Ubuntu freezes when I try to connect to a wireless network

[Tommy_CZ]

Hi, my ubuntu freezes when I try to connect it to a wireless network, I tried nm-applet in GNOME, knetwork manager and also plasma-widget-networkmanagement in KDE and nothing helped. Reboot doesn't help. The only solution is to reboot to windows, then back to Ubuntu and it works, but just to next reboot. Next reboot the problem occurs again.
I have possibility to enable closed-source driver for Broadcomm wireless - but enabling it really doesn't help.
What to do with it? It is nearly impossible to use Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire One 722 because these crashes :/

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic 2.6.38-8.42
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl fglrx
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.23.
Architecture: amd64
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 1: SB [HDA ATI SB], device 0: HDA Generic [HDA Generic]
   Subdevices: 1/1
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC1: tom 1513 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] Adresář nebo soubor neexistuje
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Generic'/'HD-Audio Generic at 0xf0444000 irq 40'
   Mixer name : 'ATI R6xx HDMI'
   Components : 'HDA:1002aa01,00aa0100,00100200'
   Controls : 4
   Simple ctrls : 1
Card0.Amixer.values:
 Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
   Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined penum
   Playback channels: Mono
   Mono: Playback [on]
Card1.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:1 'SB'/'HDA ATI SB at 0xf0440000 irq 16'
   Mixer name : 'Conexant ID 506c'
   Components : 'HDA:14f1506c,10250598,00100000'
   Controls : 6
   Simple ctrls : 4
Date: Mon Jul 11 21:07:07 2011
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=79cd2327-7af3-4884-ab40-1e89c8183c6a
InstallationMedia: Kubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110426.3)
Lsusb:
 Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
 Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
 Bus 002 Device 002: ID 04f2:b209 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd
 Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
 Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
MachineType: Acer AO722
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=cs_CZ
 LANG=cs_CZ.UTF-8
 LC_MESSAGES=cs_CZ.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic root=UUID=2c2c0ece-d6ff-4e9e-9a84-810d9d2d752d ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-2.6.38-8-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-2.6.38-8-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.52
RfKill:
 0: brcmwl-0: Wireless LAN
  Soft blocked: no
  Hard blocked: no
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 06/08/2011
dmi.bios.vendor: Acer
dmi.bios.version: V1.03
dmi.board.name: AO722
dmi.board.vendor: Acer
dmi.board.version: V1.03
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Chassis Manufacturer
dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAcer:bvrV1.03:bd06/08/2011:svnAcer:pnAO722:pvrV1.03:rvnAcer:rnAO722:rvrV1.03:cvnChassisManufacturer:ct10:cvrChassisVersion:
dmi.product.name: AO722
dmi.product.version: V1.03
dmi.sys.vendor: Acer

[Andreastumbas (andreastumbas)]

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:2.0b11) Gecko/20110203 Firefox/4.0b11

Loading the kernel module brcm80211 and activating network cause the system to freeze completely. The error didn't occur in first place. It started with a failed wake up from suspend (maybe related to https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=674245 ). After that crash, the device causes the system to freeze, even when used from a clean environment (OpenSUSE 11.4 RC2 Live CD).

Hardware is a BCM4313 (14e4:4727) on Hewlett Packard HP 625 WT146EA#ABD

Reproducible: Sometimes

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Fix symlinks to Firmware (11.4 RC2) and reload module brcm80211
2.Try suspend/wake up until crash
3.Boot the system and try to activate wireless network
Actual Results:
System freeze

Expected Results:
Activate wireless

This bug in Debian sounds identical, but the recommended workaround has no effect:
http://www.debianhelp.org/node/17078

[Gregkh (gregkh)]

This driver is still under heavy development.

I just got one of these devices and will work next week to get it working properly in openSUSE 11.4, until then, it's going to be rough going, sorry.

[Jimmy-lu-2011 (jimmy-lu-2011)]

In fact, this problem still occurs in opensuse11.4 GM.
The problem is just that the brcm40211 driver is too unstable.

A wordaround is to blaclist the brcm40211 driver in order to reactivate the broadcom-wl driver (as at current stage, the wl driver is much more usable)

procedure are as follows:

goto directory /etc/modprobe.d
cat find the file 50-blacklist.conf
add blacklist brcm80211 to the end of the file

----------------------------------------
this has solved the problem for me on opensuse 11.4 GM

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

I found similar problems with Broadcomm BCM4313 in Arch Linux: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=117533

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

In windows 7 it works out of the box. Please can anyone help me with this bug?

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Same problem in Fedora 15:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?s=1a22b926605748ece20227192bd8d1e5&p=1489335#post1489335

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Sometimes I get his error message, during boot-up:
SP5100 TCO timer:mmio address 0xb8fe00 already in use
If this occurs, I have certainty, that my Ubuntu will freeze after login (when connecting to wireless)
In the case it doesn't occurs, the Ubuntu will NOT freeze.
Also I realized the change from wl to brcm (I hope I remembered this well) doesn't change the bug.

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

This error report resolved by blacklisting module, but it has nothing to do with freeze-issue.
I found similar bug report in OpenSuse pages -
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=676785
But in my case, it freezes with wl and also with brcm80211 drivers.
In OpenSuse 11.4 it seems resolved. Does anyone read this bug report btw?

[mseben (mseben)]

I have the same problem with brcm80211 module in 11.4 release,
I also tested latest 12.1 rc2 release with no success (in 12.1 is used brcmsmac module instead of brcm80211)

how to reproduce:
-boot up openSUSE-GNOME-LiveCD-Build0072-x86_64.iso
-connect to wifi AP using wpa2
-start downloading some large file e.g. opensuse live CD
-system completely freeze ...

output from lspci,hwinfo,dmesg and lsmod attached

[mseben (mseben)]

Created an attachment (id=439772)
dmesg from LiveCD-Build0072-x86_64

[mseben (mseben)]

Created an attachment (id=439773)
lsmod from LiveCD-Build0072-x86_64

[mseben (mseben)]

Created an attachment (id=439775)
lspci and hwinfo from LiveCD-Build0072-x86_64

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Same problem here, on Acer Aspire One 722 with bcm4313, same situation with brcm80211 as with wl driver.
Blacklisting doesn't help, situation in Ubuntu 11.04 is the same, it probably occurs in Arch and Fedora too.
I am really mad of it, because it force me to use Windows 7 on my netbook.

[Serge Therrien (therrien-serge)]

I have the same problem.

Actually my only recovery technics is to start the netbook with wired internet. When doing so, everithing is working fine. I even received the message that my wireless network is now connected (WPA2). If I try to connect to another network everithing freeze again. I'm only able to disable "wireless". When I do so everihing work fine.

I've tried the work around describe at this link

http://bigbrovar.aoizora.org/index.php/2011/04/30/turning-wireless-on-causes-laptop-to-freeze-on-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal-my-work-around/

Didn't work for me.

If more information are needed let me know but you will probably have to explaine to me how to get it.

Acer One 722 amdC50,4GBram, 500hd

[Serge Therrien (therrien-serge)]

For the "Timer message", I received the same message. When I reinstall 11.04 I didn't install the thirdparty proposed driver for Radeon graphic adapter. I don't get this message anymore.

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

So the bug IS STILL present in OpenSuse 11.4. The workarounds doesn't work even in there. I'll try to Ubuntu 11.10 alpha and OpenSuse 12.1 rc2 but if no succes, I'll probably have to use windows. Sadly. But this is the first time the bug I report seems to be disregarded by the experts here.

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Workaround found, blacklist atl1c, then run "update-initramfs -u" in terminal and voila, the OS doesn't freeze. BUT you are without wired connection. If you need it, just run "modprobe atl1c" in terminal.
This bug still IS NOT solved, it is just a bad workaround (it works in OpenSuse and also in Ubuntu.

[Serge Therrien (therrien-serge)]

I never use OpenSuse 11.4 just to be sure there is no confusion. All my comment are about Ubuntu 11.04.
Yesterday, I noticed something weird with the ifconfig command when both interfaces are active (wire and wireless). Instead of having eth0 and wlan0 defined I had eth0 and eth1. eth0 with the wired ip network address and eth1 with the wireless ip network address.

I'll do a clean install (to make sure I didn't broke anything) and retry the steps and note the behavior. Unfortunately I didn't have time yesterday to proceed adequately ...

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

I DO use it to be sure this problem is wide-spread, to make sure it affects other linux distributions. I was right. There are also some workarounds in OpenSuse forums that clarifies the problem. Clean install will not help of course.
Ubuntu 11.10 doesn't solve it, althought it uses different driver for wlan.
I already found workaround in OpenSuse, tested in Ubuntu 11.04 and will tell it here after some testing.

[mseben (mseben)]

yes, agreed

I do tests and brcm80211 driver works fine if atl1c module for my ethernet card is not loaded (I have the same netbook Aspire One 722)

thanks for workaround Tomas

I will attach also output from hwinfo --netcard command

[mseben (mseben)]

Created an attachment (id=440391)
hwinfo_netcard from opensuse_11_4

[Serge Therrien (therrien-serge)]

Ubuntu 11.04 now work perfectly fine !!!

Thanks to this reference:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/46348/i-cant-install-on-acer-aspire-one-722

It seems that there is still some kind of "state" bug in the bios of the acer ...

Anyway, by placing in the boot sequence "Network" in first position AND by enabling "Network boot" everything works !!!

Finally I can enjoy Natty with wireless network !!

[ScottMarlowe (scott-marlowe)]

I too had this problem trying to install 11.04. I installed 10.10 and had no lockup problems and have been running for hours now with no lockups, all the time on wifi browsing the web, rsyncing large quantities of data etc. 10.10 is quite usable once you download the catalyst drivers from amd's site. Just thought it might help those troubleshooting this to know that the stock open source wifi driver with a BCM4313 wifi card.

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Hi, there are two kinds of problems. When using LiveCD, Ubuntu freezes randomily and these freezes are probably NOT connected to wireless hardware. (This happens even when wireless is disabled). This also happens of fresh installs, and can be resolved by using ATI Catalyst drivers. I think, according to aforesaid, that the problem is in the xorg-video-drivers-ati or something like that.
BUT there is another freezing issue - the issue described in this bug, caused by wireless card.
In fact, when using Catalyst (as a workaround for the 1st type of freezes), you can run Ubuntu as long as u want, u can even reboot it and it will not freeze. But after switching it off and on, it will freeze. That happens on 11.04, scott-marlowe, is the situation in 10.10 different? Can u switch if off and on (laptop) and does it work without problems then?
My workaround is to blacklist the wired network module. I'll test the better BIOS workaround ment here and report.

[mseben (mseben)]

tested live GNOME CD 12.1 milestone3 - openSUSE-GNOME-LiveCD-Build0136-x86_64.iso
with the same result - system completely freeze

[Tommy_CZ (t-kijas)]

Oneiric Beta 2 64bit - same problem. Can be triaged as is said in #13.

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. 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. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

Thank you for taking the time to file a bug report on this issue.

However, given the number of bugs that the Kernel Team receives during any development cycle it is impossible for us to review them all. Therefore, we occasionally resort to using automated bots to request further testing. This is such a request.

We have noted that there is a newer version of the development kernel than the one you last tested when this issue was found. Please test again with the newer kernel and indicate in the bug if this issue still exists or not.

If the bug still exists, change the bug status from Incomplete to Confirmed. If the bug no longer exists, change the bug status from Incomplete to Fix Released.

Thank you for your help, we really do appreciate it.

[mseben (mseben)]

tested with freshly installed openSUSE:12.1
- brcm80211 was renamed to brcmsmac
- but issue is still NOT resolved - system completely freeze after loading brcmsmac and atl1c together ...

[Jik-seznam (jik-seznam)]

I have Acer Aspire One 722 with hw:
lspci
06:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications AR8152 v2.0 Fast Ethernet (rev c1)
07:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

It loads module ath9k for wifi and atl1c for ethernet. There are two problems:
1) The system freezed during booting without connected ethernet network
(when system is running, it is not necessary to have a connected ethernet, also hibernation and sleeping are without problem)
2) The system freezed when is not connected ethernet and detects any wireless network

I solve it by workaround with blacklisted module atl1c (http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/laptop/454356-acer-aspireone-522-amd-c-50-64-bit-11-4rc1-boot-hangs-without-ethernet-connection.html#post2324960)

[mseben (mseben)]

fixed in 12.3 release !