linux-image-2.6.26-4-generic fails to boot on Acer Extensa 4420 5963

[Ken Fazzone]

I'm running Intrepid x86 upgraded from 8.04
my machine (an Acer Extensa 4420-5963) won't boot linux-image-2.6.26-4-generic
with boot options: ... ro quiet splash
it hangs after displaying:
 ..MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC
if i remove quiet and splash
the last line is :
ACPI: Using IOAPIC for interrupt routing

some other signifigant lines in dmesg:
[ 0.000000] ATI board detected. Disabling timer routing over 8254.
[ 24.018245] AMD C1E detected late. Force timer broadcast.

[ 24.059193] ...trying to set up timer (IRQ0) through the 8259A ... failed.
[ 24.059196] ...trying to set up timer as Virtual Wire IRQ... works.
     ^-- these two change depending on boot options, i've seen teh machine use 8259A pin 2 instead of virtual wire once or twice.

[ 24.211668] Time: hpet clocksource has been installed.
[ 24.211673] Clockevents: could not switch to one-shot mode:<6>Clockevents: could not switch to one-shot mode: lapic is not functional.
   ^-- from my googling this may have to do with AMD C1E??
     http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/693198
     this may have something to do with it...
     this too:
     http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/tip/linux-2.6-tip.git;a=commit;h=7e3530cd98a0c6ab38f5898e855a5beffab26561

i played around with various boot options and found a few combinations where it will boot, with limited functionality.
acpi=off boots, complains of pnpbios error
acpi=ht boots, don't recall about pnpbios error
acpi=noirq only boots when used together with nmi_watchdog=1
noapic and/or nolapic doesn't boot
nosmp boots with only one core

after a successful boot i get a lot of:
[ 548.181338] APIC error on CPU1: 00(40)
[ 548.182005] APIC error on CPU0: 00(40)
[ 557.251439] APIC error on CPU1: 40(40)
[ 557.252147] APIC error on CPU0: 40(40)
[ 571.956451] APIC error on CPU1: 40(40)
[ 571.957179] APIC error on CPU0: 40(40)
[ 587.612073] APIC error on CPU1: 40(40)
[ 587.612864] APIC error on CPU0: 40(40)
[ 660.948460] APIC error on CPU0: 40(40)
[ 660.947592] APIC error on CPU1: 40(40)
[ 710.134819] APIC error on CPU0: 40(40)
[ 710.133911] APIC error on CPU1: 40(40)

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

aattached output of lspci -vvn

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

output of dmidecode

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

attaching DSDT
forogt to mention i'm running latest bios (V1.18)

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

attached uname -a

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

dmesg from 2.6.24-19-generic

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

attached lspci -vvnn

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

attached version signature
(from 2.6.24)

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

attaching contents of proc/cpuinfo

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

it boots 2.6.26-4-generic ok without AC power connected
but it only prints approximately one message per second unless i hold down a key on teh keyboard.
the long delays cause hardware issues.
for example ata reset.
dmesg attached,

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

it turns out that booting on battery power isn't a reliable thing.

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

when i boot with acpi=off or acpi=ht i see this in dmesg:

[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: Found PnP BIOS installation structure at 0xc00f8410
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: PnP BIOS version 1.0, entry 0xf0000:0xc5b6, dseg 0x400
[ 0.192012] PNPBIOS fault.. attempting recovery.
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: Warning! Your PnP BIOS caused a fatal error. Attempting to continue
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: You may need to reboot with the "pnpbios=off" option to operate stably
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: Check with your vendor for an updated BIOS
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: get_dev_node: unexpected status 0x37
[ 0.192012] PnPBIOS: 0 nodes reported by PnP BIOS; 0 recorded by driver

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

Hi Ken,

Just curious if there is a BIOS update for your system? Thanks.

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

no, the latest is still 1.18, released july 15th 2008.
i don't see how it's a bios issue though, as it's only 2.6.26 32bit kernels that won't boot.
2.6.24 works, and 2.6.27-rc1
2.6.25-386 worked, but would freeze until i presed keys on the keyboard.

why is this bug marked incomplete?

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

The Ubuntu Kernel Team is planning to move to the 2.6.27 kernel for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. As a result, the kernel team would appreciate it if you could please test this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. There are one of two ways you should be able to test:

1) If you are comfortable installing packages on your own, the linux-image-2.6.27-* package is currently available for you to install and test.

--or--

2) The upcoming Alpha5 for Intrepid Ibex 8.10 will contain this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. Alpha5 is set to be released Thursday Sept 4. Please watch http://www.ubuntu.com/testing for Alpha5 to be announced. You should then be able to test via a LiveCD.

Please let us know immediately if this newer 2.6.27 kernel resolves the bug reported here or if the issue remains. More importantly, please open a new bug report for each new bug/regression introduced by the 2.6.27 kernel and tag the bug report with 'linux-2.6.27'. Also, please specifically note if the issue does or does not appear in the 2.6.26 kernel. Thanks again, we really appreicate your help and feedback.

[Ken Fazzone (kfazzone)]

2.6.27 fixes the problem.
none of the 2.6.26 kernels from hardy would boot normally.

[Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara)]

Thanks for the update Ken. I'm going to tentatively mark this "Fix Released" for Intrepid. If you notice any regression regarding this issue prior to Intrepid's final release please reopen this bug setting the status back to "New". Thanks.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Per a decision made by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, bugs will longer be assigned to the ubuntu-kernel-team in Launchpad as part of the bug triage process. The ubuntu-kernel-team is being unassigned from this bug report. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies for more information. Thanks.