Ubuntu 22.04 freezing issues on Dell Latitude 7390

Short version

I'm experiencing frequent system freezes on my Dell Latitude 7390 running Ubuntu 22.04. The freezes occur during video playback in Firefox and shortly after rebooting, even at the login screen. Here's what I've tried so far without success:

• Using an older kernel version
• Running a memory test with pcmemtest (no errors found)

I also wrote a script to monitor the system's temperature, memory, and disk health, but the logs show normal readings before freezing. The system is about 6 years old, so it's out of warranty. Any suggestions on further tests or potential fixes?

Long version

I am running Ubuntu 22.04 on a Dell Latitude 7390. The system freezes completely after using it for a while.

When watching a YouTube video in Firefox, the video freezes and the audio loops the last second repeatedly. However, this issue is not limited to video playback. After rebooting by pressing the power button, the system often freezes again shortly, sometimes even at the login screen.

Here's what I've tried so far:

• Using an older kernel version, which did not help.
• Running a memory test with pcmemtest, which found no errors.

To diagnose the problem, I wrote a script to monitor the system:

LOG_FILE=~/system_monitor.logMAX_SIZE=10485760  # 10 MB in byteswhile true; do    # Check log file size and truncate if necessary    if [ -f "$LOG_FILE" ]; then        LOG_SIZE=$(stat -c%s "$LOG_FILE")        if [ "$LOG_SIZE" -gt "$MAX_SIZE" ]; then            echo "Log file exceeded $MAX_SIZE bytes, truncating." > "$LOG_FILE"        fi    fi    # Append system information to the log    echo "=== $(date) ===" >> "$LOG_FILE"    sensors >> "$LOG_FILE"    smartctl -a /dev/sdX >> "$LOG_FILE"  # Replace /dev/sdX with your drive identifier    free -h >> "$LOG_FILE"    df -h >> "$LOG_FILE"    echo "" >> "$LOG_FILE"    sleep 60done

The last entries of the log before the freezing are as shown below in the picture. As you can see, at least 1 minute before the freezing, everything—memory, CPU temperature, hard drive, swap memory—all seem to be fine.

=== Wed 24 Jul 2024 07:30:18 PM CST ===iwlwifi_1-virtual-0Adapter: Virtual devicetemp1:        +44.0°C  ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:002-isa-0000Adapter: ISA adapterin0:          20.00 V  (min =  +5.00 V, max = +20.00 V)curr1:         3.25 A  (max =  +3.25 A)ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:001-isa-0000Adapter: ISA adapterin0:           5.00 V  (min =  +5.00 V, max =  +5.00 V)curr1:         0.00 A  (max =  +0.00 A)BAT0-acpi-0Adapter: ACPI interfacein0:           8.34 V  curr1:       1000.00 uA coretemp-isa-0000Adapter: ISA adapterPackage id 0:  +49.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)Core 0:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)Core 1:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)Core 2:        +49.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)Core 3:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)dell_smm-isa-0000Adapter: ISA adapterProcessor Fan:    0 RPM  (min =    0 RPM, max = 8900 RPM)CPU:            +49.0°C  Ambient:        +43.0°C  Other:          +40.0°C  SODIMM:         +38.0°C  pch_skylake-virtual-0Adapter: Virtual devicetemp1:        +44.0°C  nvme-pci-6d00Adapter: PCI adapterComposite:    +47.9°C  (low  = -20.1°C, high = +84.8°C)                       (crit = +81.8°C)Sensor 1:     +47.9°C  (low  = -20.1°C, high = +84.8°C)acpitz-acpi-0Adapter: ACPI interfacetemp1:        +25.0°C  (crit = +107.0°C)smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-6.5.0-44-generic] (local build)Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===Model Number:                       THNSF5512GPUK NVMe SED TOSHIBA 512GBSerial Number:                      471S107ZTFETFirmware Version:                   5KDA5103PCI Vendor/Subsystem ID:            0x1179IEEE OUI Identifier:                0x00080dController ID:                      0NVMe Version:                       <1.2Number of Namespaces:               1Namespace 1 Size/Capacity:          512,110,190,592 [512 GB]Namespace 1 Formatted LBA Size:     512Namespace 1 IEEE EUI-64:            00080d 0200223257Local Time is:                      Wed Jul 24 19:30:18 2024 CSTFirmware Updates (0x02):            1 SlotOptional Admin Commands (0x0017):   Security Format Frmw_DL Self_TestOptional NVM Commands (0x001e):     Wr_Unc DS_Mngmt Wr_Zero Sav/Sel_FeatLog Page Attributes (0x02):         Cmd_Eff_LgWarning  Comp. Temp. Threshold:     78 CelsiusCritical Comp. Temp. Threshold:     82 CelsiusSupported Power StatesSt Op     Max   Active     Idle   RL RT WL WT  Ent_Lat  Ex_Lat 0 +     6.00W       -        -    0  0  0  0        0       0 1 +     2.40W       -        -    1  1  1  1        0       0 2 +     1.90W       -        -    2  2  2  2        0       0 3 -   0.0120W       -        -    3  3  3  3     5000   25000 4 -   0.0060W       -        -    4  4  4  4   100000   70000Supported LBA Sizes (NSID 0x1)Id Fmt  Data  Metadt  Rel_Perf 0 +     512       0         2 1 -    4096       0         1=== START OF SMART DATA SECTION ===SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSEDSMART/Health Information (NVMe Log 0x02)Critical Warning:                   0x00Temperature:                        48 CelsiusAvailable Spare:                    100%Available Spare Threshold:          50%Percentage Used:                    13%Data Units Read:                    34,991,513 [17.9 TB]Data Units Written:                 39,561,681 [20.2 TB]Host Read Commands:                 827,292,395Host Write Commands:                586,929,076Controller Busy Time:               5,299Power Cycles:                       4,838Power On Hours:                     19,026Unsafe Shutdowns:                   374Media and Data Integrity Errors:    0Error Information Log Entries:      0Warning  Comp. Temperature Time:    0Critical Comp. Temperature Time:    0Temperature Sensor 1:               48 CelsiusError Information (NVMe Log 0x01, 16 of 128 entries)No Errors Logged               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   availableMem:            15Gi       2.8Gi       9.1Gi       299Mi       3.7Gi        12GiSwap:           15Gi          0B        15GiFilesystem                     Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted ontmpfs                          1.6G  3.1M  1.6G   1% /run/dev/nvme0n1p4                 220G  138G   71G  67% /tmpfs                          7.8G  684K  7.8G   1% /dev/shmtmpfs                          5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lockefivarfs                       384K   61K  319K  16% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dev/nvme0n1p2                 231G  141G   79G  65% /media/user/data/dev/nvme0n1p1                 197M   36M  162M  18% /boot/efitmpfs                          1.6G  1.7M  1.6G   1% /run/user/1000appimaged-715-x86_64.AppImage  5.0M  5.0M     0 100% /tmp/.mount_appimaNeMnkIpCloud.fs                      500G  161G  340G  33% /home/user/pCloudDrive

(BTW, I noticed that a large number NUL (ASCII code 0) inserted at the end of the log file.)

I am completely lost here. The laptop is about 6 years old, so the warranty has expired. If it's a memory or hard drive failure, I can replace them, but I'm unsure what other tests I can run to diagnose the issue.

Update

I just tried to run Ubuntu via a bootable USB key. It froze at the screen where I choose between "Install Ubuntu" or "Try Ubuntu".

Update 1

After updating to Ubuntu 24.04, the frequency of freezing seems to have reduced. I let it playing YouTube video over night and it was still running in the morning. Yet it still occurs at random time. For example, the last time it freezes, I was just trying to editing this post a minute ago.

I have also visited a Dell computer repair shop. The technician there tested my hard drive and believe it is OK. When I suggested to replace the motherboard, he told me it does not worth the money since this is an old computer.

Fortunately I have another laptop which I can use so I will be using that one from now on.