Random Reboot if I Boot with ACPI On

[Paul Nickerson]

If I boot up Ubuntu 11.10 without sending the apci=off parameter to the kernel in GRUB, then after not too long (usually less then 10 minutes, always less than 20) my computer will randomly reboot. It's as if I forced the computer off by pressing the power button for a few seconds, then waited 2 seconds, then turned the computer back on. I have not noticed any trigger for the reboot; it seems completely random.

I have tried these kernel parameters, but I have experienced the reboot on them all:
acpi=ht
pci=noacpi
acpi=noirq
pnpacpi=off
noapic
nolapic

In troubleshooting before I figured out acpi=off worked, I tried swapping out lots of hardware. I narrowed it down to being either my motherboard or my CPU:
Motherboard: EVGA Z68 SLI (model 130-SB-E685-KR) (Intel Z68 north bridge)
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 (Sandy Bridge)

Attached are outputs of lspci -vvnn and dmidecode that I ran with ACPI on, before a random reboot stopped me. Also attached are outputs from uname -a, /proc/version_signature, and lsb_release -rd. /proc/acpi did not exist when I booted with ACPI.

I have the linux-image-3.0.0-18-generic package, version 3.0.0-18.31, installed, but I have had this problem with the Ubuntu 11.10 Desktop and Alternate boot CDs, too.

For a story of me troubleshooting this problem, check out this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1942937

Let me know if you need anything else from me, or want me to try anything. I would like to have ACPI working.

Thank you.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: linux-image-3.0.0-18-generic 3.0.0-18.31
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-18.31-generic 3.0.26
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-18-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.24.
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu4
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC1: paul 1824 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC0: paul 1824 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'PCH'/'HDA Intel PCH at 0xfa600000 irq 48'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC889'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0889,10ec0889,00100004'
   Controls : 41
   Simple ctrls : 23
Card1.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:1 'NVidia'/'HDA NVidia at 0xfa080000 irq 17'
   Mixer name : 'Nvidia GPU 16 HDMI/DP'
   Components : 'HDA:10de0016,10de0101,00100100'
   Controls : 16
   Simple ctrls : 4
Date: Wed Apr 4 23:20:33 2012
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=671dbf57-276e-4d7e-acda-da8bd954854f
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111011)
IwConfig:
 lo no wireless extensions.

 eth0 no wireless extensions.

 eth1 no wireless extensions.
MachineType: To be filled by O.E.M. To be filled by O.E.M.
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-18-generic root=UUID=8cb7655f-2b04-43dc-984c-d395b2f16e23 ro acpi=off quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.0.0-18-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.0.0-18-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.60.1
RfKill:

SourcePackage: linux
StagingDrivers: mei
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 10/03/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 4.6.4
dmi.board.asset.tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.board.name: EVGA E685
dmi.board.vendor: EVGA
dmi.board.version: Cougar Point
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.chassis.vendor: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr4.6.4:bd10/03/2011:svnTobefilledbyO.E.M.:pnTobefilledbyO.E.M.:pvrTobefilledbyO.E.M.:rvnEVGA:rnEVGAE685:rvrCougarPoint:cvnToBeFilledByO.E.M.:ct3:cvrToBeFilledByO.E.M.:
dmi.product.name: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.product.version: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.sys.vendor: To be filled by O.E.M.

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please test the latest v3.4kernel[1] (Not a kernel in the daily directory). Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag(Only that one tag, please leave the other tags). This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text.

If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tag 'kernel-fixed-upstream'.

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the tag: 'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, for example it will not boot, please add the tag: 'kernel-unable-to-test-upstream'.
Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug as "Confirmed".

Thanks in advance.

http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.4-rc1-precise/

[Paul Nickerson (pgn674)]

I installed the kernel linux-image-3.4.0-030400rc1-generic_3.4.0-030400rc1.201203312035_amd64 from there. I can't boot fully from it in either regular or recovery mode. But, if I take out the acpi=off parameter, I still experience the random reboot, even though it doesn't reboot fully. Leaving in the acpi=off prevents it from self rebooting in either mode.
So, I feel confidant that the upstream kernel has not fixed the bug, and therefor I've replaced needs-upstream-testing with kernel-bug-exists-upstream and marked the ticket as Confirmed.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Paul Nickerson, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Andrew Blackburn (almost1570)]

Hi I can confirm that this is still an issue as of today. I have the same mother board and processor as the OP. I am running a recent fresh install of Xubuntu 13.10 however I have had this since Ubuntu 12.04 -> Ubuntu 13.10. I will be happy to provide any information needed if it will help. Please let me know. I've attached some information from the https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingACPI "Filing a bug report" section.

The /proc/acpi didn't exist so I couldn't attach that.

Regards

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Andrew Blackburn, thank you for your comment. So your hardware may be tracked, could you please file a new report by executing the following in a terminal while booted into a Ubuntu repository kernel (not a mainline one) via:
ubuntu-bug linux

For more on this, please read the official Ubuntu documentation:
Ubuntu Bug Control and Ubuntu Bug Squad: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/BestPractices#X.2BAC8-Reporting.Focus_on_One_Issue
Ubuntu Kernel Team: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/KernelTeamBugPolicies#Filing_Kernel_Bug_reports
Ubuntu Community: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Bug_reporting_etiquette

When opening up the new report, please feel free to subscribe me to it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Helpful bug reporting tips:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

[Andrew Blackburn (almost1570)]

Hi Christopher,

 Thank you for your quick response. I have been reading through the documentation on do/don't for bug reporting. Previously when I had first diagnosed this on my system I had looked for a BIOS upgrade and none was available. Seeing as the motherboard had aged I wasn't holding my breath. However since it said to check I did my due diligence. It appears that there was a BIOS patch put out this year. I've applied it and will be testing without my usual ACPI=OFF flag. Given that while typically it happens within an hour but sometimes can take longer I am cautiously optimistic. I will update this bug report in a week and confirm if this fixed the issue. In the event that it did not I will open a new tracker as you requested. Thanks again for your help.

[Paul Nickerson (pgn674)]

OP here. Sorry I went off radar for a while.

I tried the 20131223 daily build of Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr Desktop AMD64, and it still had the problem when I booted the live CD. My up to date install of Ubuntu 13.10 (fresh install of that version) was also still having the same problem.

Seeing the Andrew had good luck updating his BIOS, I looked for updates for my own board. My BIOS version was "685 A105 x64", built around October of 2011. The EVGA website listed this BIOS as version A05.

The website offered version R22, released 3-13-2013, for download. I installed that (had to do it from my Windows boot), and noted that my BIOS now says it's version "685 0.22 x64" and was built "03/01/2013 14:51:21".

After this, both the daily build of Ubuntu and my up to date install of Ubuntu 13.10 both run fine without any acpi flag sent to the kernel. It looks like updating my BIOS solved the bug.

Should this bug ticket's status be changed to "Fix Released", since a good BIOS has been released for this board?

[Andrew Blackburn (almost1570)]

I can confirm I have not seen it since I've upgraded my bios last week. I would agree confirming that this is fixed to help any others in the future.

Also I too had to do it from windows but I'll take it.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Paul Nickerson, thank you for updating your BIOS. As per https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Status Fix Released is reserved for when a fix patch from Ubuntu is released. This was not the case here. Hence, this bug report is being closed due to your last comment https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/973933/comments/9 regarding this being fixed with a BIOS update. For future reference you can manage the status of your own bugs by clicking on the current status in the yellow line and then choosing a new status in the revealed drop down box. You can learn more about bug statuses at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Status. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.