Ubuntu unusably slow after install, fine on LiveCD

[cephalopods]

I am (attempting) to run ubuntu 12.10 on a ThinkPad T530. I am typing this message on it running from a LiveCD. It works wonderfully - wireless works without trouble, special function keys respond, and the gui is crisp and responsive. Sadly, this is not the ubuntu I get when I install alongside windows 7 from this very same disk. I have gone through the upgrade/reinstall procedure to 12.10 several times on this computer, and every time it is the same. When booting into ubuntu from the harddrive, it is unusably slow/freezy.

Hitting tab to autocomplete in terminal takes 5-10 seconds to generate a completion. The graphics for switching windows freezes mid-transition. Clicking into a text field on a webpage I have to wait 5-10 seconds before any text I type shows up or the mouse changes from a pointer to the text cursor. Typing in a text file will just stop displaying what I type after a few words, then the words typed in the meantime show up seconds later all at once. It is incredibly frustrating to try and get anything done.

Since it works fine from the disk and only displays these problems after install, I've dubbed it an installation problem. Running from the cd/flashdrive all the time is sadly not very practical. Any ideas on what might cause this or how I can fix it?

[offgridguy]

I am (attempting) to run ubuntu 12.10 on a ThinkPad T530. I am typing this message on it running from a LiveCD. It works wonderfully - wireless works without trouble, special function keys respond, and the gui is crisp and responsive. Sadly, this is not the ubuntu I get when I install alongside windows 7 from this very same disk. I have gone through the upgrade/reinstall procedure to 12.10 several times on this computer, and every time it is the same. When booting into ubuntu from the harddrive, it is unusably slow/freezy.

Hitting tab to autocomplete in terminal takes 5-10 seconds to generate a completion. The graphics for switching windows freezes mid-transition. Clicking into a text field on a webpage I have to wait 5-10 seconds before any text I type shows up or the mouse changes from a pointer to the text cursor. Typing in a text file will just stop displaying what I type after a few words, then the words typed in the meantime show up seconds later all at once. It is incredibly frustrating to try and get anything done.

Since it works fine from the disk and only displays these problems after install, I've dubbed it an installation problem. Running from the cd/flashdrive all the time is sadly not very practical. Any ideas on what might cause this or how I can fix it?
I would try another download, burn another CD and try that.

[ahallubuntu]

This is a dual boot installation right? Windows and Ubuntu on the same drive? How much disk space did you allocate for Ubuntu?

In Ubuntu, please open a terminal and type:


sudo parted -l

and


free -m

You might also start this in a terminal (it will fresh itself - hit Ctrl C to end it).


top

The processes that use the most CPU are at the top. What are they and what %CPU do they show?

[cephalopods]

It is indeed a dual boot setup, with the Ubuntu partition at ~307 gigs on a 500 gigabyte harddrive.
Requested output:

For sudo parted -l :


Model: ATA TOSHIBA MK5061GS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 1049kB 1574MB 1573MB primary ntfs boot
2 1574MB 165GB 163GB primary ntfs
4 165GB 485GB 321GB extended
5 165GB 472GB 307GB logical ext4
6 472GB 485GB 13.5GB logical
3 485GB 500GB 14.7GB primary ntfs


Model: Linux device-mapper (crypt) (dm)
Disk /dev/mapper/cryptswap1: 13.5GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: loop

Number Start End Size File system Flags
1 0.00B 13.5GB 13.5GB linux-swap(v1)

free -m:


total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 7711 2177 5533 0 56 1012
-/+ buffers/cache: 1108 6603
Swap: 12912 0 12912


For top, a sample of what I'm seeing over a couple minutes:


1189 root 20 0 200m 19m 7060 S 4.6 0.3 0:49.59 Xorg
2469 nathan 20 0 528m 20m 12m S 3.7 0.3 0:02.76 gnome-terminal
3711 nathan 20 0 930m 81m 21m S 2.3 1.1 0:18.70 chrome
2077 nathan 20 0 1292m 90m 30m S 1.7 1.2 0:34.94 compiz
2793 nathan 20 0 476m 30m 20m S 1.0 0.4 0:34.38 chrome
1176 avahi 20 0 33604 2948 1484 S 0.7 0.0 0:37.14 avahi-daemon
2325 nathan 20 0 677m 100m 41m S 0.7 1.3 0:51.52 chrome
419 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.3 0.0 0:01.34 kworker/0:2
2053 nathan 20 0 981m 20m 13m S 0.3 0.3 0:02.21 gnome-settings-
2085 nathan 20 0 20208 948 772 S 0.3 0.0 0:02.07 syndaemon
2233 nathan 20 0 306m 11m 9072 S 0.3 0.2 0:01.08 gtk-window-deco
2246 nathan 20 0 349m 5136 3540 S 0.3 0.1 0:04.72 hud-service
2787 nathan 20 0 314m 20m 14m S 0.3 0.3 0:02.79 chrome
1 root 20 0 24600 2604 1396 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.94 init
2 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 kthreadd
3 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.21 ksoftirqd/0
6 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.14 migration/0
7 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.02 watchdog/0

The percentages bob up and down a bit, but generally everything is staying in the single digits. The top is typically Xorg or chrome.

I also created a new USB to boot from, but I want to hold off on trying a new install until I see if this troubleshooting can get anywhere.

[ahallubuntu]

OK, you've got plenty of disk space, huge swap space, plenty of RAM, etc. CPU use sounds not unusually high.

I'd also check the hard drive. Install GSmartControl:


sudo apt-get install gsmartcontrol

start it up, and check the Attributes tab (these are S.M.A.R.T. Attributes saved by the hard drive's firmware). Any Attributes highlighted in pink? If so, which ones? If none are highlighted in pink the drive probably isn't failing.

[cephalopods]

Attributes in pink: Reallocated Sector Count and Reallocation Event Count. I've attached a screenshot of the whole attributes page if any further details from that report are helpful.

[cephalopods]

Worked beautifully on a new harddrive, and even more so now on a solid state drive. After several months there have been no signs of any of the original symptoms, so it looks like that was indeed the problem. Thanks all for your help!