Re: how to detect laptop hardware/drive problems?
On Wed, Nov 15, 2006 at 01:09:25AM +0000, Tyler wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have noticed that my laptop is starting to slow down quite noticeably,
> although irregularly so. Basic tasks like opening xterm in fluxbox
> sometimes take a few seconds or more, and there's even a noticeable
> delay with command line stuff like ls. Not always, usually after I've
> been running for awhile (hours). I also notice that sometimes my
> harddrive seems to 'rev' (spin for a second, pause, spin for a second,
> pause, repeated continuously over a minute or more), even when I'm not
> doing anything (just reading documents in xpdf or a browser window.
>
> Maybe this is just normal for a laptop, but I don't know. Is there some
> way to check to see if I'm having any non-trivial hardware issues?
>
> I'm running etch, fluxbox, 2.6.17-2, Thinkpad R60.
>
That the slow down happens after a while suggests that its a temperature
thing. Do you have sensors activated? Does the fan work? Does the
case get hot and if so where? The processor may be being slowed down by
the bios/firmware to cool it.
The drive reving I would guess is swapping happening re the browser
needing to page memory in or out. Does it happen if you're not using X
but only console? Its spin and pause is to save your battery. If
you're on AC there is probably a way to have it not spin-down (uses more
juice but easier on the drive motor).
Doug.
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