Kernel 2.6.27-13 and nVidia GeForce 8400M rev a1 freeze

[Damiano]

I am running ubuntu 8.10 nvidia driver version 177 and with kernel 2.6.27-12 the machine boots and works well.
I did update to kernel 2.6.27-13 and the machine boots kind of normally but when it is time to start X it freeze.
I did try ALT-F1 to have a console, nothing, I have tried with the magic SysKey, nothing.
Pressing the power button is no good to have a clean shutdown, I need to keep it pressed until it switches off.

The question is: What can I do to find out who is locking up the machine ?
(It is most likely the X server, but how can I be sure ?)
Thanks

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Actually it's probably the -nvidia driver's fault, in which case there's probably not much that Ubuntu can do.

Can you ssh into the box after experiencing the error? If not, then it's a kernel fault and should be filed against 'linux'.

If you can ssh into it, then try collecting a backtrace. See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Backtracing for guidance. Since -nvidia is a closed source driver, the backtrace will probably be useless, but if it isn't nvidia it might give some clues.

Try reproducing it on Jaunty. If it still occurs there, then change the package from nvidia-graphics-drivers-177 to nvidia-graphics-drivers-180, because -177 is obsolete and we'll be closing its bugs out in a week or so.