I recently received a 2003 Dell Optiplex for free. It had Windows 2000, I immediately installed Ubuntu. My plans are to make this an always on media server and network pc. The only problem is every now and then the computer goes to a standby state and will not come back. It does this on its own, and usually when under stress, opening a program, or writing to a cd. What would you recommend I do to diagnose and remedy this problem? I have not experienced it yet while running Ubuntu, could that have fixed the problem?

Thanks,

napiztraM

Start with looking for possible 'heat' problems...fans not working, dust bunnies taking over the world, etc. Don't forget to check the PSU, too.

I'd also change the CMOS battery...just because your should expect about 3-5 years from it and well...

If it has any kind of power management settings in the BIOS...disable them. Let the OS control things.

The final thing to look at would be the power supply...how big is it (# of Watts), is it putting out proper voltages (I don't know what kind of voltage monitoring that Dell BIOS offers...), is its fan working, etc.

Thanks, mjc.

I hope it is the battery, I heard they can do funny things when they go.

I doubt its a heat issue, b/c it sometimes happens not long after system start.

If that doesnt work I will try to swap in my other Dell's power supply and see how it runs.

New battery and it still does this, on to test the power supply

I tried a known working power supply, and that didnt solve anything any ideas?

I doubt it is due to a overheating issue, the CPU fan is working and i can't feel any heat coming out of the machine.

Thanks,

:confused: napiztraM