Linux Installation/Optimization/Fixing Tip

Make sure that the default install sets up a swap partition or swap file (apparently Ubuntu has been going with the latter in recent versions).

For some reason, my recent install of Lubuntu didn't create a partition and created a miniscule file (I don't remember the size, but it was megabytes, not gigabytes, in size -- the rule of thumb I've seen is "three times the size of the machine's RAM"). Which probably (hopefully!) explains why the machine kept freezing up at inopportune moments.

It's FOSS has a nice, easy to follow tutorial on how to create or resize your swap file (including checking what's already there).