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Overnight, my ubuntu installation (latest LTS version) has stopped working.

Apart from automatic updates, I never made any changes to the system. As of yesterday, the computer starts extremely slowly, eventually takes me to the GRUB screen, and after choosing the operating system, simply stops on a light purple screen. Recovery boot does not work.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

Thanks

H Hall
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1 Answers1

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Remove the power cable, open the case, touch a metal component to ensure you have no static charge in your body, and unseat and then reseat the memory modules and the graphics card (if it's not integrated into the motherboard) - you may have a case of thermal socket expansion. As the machine heats up in during use and then cools down after being turned off, the memory modules and graphics card tend to move ever so slightly in their slots. Over time the movement causes the component to lost its contact with the motherboard. Once the machine is booting again, choose the option to run a memtest from the boot screen.

Memtest : Memtest with Ubuntu 12.04 live CD

Thermal socket expansion (aka chip creep) : Wikipedia link

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Clive van Hilten
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