Computer unbootable after Natty install

Bug #761723 reported by James Pursey
20
This bug affects 4 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
linux (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

Hi

After upgrading from Maverick to Natty, this machine (now running via a Live CD) becomes unbootable. The boot process seems to start off OK, but then finishes with an "aubergine screen of death" with a solid blue line at the top (see attached photo). I have tried the uprgrade via both apt and the live CD but the two methods fail in the same way. Trying to boot via the fail safe mode also results in a system freeze (black screen of death this time!)

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: xorg 1:7.6+4ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
CompositorRunning: None
Date: Fri Apr 15 12:44:40 2011
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: natty
DistroVariant: ubuntu
GdmLog1:

GdmLog2:

GraphicsCard:
 ATI Technologies Inc Mobility Radeon HD 3650 [1002:9591] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Toshiba America Info Systems Device [1179:ff62]
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Beta amd64 (20110413)
MachineType: TOSHIBA Satellite A300D
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: file=/cdrom/preseed/hostname.seed boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash -- nomodeset
Renderer: Software
SourcePackage: xorg
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 12/26/2008
dmi.bios.vendor: Insyde Corp.
dmi.bios.version: 1.80
dmi.board.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: Portable PC
dmi.board.vendor: TOSHIBA
dmi.board.version: Base Board Version
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: AMD
dmi.chassis.version: None
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnInsydeCorp.:bvr1.80:bd12/26/2008:svnTOSHIBA:pnSatelliteA300D:pvrPSAHCE-01W00LFR:rvnTOSHIBA:rnPortablePC:rvrBaseBoardVersion:cvnAMD:ct10:cvrNone:
dmi.product.name: Satellite A300D
dmi.product.version: PSAHCE-01W00LFR
dmi.sys.vendor: TOSHIBA
version.compiz: compiz 1:0.9.4+bzr20110411-0ubuntu1
version.ia32-libs: ia32-libs N/A
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.23-1ubuntu6
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 7.10.2-0ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental: libgl1-mesa-dri-experimental N/A
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 7.10.2-0ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg: xserver-xorg 1:7.6+4ubuntu3
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.14.0-0ubuntu4
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.14.0-4ubuntu7
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:0.0.16+git20110107+b795ca6e-0ubuntu7

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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :
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John Mark (johnmark) wrote :
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This also impacts me. Here's the relevant part of dmesg:

Apr 26 16:24:38 jm-t500 avahi-dnsconfd[1147]: Successfully connected to Avahi daemon.
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.789976] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000008e
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790015] IP: [<f85cf7be>] drm_mode_connector_update_edid_property+0x5e/0x170 [drm]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790065] *pdpt = 0000000030d60001 *pde = 0000000000000000
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790092] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790111] last sysfs file: /sys/module/bluetooth/initstate
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790140] Modules linked in: bnep snd_hda_codec_conexant l2cap snd_hda_intel snd_hda_codec snd_hwdep snd_pcm thinkpad_acpi snd_seq_midi snd_rawmidi arc4 snd_seq_midi_event snd_seq snd_timer joydev pcmcia yenta_socket r852 sm_common nand nand_ids snd_seq_device iwlagn pcmcia_rsrc radeon(+) snd lp btusb iwlcore ttm mac80211 nand_ecc mtd psmouse uvcvideo videodev hid_apple pcmcia_core soundcore cfg80211 tpm_tis tpm tpm_bios nvram serio_raw usbhid hid snd_page_alloc bluetooth parport i915 firewire_ohci firewire_core sdhci_pci drm_kms_helper drm ahci sdhci crc_itu_t e1000e libahci i2c_algo_bit video
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790457]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790467] Pid: 551, comm: modprobe Not tainted 2.6.38-8-generic-pae #42-Ubuntu LENOVO 20553AU/20553AU
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790517] EIP: 0060:[<f85cf7be>] EFLAGS: 00010202 CPU: 0
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790553] EIP is at drm_mode_connector_update_edid_property+0x5e/0x170 [drm]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790589] EAX: 00000010 EBX: f604c000 ECX: f0c78000 EDX: 000080d0
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790616] ESI: 00000000 EDI: 00000010 EBP: f0cc5c94 ESP: f0cc5c7c
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790643] DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 00d8 GS: 00e0 SS: 0068
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790668] Process modprobe (pid: 551, ti=f0cc4000 task=f0c4e500 task.ti=f0cc4000)
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790700] Stack:
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790712] f0911000 f0c78000 00000010 f604c000 f0911000 f604c170 f0cc5ca4 f996ba9d
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790754] f604c000 00002000 f0cc5cd8 f99652f4 f0cc5cc8 f9964e8b 00000001 f0c18c00
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790797] 00000001 f604c000 f604c170 f604c000 f604c000 00002000 f604c170 f0cc5d14
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790839] Call Trace:
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790876] [<f996ba9d>] radeon_ddc_get_modes+0x4d/0xf0 [radeon]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790920] [<f99652f4>] radeon_lvds_get_modes+0x24/0x280 [radeon]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.790964] [<f9964e8b>] ? radeon_connector_update_scratch_regs+0x6b/0x90 [radeon]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.791005] [<f8584cd6>] drm_helper_probe_single_connector_modes+0xc6/0x340 [drm_kms_helper]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.791051] [<f85842f3>] drm_fb_helper_initial_config+0xb3/0xf0 [drm_kms_helper]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel: [ 18.791101] [<f9972f58>] radeon_fbdev_init+0x98/0x110 [radeon]
Apr 26 16:24:39 jm-t500 kernel:...

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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :

Tried again this morningm, with the newly released final released. I was very disappointed to see that the problem remains. I wonder how many first time Linux users will have this as their very first Ubuntu experience.

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

Unfortunately no-one more knowledgeable than myself has provided any input on this bug so far. I have forwarded your bug upstream at https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36713
Please subscribe yourself to the upstream bug in case the developers have any further questions for you or in case they need a copy of your vbios.

affects: ubuntu → linux (Ubuntu)
Revision history for this message
madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

One of the developers has made the following comment in the upstream bug report:

"The two issues in the bug report are unrelated. The Toshiba A300 issue is a duplicate of https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36007 (which is s duplicate of bug https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=35502) , and for the T500 user, it's probably a vgaswitcherro issue. Try explicitly enabling the discrete card in your bios config. If you are still having problems, open another bug for your issue."

So please subscribe yourself to the upstream bugreport 35502 if you haven't already subscribed to the other bug. If you you have already subscribed to 36713 you should get notifications from the active bug via the duplicates process.

@John Mark - if explicitly enabling the discrete ATI card in your bios config doesn't help, please open a new launchpad bug.

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

Ignore my comment about subscribing to the upstream bug report - I've just read the report and it is already marked as fixed, as a kernel patch has been sent upstream. This patch is included in the upstream kernel 2.6.39-rc2 and has also been cc'd to the stable kernel series, so it will hopefully come to Natty as an SRU.

If you want to try it in the meantime, a PPA of the 2.6.39-rc5 kernel is available at http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

The patch I mentioned in comment #6 has been included upstream in kernel 2.6.38.3 and so should almost definitely be coming to Natty as an SRU. A PPA of this kernel (and the newer 2.6.38.4 kernel) is available at http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: New → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :

I second the above request. I tried installing the new kernel by applying the ppa via chroot but it failed. I think I'll wait a few days until the kernel is mainstreamed and do a reinstall then.

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

The above kernel is now available in natty-proposed. Please test and give feedback here. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

tags: added: verification-needed
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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :

Hi

I've had to re-install Maverick on this machine as I use it at work. I'd like to try the procedure you mention this weekend. Will this be possible under Maverick? I mean, if I follow the procedure before I do an update -d, will Natty install with the proposed kernel? If not, how can I get this to work? As I said, I've already tried modifying sources.list and then upgrading via chroot, but I couldn't get it to work.

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

The procedure at the link I posted in comment #9 is meant to be used on Natty. I'm not even sure if you can add the natty-proposed repositories to Maverick. Alternatively, you can open Synaptic Package Manager (on Natty), choose Repositories from the Settings menu and then select the Updates tab and then select Pre-released updates (natty-proposed), reload the package information, then use the quick search box to search for linux.

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

Oops. I just realised that this will be tricky, if not impossible with a black screen. Try booting with the radeonmodeset=0 parameter or booting to a text console, or booting normally then switching to a virtual console via CTRL-ALT-F1 (or F2-F6). You can switch back to the desktop with CTRL-ALT-F7.

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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :
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Reinstalled Natty this morning. Same problems. Setting radeonmodest=0 doesn't help and it is impossible to boot into a text console - even recovery mode freezes with a black screen of death. I chrooted and modified the sources.list file as suggested in the tutorial and this time I was able to do an apt-get update and upgrade without error. However, I am unable to install the new kernel as I get dependency errors. I've tried force upgrading but that doesn't work either. Here is the relevant terminal output:

dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-image-generic:
 linux-image-generic depends on linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic; however:
  Package linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing linux-image-generic (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-generic:
 linux-generic depends on linux-image-generic (= 2.6.38.9.23); however:
  Package linux-image-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing linux-generic (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Setting up linux-headers-2.6.38-9 (2.6.38-9.43) ...
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
Setting up linux-headers-2.6.38-9-generic (2.6.38-9.43) ...
Examining /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d.
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/nvidia-common 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
pcilib: Cannot open /proc/bus/pci
Setting up linux-headers-generic (2.6.38.9.23) ...
Processing triggers for python-support ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
Errors were encountered while processing:
 linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic
 linux-image-generic
 linux-generic
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
root@ubuntu:/# apt-get -f dist-upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
3 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Can not write log, openpty() failed (/dev/pts not mounted?)
Setting up linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic (2.6.38-9.43) ...
Running depmod.
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-9-generic
df: Warning: cannot read table of mounted file systems
Examining /etc/kernel/postinst.d.
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/initramfs-tools 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/nvidia-common 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
pcilib: Cannot open /proc/bus/pci
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/pm-utils 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/update-notifier 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/zz-update-grub 2.6.38-9-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-9-generic
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: c...

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madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

You're doing better than I probably would. What is the link to the tutorial? And what is the full dpkg command and parameters that you are using?

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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :

I did a dpkg --reconfigure -a
Then I tried dpkg -configure linux-image blah, blah

I can't go any further on this one un-aided, though. I'm not a developer and this problem exceeds my level of competence by light years!

Revision history for this message
madbiologist (me-again) wrote :

Unfortunately I'm not a developer either and this exceed my level of competence too. I wish there was someone more knowledgeable and experienced to help you.

I have thought of something, although I'm not sure it will work. I was looking at the dpkg errors you posted in comment #13 and noticed the first part:

dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-image-generic:
 linux-image-generic depends on linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic; however:
  Package linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing linux-image-generic (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-generic:
 linux-generic depends on linux-image-generic (= 2.6.38.9.23); however:
  Package linux-image-generic is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing linux-generic (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured

What happens if you do this singly in reverse? - start with dpkg -configure linux-image-2.6.38-9-generic
then linux-image-generic
then linux-generic
?

The package descriptions in Synaptic also imply that this might work, but I can't be sure.

The kernel in natty-proposed is currently being held up by a couple of regressions, but it or one of it's successors will eventually be available via -updates. IIRC, you will then be able to get and install updates during system installation. If not, this fix should be in Ubuntu 11.04.1, although I cannot find it's scheduled release date ATM.

Revision history for this message
Julian Wiedmann (jwiedmann) wrote :

The kernel from natty-proposed has finally been moved to -updates (2.6.38-10.46). Comment #7 implies that this issue should now be fixed - can you confirm?

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James Pursey (jamespursey) wrote :

Sorry it took a while to reply, I've been away. I confirm that the new kernel has solved this problem. However, booting seems very slow and logging in takes ages.

Revision history for this message
Julian Wiedmann (jwiedmann) wrote :

Thanks, so this bug can be closed (I'll mark bug 761721 as a duplicate).
Please consider filing a new bug for the other issues you mentioned.

Changed in linux (Ubuntu):
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
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