X4 freezing

[Rikki Hall <rikki@gar.net>]

I believe that Ctrl-Alt-Backspace in X is supposed to shut down the X
server, but it's not working that way.  Where is this behavior defined?

The bigger problem is the way it is working.  If I start X, I can switch
back-and-forth from console to X window with Ctrl-Alt-F1 and F7, but if I
hit Ctrl-Alt-Backspace, a menu pops up and X freezes.  Ctrl-Alt-F1 ceases
to work, and the only escape is to power down.

X also freezes when I do just about anything.  If I start Netscape, my
first action causes lockup.  If I start an xterm, it's okay for a little
while, then lockup.  The mouse continues to move, but none of the buttons
work, and I can't find any way out but the power switch.  This sucks.

I'd like to know how to diagnose this problem, but it leaves no trace in
/var/log/Xfree86.log, and I can't exit to a console window to look for
error messages, so I hardly know where to begin.  Getting
Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to work or keeping Ctrl-Alt-F1 from losing
functionality seems like a good place to start.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Rikki Hall