gnome-session Fatal IO Error 11

I have a box running Debian Wheezy:

3.2.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.2.51-1 x86_64 GNU/Linux

This box is being used as a cash register. Openbravo POS 2.30.2 (written in Java) is the only graphical program used each day.

Hardware in use: ELO touchscreen (USB), bar code scanner (USB), and Epson receipt printer (USB).

Every Friday and Saturday (our busiest days), this box goes down on average once per day with the �gnome-session Fatal IO Error 11�. It would be really, really nice if this didn't happen. The box hasn't gone down on the other days of the week (which are less busy).

As far as I know, this error doesn't actually indicate a problem with gnome-session; the actual problem is that X crashed. I'm having trouble understanding exactly why this is so for two reasons. Firstly, the hardware is Intel; the graphics are onboard only, and the driver in use is the nouveau driver. Shouldn't this be a stable setup? Secondly, there is little to no logged information that is of use. Logging that the gnome-session failed is not particularly helpful.

According to the BIOS update utility (found in the BIOS- checks with a server), the BIOS is up to date.

1. How much time do I have to obtain the Xorg.0.log / Xorg.0.log.old / .xsession-errors files before they are erased / overwritten? The system reboots every evening at 10pm.

2. Assuming that the Xorg / xsession-errors logs are being erased, can I change something so that records are kept further back without having to write a cron job?

3. What are some of the possible reasons this is occurring with the hardware in question? Could X be crashing because of the USB hardware?

General advice not specifically related to this crash is welcome. I have considered using that other operating system to avoid all of these problems, but I really would rather not go that route if it can be avoided.

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