Computer hangs when I view Properties

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#1

I hope I’ve posted this in the correct place.

I scanned some PDFs on a Windows box, then copied them to my flash drive. I noticed that the computer kept hanging as I attempted several times. Then I copied the files to my Linux box. I also had some problems then, too.

Now, the first time I view Properties on a file, it works. Then I view Properties on a second file, the file manager hangs. This happens with any file, not just the PDFs I copied.

What have I done? I can see that if the files are corrupted, there might be some problems working with them. But even after I restart my computer, this hanging happens consistently (on the second file viewed).

Thanks in advance for any help.

#2

So you need to tell us more:

  1. openSUSE Version, 11.3, 11.4 or 12.1
  2. System Type: 32 or 64 bit
  3. Desktop Used: GNOME, KDE etc…
  4. Kernel Version, 2.6.34, 2.6.37, 3.0 or 3.1
  5. Computer Make & Model running Linux
  6. How Long has this computer been running Linux?
  7. Was there any problems before trying to view PDF files?

Consider that there may be no connection and realize that all computers just work great, until they stop working properly. Often unrelated to anything you may have just done. But, we will try to help and get to the bottom of the issues if we can. Many times, things that do not make sense are the result of several problems going on at the same time, which is why it seems to be crazy for some reason. Answer these questions and lets see what we can do.

Thank You,

#3

Hi James–

Thanks so much.

  1. openSuse 11.4
  2. 32 bit
  3. GNOME
  4. 2.6.37.6-0.7-desktop
  5. HP Pavilion zv5000 (5-year-old laptop, 1250GB RAM, 64bit Athlon)
  6. running Linux about 4? years, at least 2 on openSuse
  7. problem came today, immediately after copying the PDF files and viewing their properties. I can still view the actual files and other files okay. It became a problem when I tried to view the Properties of the PDF files, and then the problem spread to all files. I notice that the Windows box started to have problems, too, after working with these PDFs.

I don’t think there is any malware, because I generated the PDFs myself, using an attached scanner. Restarting the computer doesn’t help. I found a thread on a Windows forum that talks about file extensions and resetting the registry. But the file extensions are all “pdf”. I’m no longer near the Windows box, so I can’t try that just now. But how could a PDF file have changed a setting in my File Manager?

BTW, I can’t edit my previous post, but if I could, I would replace “computer” with “file manager.” The computer works okay, except that the file manager hangs. I am able to Force Quit the window and logout/restart, and when it logs out, there’s a box saying the File Manager is still running, even though there are no open windows on my Desktop.

Thanks again,
xpacker

#4

Hi James–

Thanks so much.

  1. openSuse 11.4
  2. 32 bit
  3. GNOME
  4. 2.6.37.6-0.7-desktop
  5. HP Pavilion zv5000 (5-year-old laptop, 1250GB RAM, 64bit Athlon)
  6. running Linux about 4? years, at least 2 on openSuse
  7. problem came today, immediately after copying the PDF files and viewing their properties. I can still view the actual files and other files okay. It became a problem when I tried to view the Properties of the PDF files, and then the problem spread to all files. I notice that the Windows box started to have problems, too, after working with these PDFs.

I don’t think there is any malware, because I generated the PDFs myself, using an attached scanner. Restarting the computer doesn’t help. I found a thread on a Windows forum that talks about file extensions and resetting the registry. But the file extensions are all “pdf”. I’m no longer near the Windows box, so I can’t try that just now. But how could a PDF file have changed a setting in my File Manager?

BTW, I can’t edit my previous post, but if I could, I would replace “computer” with “file manager.” The computer works okay, except that the file manager hangs. I am able to Force Quit the window and logout/restart, and when it logs out, there’s a box saying the File Manager is still running, even though there are no open windows on my Desktop.

Thanks again,
xpacker

So, I don’t know where you placed these files, but I think I would just delete them and see if that helps. A five year old PC could just happen to have a disk or partition problem at the same time you placed the PDF files in the Linux partition. I can say that corrupted files might cause a file manager to lock up which is why I would remove these files and see what you get. You could even open up a terminal session. Use ls to get a directory and rm to get rid of a file. After doing an ls, you can even use your mouse to capture the file name, then type rm<space>filename where you use your mouse to paste the name. Select the text with your mouse, right click and pick copy, enter rm, then a space, right click your mouse and select paste. It can help remove files fast. It might be time to create a LiveCD, which you could boot from and then use a utility like GParted to check each partition or even use fsck, but on a partition that is not mounted. For more info, look at this link:

fsck(8): check/repair file system - Linux man page

You can find live CD for openSUSE here:

software.opensuse.org: Download openSUSE 11.4

You can find GParted here:

GParted – Live CD/USB/PXE/HD

So, remove these files and if no better, check out the partition in questions and get back with us on the results.

Thank You,

#5

> I generated the PDFs myself, using an attached scanner.

(i’m just guessing, and have no intention on stepping on James’ help
when i ask/offer)

sometimes scanners can make tremendously large files which may become
troublesome on some file systems, or machines with limited RAM…i
wonder how large these PDFs are, and what file system was in use on the
Windows machine…and, i wonder which version of Windows was on that
machine…and, i wonder if you could better describe “the [Windows]
computer kept hanging” several times while copying the files to your USB
stick…that is, did it stop transferring or just take an unexpectly
long time in transferring??

finally, it would be nice to know if that MS machine is infected in some
way (which i will explain, eventually)…

> The computer works okay, except that the file manager hangs.

i guess that file manager is Nautilus (is it? what file manager/version
are you using? and what GNOME are you using 2 or 3?)…so, maybe you
have found a bug in Nautilus, but on the other hand that doesn’t explain
the problems on the MS machine, does it?

i’m thinking maybe because of the file size and file system in use on
the MS box the file properties were garbled in some strange way which is
confusing Nautilus and messing it up…

i wonder if Dolphin would react the same way…and, i wonder what it is
about those files which is so upsetting to Nautilus…so, don’t throw
them away, because the GNOME developers may want a copy to also dig into
this problem…

and, i wonder if someone out there has discovered a Nautilus frailty in
reacting to certain PDF file irregularities and have crafted a Windows
…exe to build files which might attack though that vector…

last, i wonder if you would be willing to upload one of those files to
paste.opensuse.org and post its url here (i’d like to see how Nautilus
and/or konqueror react to it)…i’d ask for that first file you opened
in Linux which seemed to then affect the ability to open the second…

finally: THANKS for such a compelling problem to ponder!

–
DD
Caveat
openSUSE®, the “German Automobiles” of operating systems

#6

Thanks, James-- I’ll try removing/checking when I have a chunk of time. These things take me awhile.

DD, I’m trying to remember the difficulty I had copying the files to flash. I think the Windows computer just sat there the first couple of times I tried to copy, then finally copied them to flash. When it did copy, the process seemed normal.

The files are all between 1-2 MB. I don’t know if that’s considered huge. But the Windows box has 8GB RAM, so I would have thought it would be sufficient. I tried uploading to paste.opensuse.org, but I couldn’t figure out how to paste a PDF. It’s neither code nor image (at least, not jpg/gif/etc). Am I doing something wrong?

Yes, I am using Nautilus, on the default Gnome for 11.4. I haven’t figured out how to find the Gnome version. I think it’s 3.

#7

On 09/20/2011 04:36 PM, xpacker wrote:
>
> I tried uploading to paste.opensuse.org, but I couldn’t
> figure out how to paste a PDF. It’s neither code nor image (at least,
> not jpg/gif/etc). Am I doing something wrong?

heh, i tried it too…nope you can’t upload a pdf there…you might
want to get yourself a free account and any of the billions of places
now offering free file sharing (google: file sharing) lots of folks i
know use DropBox <www.dropbox.com> where you can drop a file in a public
folder and then anyone can get to it…just let us know where you put it…

oh, and if you still know the source URL for the original, i’d like to
fetch the original AND a copy of the one which you have and compare them
here…as well as see how they affect my konqueror, adobe, okular,
and dolphin…

> Yes, I am using Nautilus, on the default Gnome for 11.4. I haven’t
> figured out how to find the Gnome version. I think it’s 3.

i used gnome about six or seven years ago, so i’m not sure, but i guess
if you open nautilus and go to the menu > Help > About it will give you
both the version of nautilus you are using as well as the version of
gnome…maybe.

–
DD
Caveat
openSUSE®, the “German Automobiles” of operating systems

#8

Hi DD–

Sorry for the delay – I was in China! I am using Gnome 2.32.0. And here is the link to one of the files. (I know it’s Linux heresy not to use Dropbox, but SugarSync gives a lot of free storage. For public files, it’s how I do it.)

https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6341061_614_792538289

I’m not quite sure what you are asking here. I generated the PDFs myself, using my mother’s Windows box and its attached scanner. I didn’t download them from the web. Is that what you mean?

Thanks again for your help,
xpacker

#9

On 10/24/2011 04:26 PM, xpacker wrote:
>
> Sorry for the delay – I was in China!

eat any snake, cat or dog?

> https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6341061_614_792538289

everything i guess about that file was wrong: 1)it is not horrible large
(and filling your memory while causing Nautilus to fall over); 2) it
seems ok in every way (i checked properties on it, then several others,
looked at it, moved it around…etc etc etc)…

so, i now believe the problem has nothing to do with that PDF or where
it came from…

so, pay attention to James’ path…

–
DD
http://tinyurl.com/DD-Caveat
openSUSE®, the “German Automobiles” of operating systems

#10

Ok – I removed the (potentially) offending files and used GParted to check the root, home, and storage drives. All seems fine. But when I view properties on a file with >1 file inside, the File Manager hangs until I log out. Then I get a message saying the File Manager is not responding, so I Force Quit.

I’m wondering if there’s just some funky problem with Nautilus, that may magically resolve itself when I upgrade in a few days… But it would be nice to know exactly what the problem was.

#11

Hahaha. Not this time.

OK, I removed the potentially offending files, then used GParted to check the root, home, and storage drives – nothing seems amiss. But when I View Properties on directories containing >1 file, the File Manager hangs until I logout. Then I get a “File Manager not responding” message, so I force quit.

I’m wondering if there’s just some funky problem with Nautilus, that may resolve itself when I upgrade in a few days (new version!). But it would be nice to know what the problem is, so I could avoid it in the future…

#12

On 2011-09-18 02:36, xpacker wrote:
>
> I hope I’ve posted this in the correct place.
>
> I scanned some PDFs on a Windows box, then copied them to my flash
> drive. I noticed that the computer kept hanging as I attempted several
> times. Then I copied the files to my Linux box. I also had some
> problems then, too.
>
> Now, the first time I view Properties on a file, it works. Then I view
> Properties on a second file, the file manager hangs. This happens with
> any file, not just the PDFs I copied.

I would suspect that flash drive itself. Start with an fsck of it.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)

#13

Thanks, Carlos. I checked the flash drive, and there were no fixes. Just in case, I reformatted it. At any rate, the View Properties problem no longer exists, since I’ve upgraded to 12.1 and switched to KDE as well. I opened one of the PDF files, and it seems to have had no effect on Dolphin. Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions!