Desktop is freezing and I cannot pinpoint the issue

[anarch]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the relatively recent core updates. I, too, am facing the same issue, RIGHT AFTER these updates, with two of my old laptops. Both running Intel core duos & Mesa Intel graphics. No other of my machines, whether desktop or laptop was affected, no matter if they are older, newer or new.

I guess some new update will fix it, at some point.

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Use the REISUB key combination (I think not installed by default) to avoid hard shutdowns. Here’s how…:

[Tip] Enable Magic SysRq Key (REISUB)

The Linux kernel authors have provided a very nice feature of issuing low-level commands to the kernel directly, regardless of the state the system is in. This is called the “Magic SysRq Key”, because these commands are issued by pressing the SysRq key on the keyboard (if you can’t find it, typically, it shares the same physical key as the Print Screen key, but on some laptops it can be elsewhere). A common use is to reboot when the computer freezes and becomes unresponsive due to some software…

PS: I have found that disabling all widgets ( I am on KDE) & third party goodies from my desktop has helped the situation. After all, the system itself kills them in the cases when it didn’t just froze.