Score:1

Random restarts on Ubuntu 20.04.1 on Dell Precision 3551

cn flag

I got my new Dell Precision 3551 computer about a month ago, and installed Ubuntu 20.04.1 on it. However, since then, I've experienced random restarts at seemingly random times. The computer just restarts without any forewarning or error messages. This is of course very inconvenient.

I haven't been able to notice any pattern in the timing or frequency of the restarts. Sometimes, even when I'm away from my computer, when I return, I found it has restarted. The restarts do not seem to be linked to any actions I take.

What would be the best way to start investigating the matter further?

David avatar
cn flag
You are behind on updates. 24.04.3 is the most up to date. Run sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade to update the system. That is a first start to fixing any problem.
codlord avatar
ru flag
I would start by checking you are on the latest versions of all DELL BIOS/firmware etc. At least that rules out one set of potential issues. I only say that as I had a DELL PC at work which started crashing/rebooting randomly. I thought it must be a hardware issue but it was fixed by updating some DELL firmware stuff (although it was not me who did it).
cn flag
Random crashes are mostly memory issues. Start with a check of your RAM and you can do that from a live session. "The computer just restarts without any forewarning or error messages" That is very unlikely. Random crashes DO create logs on the system (those are called "core dumps"); just got to find them.
cn flag
Thanks for the tips! I've now installed system and firmware updates, let's see if that resolved the issue.
Leprechaun avatar
sv flag
I don't have any helpful advice for you. But, fwiw, I've got exactly the same problem. I'm running Mint 20.2 (fork of Ubuntu 20.04) on my 3551, I couldn't find anything of note in the system logs (dmesg) either. Weird indeed. It always happened to me when I was away from the computer, so I didn't see it happening - just came back to a restarted computer.
cn flag
@Leprechaun, that's a funny coincidence, as yesterday was the first time after my previous comment that I found my computer having restarted when I returned to it.
cn flag
To update on this: lately, my computer has again started with the random restarts, and now it is happening 1-3 per day. This is getting very annoying. Are there any logs where I could start looking into for the root cause?
Leprechaun avatar
sv flag
I know I'm resurrecting super old topic, but since these problems didn't go away for me and my Dell just suddenly restarted while browsing web I remembered this old post. @JoelLehikoinen Did you find out what was the problem? Did anything help?
cn flag
@Leprechaun I never managed to solve the issue, and now I no longer have the affected computer, so it remains a mystery.
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