Lockup Issue (Not sure where to put this)

[Mandrake]

Heya! Ok, so I've only had a couple of instances where the system "hangs" - and it's only when I'm installing weird software (like for my synthesizer, or some Steam update or what have you) so it's not like this is a huge problem, but I do think it should be looked at for the reasons that will become obvious:
The System will start "graying out" one window after the other over time as it loses stability on those programs. However, the overall environment remains. You can still move the mouse, 3D Cube works, etc. But, Trying to launch a terminal gives an error, trying to use ctl-alt-del gives an 'unable to run command...' error. Clicking on the menu will begin to open it, then it closes and takes the dock along with it. Trying to open the Applications menu from the top, then takes out the top panel, and the mouse cursor is permanently the rotating circles.
Here's the part that I really think needs attention: Alt-F1 will get you to the main console, but it fails over to blank screen with unresponsive cursor after typing name at login and pressing Enter. Alt-F2 - F3, etc. do nothing. There are not other consoles to access. I have checked, and while running stable/normal, those are accessible as under any other system.

Anyway, it's not a huge deal. It's only happened twice out of the many, many times I've booted up a session, but I thought I should bring it up. My system is about as basic as it gets, and it normally functions amazingly well:
Processor Intel Core i5-5300U 1 physical processor; 2 cores; 4 threads
Memory 16278MB (1909MB used)
Display Intel HD Graphics 5500
Audio HDA-Intel

I've been extremely happy with performance on this old Toughbook, so this is just some reporting that I hope is useful. Have a good one!