system shutdown running scripts??

im running blender on ubuntu 8.04,Accer aspire 5315,2ghzintel celeron ,2gb ram,intel x3100 graphics chip.i used to be able to run scripts fine,but since an upgrade certain scripts crash my machine,wich i find highly unusual for linux!!for instance ill run the lsystem script make a tree,and after the tree appears i get a scrambled screen,then a blank screen with a blinking cursor,how can i fix this?
help would be appreciated!:eek:
Rick

What update did that? Maybe a Python update or an update that affected Python? (Such as to Python 3?)

no i havent updated python.i had an automatic update that included video drivers!
and i think thats the culprit but im not sure,just before my system crashes the screen goes all scraggy.:frowning: