how to determine source of lockups?

[Cam <cameron.matheson@gmail.com>]

Hi,

I've been experiencing some bad lockups lately... it seems like
certain applications are more prone to cause them (lotus notes under
wine, for example).  Anyway, i re-compiled my kernel (i just wanted a
thinner kernel), but now everytime i start firefox, my box freezes up.
 There's nothing in /var/log/kernlog or syslog... to be honest, it may
not be a total lockup, it could just be X.  I am unable to move my
mouse or do anything w/ ctrl+alt+backspace, sysrq, etc.  the only
thing i can possibly think of being an issue is maybe my nvidia
drivers (i did recompile the module for my new kernel).  any tips for
maybe narrowing this down better?

Thanks,
Cameron Matheson