RE: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Denniston, Todd A CIV NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane 
 -Original Message-
 From: Steve Litt [mailto:sl...@troubleshooters.com]
 Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 5:16 PM
 To: lyx-users@lists.lyx.org
 Subject: Re: LyX freezes periodically
 
 On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
 David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 
  Hi,
 
  When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
  LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
  about once a minute.
SNIP


Along with an earlier query about the instant preview of math;
Do you have the 'outline' view open?
it caused some slowdowns a couple of years ago for me, but I thought it got 
fixed, instead of me just avoiding it.

 
  Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
  to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
  place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.
 
 First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
 see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
 program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource).
SNIP Steve's good advice for testing.

I would suggest augmenting Steve's test with running `top` (updating every 
second or two, because the issues last less than 3-5 seconds) in a terminal 
next to your LyX instance during all the tests.  This way you might notice some 
external program being fired up and using a lot of cpu/memory or see the cpu(s) 
going into IO wait, during the pauses.

If you have not used top before, you might want to run and watch top for a few 
minutes with nothing else going, so you can get used to the rhythm and values 
of your computer's operation when quiet and thus have a better feel for what is 
not being quiet when you have issues.


Even when this disclaimer is not here:
I am not a contracting officer. I do not have authority to make or modify the 
terms of any contract.

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Wolfgang Keller 
  When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
  LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5
  seconds about once a minute. 

Can you switch to other running applications during those 4-5 seconds?
Are those applications responsive or are they frozen, too?
 
 Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Duh!

Have you ever tried to work with Windows? It's normal there. With *any*
application.

Cause (on Windows): Some background process (virus scanner, file system
indexer) doing I/O, which in turn makes Windows turn back to
(non-)cooperative multitasking, i.e. until the background process
releases some system-wide lock, the whole system freezes.

Sincerely,

Wolfgang

RE: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Denniston, Todd A CIV NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane 
 -Original Message-
 From: Steve Litt [mailto:sl...@troubleshooters.com]
 Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 5:16 PM
 To: lyx-users@lists.lyx.org
 Subject: Re: LyX freezes periodically
 
 On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
 David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 
  Hi,
 
  When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
  LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
  about once a minute.
SNIP


Along with an earlier query about the instant preview of math;
Do you have the 'outline' view open?
it caused some slowdowns a couple of years ago for me, but I thought it got 
fixed, instead of me just avoiding it.

 
  Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
  to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
  place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.
 
 First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
 see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
 program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource).
SNIP Steve's good advice for testing.

I would suggest augmenting Steve's test with running `top` (updating every 
second or two, because the issues last less than 3-5 seconds) in a terminal 
next to your LyX instance during all the tests.  This way you might notice some 
external program being fired up and using a lot of cpu/memory or see the cpu(s) 
going into IO wait, during the pauses.

If you have not used top before, you might want to run and watch top for a few 
minutes with nothing else going, so you can get used to the rhythm and values 
of your computer's operation when quiet and thus have a better feel for what is 
not being quiet when you have issues.


Even when this disclaimer is not here:
I am not a contracting officer. I do not have authority to make or modify the 
terms of any contract.

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Wolfgang Keller 
  When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
  LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5
  seconds about once a minute. 

Can you switch to other running applications during those 4-5 seconds?
Are those applications responsive or are they frozen, too?
 
 Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Duh!

Have you ever tried to work with Windows? It's normal there. With *any*
application.

Cause (on Windows): Some background process (virus scanner, file system
indexer) doing I/O, which in turn makes Windows turn back to
(non-)cooperative multitasking, i.e. until the background process
releases some system-wide lock, the whole system freezes.

Sincerely,

Wolfgang

RE: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Denniston, Todd A CIV NAVSURFWARCENDIV Crane 
> -Original Message-
> From: Steve Litt [mailto:sl...@troubleshooters.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 5:16 PM
> To: lyx-users@lists.lyx.org
> Subject: Re: LyX freezes periodically
> 
> On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
> David Belius <david.bel...@cantab.net> wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> >
> > When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
> > LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
> > about once a minute.



Along with an earlier query about the instant preview of math;
Do you have the 'outline' view open?


> >
> > Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
> > to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
> > place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.
> 
> First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
> see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
> program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource).


I would suggest augmenting Steve's test with running `top` (updating every 
second or two, because the issues last less than 3-5 seconds) in a terminal 
next to your LyX instance during all the tests.  This way you might notice some 
external program being fired up and using a lot of cpu/memory or see the cpu(s) 
going into IO wait, during the pauses.

If you have not used top before, you might want to run and watch top for a few 
minutes with nothing else going, so you can get used to the rhythm and values 
of your computer's operation when quiet and thus have a better feel for what is 
not being quiet when you have issues.


Even when this disclaimer is not here:
I am not a contracting officer. I do not have authority to make or modify the 
terms of any contract.

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-19 Thread Wolfgang Keller 
> > When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
> > LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5
> > seconds about once a minute. 

Can you switch to other running applications during those 4-5 seconds?
Are those applications responsive or are they frozen, too?
 
> Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Duh!

Have you ever tried to work with Windows? It's normal there. With *any*
application.

Cause (on Windows): Some background process (virus scanner, file system
indexer) doing I/O, which in turn makes Windows turn back to
(non-)"cooperative" multitasking, i.e. until the background process
releases some system-wide "lock", the whole system freezes.

Sincerely,

Wolfgang

LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
Hi,

When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
at once.

Here are the details of my setup:
OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
LyX version: 2.0.6

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.

Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

Best Regards,
David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread gordon_cooper 

  The nearest thing I have had to your problem was the
computer running out of memory during calculations. It was
a software issue where the program was using blocks of
virtual memory on the hard drive, but forgetting to release
them.  It was not Lyx, but a Windows based CAD application.
Keystrokes were being accepted but did not appear  on
screen for  several seconds.

However with 16gb of ram available this should not happen to you.

Gordon.
On 19/12/13 08:38, David Belius wrote:

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram)

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Liviu Andronic 
On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 Hi,

 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations.

Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?

Liviu


 During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
 When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
 at once.

 Here are the details of my setup:
 OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
 LyX version: 2.0.6

 It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
 other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
 my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.

 Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
 to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
 place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

 Best Regards,
 David



-- 
Do you know how to read?
http://www.alienetworks.com/srtest.cfm
http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/xfce4-dict#speed-reader
Do you know how to write?
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/~garbl/stylemanual/e.htm#e-mail

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
2013/12/18 Liviu Andronic landronim...@gmail.com:
 On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 Hi,

 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations.

 Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?

 Liviu


I have never had instant preview enabled (I did not know this option existed).

David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Steve Litt 
On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:

 Hi,
 
 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. 

Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Luckily although this is technically an intermittent problem, the
frequency with which it occurs will aid you in troubleshooting.

 It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
 When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
 at once.
 
 Here are the details of my setup:
 OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
 LyX version: 2.0.6
 
 It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
 other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
 my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.
 
 Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
 to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
 place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource). 

If it still happens after rebooting and running only LyX, just for fun
do disk tests (smartctl et. al.) to see if a disk is starting to fail.
I've seen failing disks do what you're talking about.

If the disk isn't implicated try repeatedly splitting the LyX file in
half to see if you can isolate a small section that causes the problem.

If you can't find a section causing the problem, reboot with a Ubuntu
live CD, install LyX 2.0.6 on the live distro, mount the partition on
which your LyX file resides, and edit it. If the problem still occurs,
that points a very accusing finger at hardware, because you've swapped
out every last bit of software. Redo your disk tests, do a memory
tester, ask your hardware-smart friends for more tests.

If it doesn't seem to be hardware and none of the preceding tests have
narrowed it down, it's time to do more time consuming tests. Make a
program log file that records the output of vmstat every second, along
with the time. Run LyX from an X terminal so you can see messages. Then
edit your program, writing down with pencil and paper the exact time
(have a clock on the screen) when freezes start and stop. Compare
freeze times to the log file. Maybe have a copy of top, or better yet
htop, running on the screen where you can see it (obviously you're going
to be doing your LyX editing in a small window).

If none of the preceding work, it's time for Hail Marys:
Prophylactically install a different LyX version and the like. Also, be
thinking of other diagnostic tests to narrow down the root cause scope.

Best of luck,

SteveT

Steve Litt*  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance

LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
Hi,

When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
at once.

Here are the details of my setup:
OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
LyX version: 2.0.6

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.

Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

Best Regards,
David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread gordon_cooper 

  The nearest thing I have had to your problem was the
computer running out of memory during calculations. It was
a software issue where the program was using blocks of
virtual memory on the hard drive, but forgetting to release
them.  It was not Lyx, but a Windows based CAD application.
Keystrokes were being accepted but did not appear  on
screen for  several seconds.

However with 16gb of ram available this should not happen to you.

Gordon.
On 19/12/13 08:38, David Belius wrote:

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram)

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Liviu Andronic 
On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 Hi,

 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations.

Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?

Liviu


 During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
 When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
 at once.

 Here are the details of my setup:
 OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
 LyX version: 2.0.6

 It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
 other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
 my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.

 Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
 to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
 place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

 Best Regards,
 David



-- 
Do you know how to read?
http://www.alienetworks.com/srtest.cfm
http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/xfce4-dict#speed-reader
Do you know how to write?
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/~garbl/stylemanual/e.htm#e-mail

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
2013/12/18 Liviu Andronic landronim...@gmail.com:
 On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:
 Hi,

 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations.

 Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?

 Liviu


I have never had instant preview enabled (I did not know this option existed).

David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Steve Litt 
On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
David Belius david.bel...@cantab.net wrote:

 Hi,
 
 When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
 LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
 about once a minute. 

Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Luckily although this is technically an intermittent problem, the
frequency with which it occurs will aid you in troubleshooting.

 It seems to happen more often when I am editing
 equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
 When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
 at once.
 
 Here are the details of my setup:
 OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
 LyX version: 2.0.6
 
 It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
 other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
 my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.
 
 Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
 to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
 place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource). 

If it still happens after rebooting and running only LyX, just for fun
do disk tests (smartctl et. al.) to see if a disk is starting to fail.
I've seen failing disks do what you're talking about.

If the disk isn't implicated try repeatedly splitting the LyX file in
half to see if you can isolate a small section that causes the problem.

If you can't find a section causing the problem, reboot with a Ubuntu
live CD, install LyX 2.0.6 on the live distro, mount the partition on
which your LyX file resides, and edit it. If the problem still occurs,
that points a very accusing finger at hardware, because you've swapped
out every last bit of software. Redo your disk tests, do a memory
tester, ask your hardware-smart friends for more tests.

If it doesn't seem to be hardware and none of the preceding tests have
narrowed it down, it's time to do more time consuming tests. Make a
program log file that records the output of vmstat every second, along
with the time. Run LyX from an X terminal so you can see messages. Then
edit your program, writing down with pencil and paper the exact time
(have a clock on the screen) when freezes start and stop. Compare
freeze times to the log file. Maybe have a copy of top, or better yet
htop, running on the screen where you can see it (obviously you're going
to be doing your LyX editing in a small window).

If none of the preceding work, it's time for Hail Marys:
Prophylactically install a different LyX version and the like. Also, be
thinking of other diagnostic tests to narrow down the root cause scope.

Best of luck,

SteveT

Steve Litt*  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance

LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
Hi,

When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
at once.

Here are the details of my setup:
OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
LyX version: 2.0.6

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.

Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

Best Regards,
David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread gordon_cooper 

  The nearest thing I have had to your problem was the
computer running out of memory during calculations. It was
a software issue where the program was using blocks of
virtual memory on the hard drive, but forgetting to release
them.  It was not Lyx, but a Windows based CAD application.
Keystrokes were being accepted but did not appear  on
screen for  several seconds.

However with 16gb of ram available this should not happen to you.

Gordon.
On 19/12/13 08:38, David Belius wrote:

It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram)

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Liviu Andronic 
On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius  wrote:
> Hi,
>
> When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
> LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
> about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
> equations.
>
Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?

Liviu


> During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
> When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
> at once.
>
> Here are the details of my setup:
> OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
> LyX version: 2.0.6
>
> It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
> other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
> my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.
>
> Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
> to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
> place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.
>
> Best Regards,
> David



-- 
Do you know how to read?
http://www.alienetworks.com/srtest.cfm
http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/xfce4-dict#speed-reader
Do you know how to write?
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/~garbl/stylemanual/e.htm#e-mail

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread David Belius 
2013/12/18 Liviu Andronic :
> On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM, David Belius  wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
>> LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
>> about once a minute. It seems to happen more often when I am editing
>> equations.
>>
> Have you tried disabling instant preview for equations?
>
> Liviu
>

I have never had instant preview enabled (I did not know this option existed).

David

Re: LyX freezes periodically

2013-12-18 Thread Steve Litt 
On Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:10 -0500
David Belius  wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> When working on a specific large document (about 50 pages as a PDF),
> LyX does a very annoying thing where it freezes for about 4-5 seconds
> about once a minute. 

Now *that's* a pain in the ass!

Luckily although this is technically an intermittent problem, the
frequency with which it occurs will aid you in troubleshooting.

> It seems to happen more often when I am editing
> equations. During the freeze the screen does not update when I type.
> When the freeze is over whatever I typed during the freeze appears all
> at once.
> 
> Here are the details of my setup:
> OS: CentOS Release 6.4  / Linux Kernel 2.6.32-358.18.1.el6.x86_64
> LyX version: 2.0.6
> 
> It is a powerful computer (12 Intel i7 cores and 16gb of ram), and
> other applications do not freeze. When working on the same document on
> my laptop (Thinkpad running Ubuntu) the freezes do not occur.
> 
> Does anyone have any idea of how to fix this problem, or at least how
> to debug it? I have downloaded the source code and tried to find the
> place where it gets stuck, but to no avail.

First test. Reboot the machine, run nothing else except X and LyX, and
see if it still happens. If not, it's an interaction with some other
program, so you'd need to find what (top would be a good resource). 

If it still happens after rebooting and running only LyX, just for fun
do disk tests (smartctl et. al.) to see if a disk is starting to fail.
I've seen failing disks do what you're talking about.

If the disk isn't implicated try repeatedly splitting the LyX file in
half to see if you can isolate a small section that causes the problem.

If you can't find a section causing the problem, reboot with a Ubuntu
live CD, install LyX 2.0.6 on the live distro, mount the partition on
which your LyX file resides, and edit it. If the problem still occurs,
that points a very accusing finger at hardware, because you've swapped
out every last bit of software. Redo your disk tests, do a memory
tester, ask your hardware-smart friends for more tests.

If it doesn't seem to be hardware and none of the preceding tests have
narrowed it down, it's time to do more time consuming tests. Make a
program log file that records the output of vmstat every second, along
with the time. Run LyX from an X terminal so you can see messages. Then
edit your program, writing down with pencil and paper the exact time
(have a clock on the screen) when freezes start and stop. Compare
freeze times to the log file. Maybe have a copy of top, or better yet
htop, running on the screen where you can see it (obviously you're going
to be doing your LyX editing in a small window).

If none of the preceding work, it's time for Hail Marys:
Prophylactically install a different LyX version and the like. Also, be
thinking of other diagnostic tests to narrow down the root cause scope.

Best of luck,

SteveT

Steve Litt*  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance