & carefully test. If they were designed for different GNOME versions, a GNOME crash can occur if the API doesn't perfectly match (ie. GNOME uses a specific GTK version; the extension should also use the same version or compatible version that aligns correctly). If the GTK versions differ significantly more problems are expected (checking they align is technical; so this is vague I realize & potentially unhelpful - ie. be careful with extensions & homework can be needed)
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darth_epoxy avatar
nl flag
darth_epoxy
If you close your laptop lid/screen does the system, sleep, shutdown or crash?
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Matthew avatar
sa flag
Matthew
@darth_epoxy the #HandleLidSwitch=suspend ; and it appears as if that's the behavior as well.
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darth_epoxy avatar
nl flag
darth_epoxy
Well it is not uncommon for Ubuntu drivers to cause strange behaviour on laptops with illuminated keypads or unique power save features. In the case of your "Yoga" the screen folds all the way back (downward dog?) and I guess that classifies as a unique feature that Ubuntu has not mastered yet. Hopefully some smarter people than I can determine if this feature is kernel dependant or driver dependant.
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