If your system crashes at random intervals, perform a memory test by pressing Escape at the prompt when the system is booting, and selecting the "memory test" option.
If your system crashes when a particular action occurs, and this is repeatable every time, try the following steps:
Try to reproduce the crash on a text console (Control+Alt+F1) if possible
When the crash occurs, press Alt+SysRq+1 followed by Alt+SysRq+t. If using a text console, you should see a trace dumped to the screen. If the system is sufficiently alive, it will also be logged to /var/log/kern.log and visible in the output from dmesg. This information shows where the crash occurred, and should be included in any problem reports
From AnthonyBarker Tue Feb 22 04:33:22 +0000 2005 From: Anthony Barker Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 04:33:22 +0000 Subject: Bios configuration Message-ID: <20050222043322+0000@https://www.ubuntulinux.org>
I would recommend entering the Bios and changing the settings to default/fail safe. After troubleshooting strange video crashes on my computer for 2 weeks it turned out it was the AGP settings in the BIOS.