Hey, all, Sorry that this will not be an extremely clear question, but I really have no idea where to start, or what the problem is.
Basically, my system is running "fine" (no overt problems), but about every 30 seconds or so, it 'pauses' to do something, and I have to wait for 5-10 seconds while it does it before I can go further. Or the display pauses, and I have to wait for the redraw , I can't tell which. The system is still running during these pauses, but if I'm typing this mail, for example, the letters I typed during the pause will not appear until the system resumes (or resumes displaying). If I then backspace to remove the typos I made when I couldn't see what I was typing, if a pause occurs during the repeated backspace hitting, I have to stop and wait, since I can't know where the cursor actually is until it again active. Gkrellm's animated displays pause during the pauses as well (which is a bit useful, so that I know when they're happening). Changing desktops is delayed, Page down in word processors is delayed, activities in the console are delayed. Heck, even dragging cards around in AisleRiot is delayed by these stupid unattributable pauses. Memory and CPU use are not bizarre, I have a lot of processes going, but nothing weird or unexpected seems to be running if I can trust top and gnome-system-monitor. Since all the problems seem to be related to the X server, maybe it's an X problem; I'm currently using the VESA driver, as I wanted to get a clean install of the new ATI drivers when I compile the next kernel (2.13-r5, I'm using 2.13-r4 atm). I'm not using anything but 2D applications atm, though (of course, since I have no 3D-capable drivers available). But maybe it's a kernel scheduling problem. Or maybe gamin sucks, halting the whole system while it updates the file tree. I really have no idea, and if it wasn't so very annoying, I wouldn't post such a formless plea for help, but if this rings a bell with anyone, I'd appreciate a nudge/push/shove in the right direction. Thanks, Holly -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
