[Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

CyberTuna · 2018-12-15 21:20:59

I've been running Mint 18.1 Xfce on a Dell 8400 P4 tower for a long time without any major problems. Now when I click on the main menu's Suspend button, the machine acts like it's going to suspend; the power LED blinks green & then yellow, but then suddenly turns green again and abruptly shuts down.

It behaves similarly during normal shutdown which is odd, as the power LED used to just remain green before the PC shut off (it didn't change colors). Running suspend (or shutdown) from terminal gives the same results.

One thing that might be a clue is that when the screen goes dark just before it shuts off in suspend, the Mint logo will sometimes briefly pop up.

Also when I shut down the PC normally, the Mint logo now appears just before the machine turns off, almost like it's trying to reboot instead of shutting down. Before this started happening, I only remember seeing the logo during boot up.

Any ideas?

Last edited by CyberTuna (2018-12-20 22:38:43)

mint4all · 2018-12-17 22:49:06

Greetings!

About 2 years ago, due to hardware-related quirks, i had to "retire" my 3 near-ancient Compaq & HP desktops (all equipped with P4-equivalent AthlonXP processors). They showed symptoms similar to your's. Yes, they were at the LM18.1-xfce maint. level, too. To get an idea how your desktop is configured, please run the following command in a terminal window...

inxi -Fxzi

then copy the output and paste it into your next reply. Thanks.

Cheers, m4a

CyberTuna · 2018-12-18 15:28:07

Thanks for responding!

Here is my info from terminal:

System: Host: Dell-8400 Kernel: 4.4.0-53-generic i686 (32 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 (Gtk 2.24.28) Distro: Linux Mint 18.1 Serena
Machine: System: Dell product: Dimension 8400
Mobo: Dell model: 0U7077 Bios: Dell v: A03 date: 10/11/2004
CPU: Single core Intel Pentium 4 (-HT-) cache: 1024 KB
flags: (pae sse sse2 sse3) bmips: 6384
clock speeds: max: 3192 MHz 1: 3192 MHz 2: 3192 MHz
Graphics: Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RV370 [Radeon X300]
bus-ID: 01:00.0
Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
Resolution: 1280x1024@60.02hz
GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on ATI RV370
GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 11.2.0 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio: Card Intel 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller
driver: snd_intel8x0 ports: ec00 e8c0 bus-ID: 00:1e.2
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-53-generic
Network: Card: Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5751 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express
driver: tg3 v: 3.137 bus-ID: 02:00.0
IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
WAN IP: <filter> IF: enp2s0 ip-v4: <filter> ip-v6: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 160.0GB (81.8% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST3160023AS size: 160.0GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 146G used: 121G (88%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
ID-2: swap-1 size: 1.07GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info: Processes: 181 Uptime: 9 min Memory: 373.2/998.4MB
Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35

mint4all · 2018-12-18 17:44:36

Thanks for the info!

Before discussing your inxi-results, one quick comment: display of Mint's splash screen/logo while suspend / shutdown/ resume is in progress is not unusual -- it is all about system-timing; "slower" (read older) systems tend to take their time. Btw: my old workhorses always showed those logo screens...

Now to your info:

1) afaik, older systems like your's/mine (single core with add-on graphic cards) tend to run "hot"; it appears that you don't have the "lm-sensors" package installed, otherwise inxi would report various temps. Once installed you could run the "sensors" command in a terminal, or add xfce's panel-plugins to keep on eye on those temps.

2) your disk is 88% full. Depending on your workload and with only 25gig free space, the disk could be running hot, too. Just in case, you do have a current backup of your system, right? I can't see the sda2, sda3 & sda4 volumes, what happened with those? Are you running a dual-/multi-boot system?

3) since the mint kernel uses all available/free memory for caching, your 1gb of rem is a bit tight, imho. If you can afford it, bump it to at least 2gb or 4gb (preferable).

4) i don't know about your setup, but those old desktop cases & huge power supplies are lint- & dust-traps. Have you ever cleaned out with a battery-powered vac, and re-seated all cards, dimms & connectors? Are all of the fans (cpu, radeon, power supply, case) clean, quiet and free of vibrations? Worn fans are a bad omen, btw.

Upshot: ime, your system has thermal problems therefore it throws those strange events. There could also be a quirky interaction between xfce's power-manager and the screensaver / auto-lock / power-saver / screen-saver settings, but 1st id' check on those thermal conditions.

Cheers, m4a

CyberTuna · 2018-12-20 18:43:45

I opened the machine to clean it out and discovered a bloated capacitor on the motherboard and a nearly dead BIOS battery. The machine wouldn't boot up again - not even post beeps, so I replaced the capacitor & battery, but sill nothing. After various checks, it appears that the motherboard is no longer functioning.

This thing isn't worth the time and $ to bring it back so I'm afraid there will be no Christmas for old Mr. Dell . It isn't my primary PC, so not a big deal. Thanks again for your insight and suggestions. Happy Holidays!

mint4all · 2018-12-20 20:54:50

CyberTuna wrote:

I opened the machine to clean it out and discovered a bloated capacitor on the motherboard and a nearly dead BIOS battery. The machine wouldn't boot up again - not even post beeps, so I replaced the capacitor & battery, but sill nothing. After various checks, it appears that the motherboard is no longer functioning.
This thing isn't worth the time and $ to bring it back so I'm afraid there will be no Christmas for old Mr. Dell . It isn't my primary PC, so not a big deal. Thanks again for your insight and suggestions. Happy Holidays!

You are most welcome, and you too enjoy your holidays!

Fwiw ... Ime, "bloated" caps are a sign of either prolonged over-voltages (ie a failing power supply), excessive mobo temps (excessive overclocking and/or failing fans), or both. Often high-end graphic-cards fall victim to those conditions, too. Then when those caps bloat -- or worse, leak -- the card or mobo is toast due to the collateral damage inflicted upon other components. Well, you tried your best and are fortunate that you can live without that old workhorse ... let it RIP (rust-in-peace).

Cheers, m4a

PS: please edit the title of your 1st post, above, denoting it as [Solved]. Thanks.

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#1 2018-12-15 21:20:59

[Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

#2 2018-12-17 22:49:06

Re: [Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

#3 2018-12-18 15:28:07

Re: [Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

#4 2018-12-18 17:44:36

Re: [Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

#5 2018-12-20 18:43:45

Re: [Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

#6 2018-12-20 20:54:50

Re: [Solved] Suspend Shutting Down Computer

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