8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup

Bug #309311 reported by Niels Andersen
6
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
Ubuntu
Invalid
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspect the problem is caused by VPN, and next time I do a fresh install, I will reboot after each of my install steps, to confirm the machine will still boot. I am not using Ubuntu 8.10 because I haven't been able to get wireless to work under 8.10.

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Blinking caps often mean kernel panic. Can you try to purge kernel 2.6.24-22-generic from kernel 2.6.24-16-generic, reboot and then reinstall it?

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote : Re: [Bug 309311] Re: 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup

On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 7:09 AM, Claudio Moretti <email address hidden>wrote:

> Blinking caps often mean kernel panic. Can you try to purge kernel
> 2.6.24-22-generic from kernel 2.6.24-16-generic, reboot and then
> reinstall it?

How do I purge 2.6.24.22-generic? To reinstall after the reboot, do I use
Synaptic Package Manager? (I was an Oracle DBA for 9 years but I am not a
unix systems administrator).

Does Ubuntu 8.10 also use 2.6.24-22-generic?

I would move to 8.10 if I could get Wireless to work, and then I could
ignore my problem with blinking caps.

I am off to work, so I won't be able to look at this again until tonight.

Thanks for your help.

--
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line
> copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After
> initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow
> to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of
> the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and
> network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under
> wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during
> the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every
> single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspect the problem is caused by VPN, and next
> time I do a fresh install, I will reboot after each of my install steps, to
> confirm the machine will still boot. I am not using Ubuntu 8.10 because I
> haven't been able to get wireless to work under 8.10.
>

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Intrepid (8.10) uses 2.6.27 :)
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntrepidIbex/TechnicalOverview#Linux%20kernel%202.6.27

To purge the kernel you can use Synaptic or a Terminal:
in Synaptic, look for linux-headers-2.6.24-22-generic, linux-image-2.6.24-22-generic and linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24-22-generic; click on the green square near them and select "Mark for complete removal" (or something similar - I use Italian version and that's the nearest translation I can think about - It's the last option, though).
Reboot and then start your Update Manager from System > Administration > Update Manager; update repos and it will ask you to install the new kernel; you can also reinstall it from Synaptic.

The other way is: from a Terminal, launch "sudo apt-get purge linux-headers-2.6.24-22-generic linux-image-2.6.24-22-generic linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24-22-generic" (without quotes). You will be prompted for your password; enter it and, when it's finished, reboot.

At reboot, GRUB won't give you (obviously) the "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" option; boot with the other kernel and you'll be done :)

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :

Am I correct in assuming that the procedure you are outlining will remove
2.6.24-22 and then re-install it? Thanks.

On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 7:53 AM, Claudio Moretti <email address hidden>wrote:

> Intrepid (8.10) uses 2.6.27 :)
>
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntrepidIbex/TechnicalOverview#Linux%20kernel%202.6.27
>
> To purge the kernel you can use Synaptic or a Terminal:
> in Synaptic, look for linux-headers-2.6.24-22-generic,
> linux-image-2.6.24-22-generic and
> linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24-22-generic; click on the green square near
> them and select "Mark for complete removal" (or something similar - I use
> Italian version and that's the nearest translation I can think about - It's
> the last option, though).
> Reboot and then start your Update Manager from System > Administration >
> Update Manager; update repos and it will ask you to install the new kernel;
> you can also reinstall it from Synaptic.
>
> The other way is: from a Terminal, launch "sudo apt-get purge linux-
> headers-2.6.24-22-generic linux-image-2.6.24-22-generic linux-
> restricted-modules-2.6.24-22-generic" (without quotes). You will be
> prompted for your password; enter it and, when it's finished, reboot.
>
> At reboot, GRUB won't give you (obviously) the "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-22-generic" option; boot with the other kernel and you'll be done
> :)
>
> --
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line
> copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After
> initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow
> to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of
> the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and
> network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under
> wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during
> the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every
> single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspect the problem is caused by VPN, and next
> time I do a fresh install, I will reboot after each of my install steps, to
> confirm the machine will still boot. I am not using Ubuntu 8.10 because I
> haven't been able to get wireless to work under 8.10.
>

--
Niels Andersen
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Yes, you are. As I said in my first post:
"Can you try to purge kernel 2.6.24-22-generic from kernel 2.6.24-16-generic, reboot and then reinstall it?"
the only difference is that with the "purge" option you delete also configuration files, as Synaptic says; I have some friends that use Hardy (I'm on Jaunty alpha, now) and one of them had experienced a similar problem: he solved by purging and reinstalling the kernel; my opinion is that this issue may be caused by some kind of corruption or problem during the kernel installation and configuration, even if Ubuntu does not recognize it. I thought that, as he has an Aspire too (even if I don't remember if it was a 5100), that you may have experienced the same problem.

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Oh, sorry:
"[...]the only difference between the 'remove' and the 'purge' options (in the terminal) and between the 'Mark for removal' and 'Mark for complete removal' options is that with the 'purge' and 'Mark for complete removal' options you [...]"

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :
Download full text (3.4 KiB)

I purged the three 2.6.24-22 kernel modules you specified (Mark for complete
removal), and successfully rebooted the Acer Aspire 5100. Then I used
Synaptic to re-install the modules. I tried Update Manager first, but it
didn't advise me the new modules were available. I clicked the "Check"
button, but it still didn't see the new versions. There were nine 8.04
updates pending, but I ignored those, so as not to compromise my test.
After the re-installation, I re-booted the machine, and it booted
successfully this time with 2.6.24-22. However, I had no wireless
capability. The wireless router is one floor below my apartment, so wired
ethernet is not an option.

To restore wireless functionality, I had to "make" and "sudo make install"
the madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6 software, and I noticed that it updated the
2.6.24-22 kernel modules. When I rebooted with the 2.6.24-22 kernel after
the madwifi update, the boot stopped as before, with a blinking caps lock
(kernel panic). During the boot, the boot progress bar is displayed, and I
can watch the bar progress to about 95% boot completion before the kernel
panic.

Once my machine locked up (with the kernel panic), I turned it off by
holding down the power button, and then I rebooted with the 2.6.24-16
kernel, and that worked successfully. After completion of the boot and my
login, the wireless connected automatically, and my VPN definition was still
there.

This proves that it is the madwifi installation the corrupts the 2.6.24-22
kernel. I don't understand why it is necessary for the madwifi installation
to modify the 2.6.24-22 kernel, since the wireless connection works with the
unmodified 2.6.24-16 kernel. Obviously the madwifi installation also
creates configuration files and/or installs other software to get wireless
access working. I wonder if there is a way to partially install madwifi
without affecting the 2.6.24-22 kernel, but still enable wireless
functionality.

Comments?

Niels Andersen
Belleville, Ontario, Canada

You wrote:
>
> "[...]the only difference between the 'remove' and the 'purge' options (in
> the terminal) and between the 'Mark for removal' and 'Mark for complete
> removal' options is that with the 'purge' and 'Mark for complete removal'
> options you [...]"
>
> --
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line
> copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After
> initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow
> to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of
> the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and
> network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under
> wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during
> the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every
> single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspe...

Read more...

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Have you tried to install madwifi via synaptic?
if madwifi itself doesn't work, try with madwifi-dev (hope it exists); don't compile it yourself.
If you're not able to find it, be sure you have enabled universe repositories from System >Administration >Software Sources, then try to install it.

Can you also post the output of "lspci" and "lsusb" (launch them in a terminal), please?

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :
Download full text (4.1 KiB)

Universe repository is enabled, but there is no madwifi or madwifi-dev.

Here is the output you requested.

niels@niels-acer:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 Host Bridge (rev 10)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:04.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:05.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:12.0 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 Serial ATA Controller
(rev 80)
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller
(rev 80)
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller
(rev 80)
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB2 Host Controller
(rev 80)
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 SMBus Controller (rev 83)
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 IDE Controller (rev
80)
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB4x0 High Definition Audio
Controller (rev 01)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-ISA Bridge (rev 80)
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-PCI Bridge (rev 80)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron]
HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron]
Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM
Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron]
Miscellaneous Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS485 [Radeon Xpress
1100 IGP]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg
Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)
06:01.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
06:04.0 CardBus bridge: ENE Technology Inc CB-712/4 Cardbus Controller (rev
10)
06:04.1 FLASH memory: ENE Technology Inc ENE PCI Memory Stick Card Reader
Controller (rev 01)
06:04.2 SD Host controller: ENE Technology Inc ENE PCI Secure Digital Card
Reader Controller (rev 01)
06:04.3 FLASH memory: ENE Technology Inc FLASH memory: ENE Technology Inc:
(rev 01)
06:04.4 FLASH memory: ENE Technology Inc SD/MMC Card Reader Controller (rev
01)

niels@niels-acer:~$ lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 09da:000a A4 Tech Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04b8:0005 Seiko Epson Corp. Stylus Printer
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Regards,
Niels

On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 9:29 AM, Claudio Moretti <email address hidden>wrote:

> Have you tried to install madwifi via synaptic?
> if madwifi itself doesn't work, try with madwifi-dev (hope it exists);
> don't compile it yourself.
> If you're not able to find it, be sure you have enabled universe
> repositories from System >Administration >Software Sources, then try to
> install it.
>
> Can you also post the output of "lspci" and "lsusb" (launch them in a
> terminal), please?
>
> --
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs whe...

Read more...

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

Well, let's try another way.
Boot Ubuntu in recovery mode (2.6.24-22), when prompted, go to a root shell.
You will need to edit /etd/modules and disabling madwifi from boot; the simplest editor is nano, so give "nano /etc/modules", find all occurrences with "madwifi" inside and comment them by adding a # at the beginning of the line; save (Ctrl + O - Enter) and exit (Ctrl + X); then reboot in "normal" mode; it should not crash. If you want some details while booting, when usplash (the black and orange screen with the progress bar) appears, press Ctrl + Alt + F1 and you'll see boot details;
When booted, follow the instructions you find at
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=5703118&postcount=3
(download files before starting editing or you won't have an active internet connection =) )
I don't know if you have found this guide before, and if you download the updated version of madwifi-hal every time, but it seems to work; sorry if I can't help more :(

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :
Download full text (5.3 KiB)

I previously downloaded madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6. I have already seen the
instructions at the link you gave, but I found the English so poor that I
could not understand the instructions. For instance, "1) First purge any
presence or activity of any form of ndiswrapper" -- what does that mean in
English? "After reboot the Hardware drivers ...must have a red light aside"
- not particularly informative. These instructions also specify "5) Enable
back both drivers", and these drivers are already enabled after the madwifi
installation. However, I was able to find another web page with clear
instructions,
http://brunoabinader.blogspot.com/2008/05/atheros-ar5bxb63-on-ubuntu-hardy-heron.html
.

Notes:I teach a unix fundamentals and unix shell scripting course several
times a year in Toronto, but my area of expertise is Oracle, not unix
systems administration. I am a vi expert, so I don't need gedit or nano.
Also note that I have disabled the touchpad on my laptop (fn+F7), and I use
a USB mouse. As well, linux is installed in partition 3 (with swap in
partition 4). Windows Vista (which came with the laptop) is installed in
the first two partitions. Also note that I think I am using the 32-bit
version, but I don't know how to confirm that.

I printed out the README and INSTALL documents from the madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
directory.

I started ubuntu in recovery mode, selected root mode, commented out ath_pci
from /etc/modules (added as part of the madwifi install), exited from the
terminal session and selected normal boot. There were no madwifi entries.
The normal boot encountered a kernel panic (not syncing: Aiee, killing
interrupt handler!).

I rebooted 2.6.24-22 in recovery mode, entered root mode, navigated into the
madwife-hal-0.10.5.6 directory, issued a "make clean" and a "make" (I
omitted the "make install" this time since it not specified in the INSTALL
instructions). Then I exited from the root terminal session and did a
normal boot, which came up. The instructions in the web page you sent said
to enable both drivers, so I accessed the hardware drivers window and
enabled the "Atheros HAL" entry, which was disabled. When I checked the box
to enable the "Atheros 802.11 wireless LAN cards" module, Linux locked up
with a kernel panic (blinking caps lock).

I think it is time to give up on 2.6.24-22. I taught file structures and
processing part-time at a university for 24 years, and I always told my
students "don't keep doing what doesn't work".

What I would like to do instead is to work on the Ubuntu 8.10 64-bit
version, to see if I can get that to work. I tried it once, and that's why
I went back to 8.04.

I do not need the wireless to work to access the internet. I can connect
the laptop to a wired ethernet port, if necessary.

The worst part of starting over is that if it fails, I have to go back to
8.04, and then there are 250+ updates to do, and that takes 12+ hours to
download and apply. I also have to restore all my Documents files from my
backup DVD. I have 20 pages of instructions, so I can do it the same way
each time, and not repeat the mistakes I may have made earlier.

On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 6:07 AM, Claudio Moretti <flyi...

Read more...

Revision history for this message
Claudio Moretti (flyingstar16) wrote :

I may be wrong, but are you sure your laptop is a 64-bit one? (I have some problems in understanding AMD Turion64, because I never remember if 64 means 32+32 °_°)
Because if it isn't, that's why 8.10 64-bit does not work..
Anyway, if you update using Ubuntu Update Manager, you don't have to save anything, because nothing's deleted..
Let me know if it works :)

Revision history for this message
Michele Mangili (mangilimic) wrote :

Hello Niels!

Could you please tell us if Claudio's suggestion has solved your problem?

Thank you.

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :

Hi Michele,

No, it didn't solve the problem. I have modified grub's menu.lst file so
ubuntu boots automatically from the original 2.6.24-16-generic kernel
installed with ubuntu 8.04. I couldn't get the wireless to work on ubuntu
8.10.

You may close this contact, I am not going to work on it any more. I have
something that works, so I am going to stay with that for now.

When ubuntu 9.04 comes out at the end of April, I am going to upgrade to
9.04, assuming I can upgrade from 8.04 to 9.04 without going through 8.10.
If not, I will blow 8.04 away and install 9.04 from scratch. Unfortunately,
this is my only machine, so I can't have it down for long. If 9.04 causes
me problems, I am going to have to go back to 8.04 right away, but in the
process I will see if I can't set up a triple-boot, with Microsoft Vista,
ubuntu 8.04, and ubuntu 9.04.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Niels

On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 4:42 AM, Michele Mangili <email address hidden>wrote:

> Hello Niels!
>
> Could you please tell us if Claudio's suggestion has solved your
> problem?
>
> Thank you.
>
> ** Changed in: ubuntu
> Status: New => Incomplete
>
> --
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line
> copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After
> initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow
> to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of
> the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and
> network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under
> wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during
> the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every
> single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspect the problem is caused by VPN, and next
> time I do a fresh install, I will reboot after each of my install steps, to
> confirm the machine will still boot. I am not using Ubuntu 8.10 because I
> haven't been able to get wireless to work under 8.10.
>

--
Niels Andersen
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Revision history for this message
Michele Mangili (mangilimic) wrote :

I'm closing this bug report as requested in your latest comment!

Thank you for reporting this problem. Feel free to set the status of this bug report back to new in case that you decide to investigate more on this issue!

Revision history for this message
Niels Andersen (niels-ejvind-andersen) wrote :

Thanks, Michele.

I think I have spent enough time and effort on it, so I am going to hold off
until 9.04 comes out.

Regards,
Niels

On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 3:45 PM, Michele Mangili <email address hidden>wrote:

> I'm closing this bug report as requested in your latest comment!
>
> Thank you for reporting this problem. Feel free to set the status of
> this bug report back to new in case that you decide to investigate more
> on this issue!
>
> ** Changed in: ubuntu
> Status: Incomplete => Invalid
>
> --
> 8.04 blinking caps lock on bootup
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/309311
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Ubuntu: Invalid
>
> Bug description:
> Problem occurs when booting "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-22-generic" (line
> copied from /boot/grub/menu.lst) on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop. After
> initial install the boot went ok. I have a configuration document I follow
> to perform a fresh install of Ubuntu, and I was nearing the completion of
> the install. As the final series of steps, I installed wine and
> network-manager-pptp, configured wine, and installed a Windows program under
> wine. VPN requires a reboot to enable VPN, and the problem occurs during
> the reboot. Based on previous experience, the problem will recur on every
> single reboot. The work-around is to boot from "Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel
> 2.6.24-16-generic" instead. I suspect the problem is caused by VPN, and next
> time I do a fresh install, I will reboot after each of my install steps, to
> confirm the machine will still boot. I am not using Ubuntu 8.10 because I
> haven't been able to get wireless to work under 8.10.
>

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